Counter Urbanisation with case study

Counter-Urbanisation

This is the movement of people from major urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas, leapfrogging the greenbelt and adding to growth in rural areas beyond the city rather than to suburban ones. The difference between rural and urban areas is reduced due to this process.

What has caused Counter-Urbanisation?

v  People want to escape the dirt and crime of the urban environment

v  They perceive the countryside to be pleasant, quiet and clean

v  House and land prices are cheaper

v  Car ownership and greater affluence has allowed people to commute to work

v  Many employers have moved out of cities, between 1981 and 1996, rural areas gained more than 1 million jobs

v  Improvements in technology allow freedom of location

v  Rising demand for second houses, farmers are selling land etc as agricultural demand decreases

What are the effects?

v  The layout of rural settlements…