Counterurbanisation

Overview

Why people leave cities for rural areas, what made the move possible, and what it does to village housing, services, society and environment.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is counterurbanisation?

   Model answer

   The movement of people and economic activity out of large urban areas altogether and into rural areas, villages and small towns beyond the city. The direction of movement is urban to rural, so the population of the major urban area falls while the population of rural settlements and small towns rises. The mover leaves the urban area entirely rather than relocating within it.

2. 2

   Why do people move out of cities to rural areas?

   Model answer

   Push factors from the city include congestion, noise, air pollution, crime, high house prices, overcrowding, poor environmental quality and stress. Pull factors in rural areas include a perceived better quality of life, cleaner and quieter surroundings, attractive scenery, more space and larger properties for the money, safer surroundings for children and a stronger sense of community. Retirement, and the wish to raise a family away from the city, are common triggers.

3. 3

   What factors have made counterurbanisation possible?

   Model answer

   Rising car ownership and better roads and motorways, which make long-distance commuting practicable. Improved rail services into cities. Home working, broadband and digital communication, which allow many jobs to be done anywhere. Rising affluence and the ability to afford a second car and a larger property. Earlier retirement and greater life expectancy, freeing people from the need to live near work at all. And the availability of former farm buildings and rural sites for conversion and new housing.

4. 4

   How does counterurbanisation change the housing market of a rural village?

   Model answer

   Demand rises sharply because incoming households have urban salaries and the proceeds of selling a more expensive urban property, so they can outbid local buyers. House prices and rents rise faster than local wages, and affordability for local young people and low-paid workers worsens, forcing them to move away. Older cottages, barns and farm buildings are bought and converted or extended, and new estates of executive housing are built on the edge of the village, changing its appearance and increasing its size.

5. 5

   What social changes does counterurbanisation bring to rural communities?

   Model answer

   The social composition shifts towards wealthier, professional, car-owning and often older or family households, while young local people leave because they cannot afford to stay. Tension can arise between newcomers and established residents, particularly over new development, farming activity such as noise, smells and slow machinery, and changes to village life. Newcomers may commute out for work and shop in town, so they participate less in village institutions, though some become very active in the community and in local campaigning.

6. 6

   Why can counterurbanisation cause rural services to close even when the village population is rising?

   Model answer

   Because incomers spend their money elsewhere. They commute to work in the city and do their main shopping at a supermarket on the way home, take their children to school by car outside the village, and use urban services for banking, health and leisure. Local low-order services such as the village shop, post office, pub and primary school therefore lose custom despite more people living locally, and can close, which particularly disadvantages older residents and those without a car.

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