By Selena Estrada
Student Reporter
Approximately 19.3 percent of the U.S. population live in rural areas, but rural areas cover about 97 percent of the nation’s land area. This is according to the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau, anyway.
It’s a little hard to believe that rural areas cover so much land area, but only 19.3 percent of the population live in it. Living in rural areas can have several advantages and disadvantages.
People have several different perspectives on rural areas, depending on where they grew up. People who grew up in big cities may not actually know or realize all the advantages and disadvantages rural areas can have.
Someone from a small town like Buffalo, Oklahoma, population of approximately 1,329 knows some of the advantages and disadvantages of rural living, but how is rural living seen nationally?
Rural is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as “what is not urban-that is, after defining individual urban areas, rural is what is left.” Many would agree with this definition.
When thinking “rural,” people picture dirt roads, farm houses, the community that has formed at the crossroads or the town in the middle of nowhere.
Even though the U.S. Census Bureau defines rural as “what is not urban,” it can be difficult for some to distinguish the difference between rural and urban. In the book, “Rural Communities-Legacy and Change,” the authors say, “it is increasingly difficult to analyze rural-urban differences, as less and less data are available on smaller places.”
One of the authors Cornelia Butler Flora explained how she would describe the difference between rural and urban. “I would use distance and density,” she said in an interview. “How far are things, how many people, how are things squeezed together, and how do you view distance and density.
If you feel uncomfortable, if you don’t see streets crowded with cars, and stores at every corner, that means you have an urban mindset. If you say ‘wow there’s a little more space here I really kind of like this,’ that’s urban people seeing that rural advantage and a lot of suburbanization that has basically nothing all that good for us. It’s that chance to have higher density but less distance but still have at least the illusion of personal space.”
Flora and her husband, Jan Flora, are busy people involved with several committees. They are both authors of the book “Rural Communities Legacy and Change,” and they even have a show that airs on PBS. The first edition of the book was made to accompany the television series.
They travel all around the country trying to understand rural communities. Cornelia and Jan both said they have done community development in both Latin America and the U.S., and they’ve realized rural communities are not all the same. With all the research and experiences, they both would be considered experts in rural living.
Advantages and disadvantages exist with rural living, however Cornelia Flora said she believes the advantages and disadvantages turn out to be the same. Flora ran the population research lab at Kansas State University, and because of this, she said she found out there was a returning migration occurring in the early 70s in rural communities in Kansas.
She said she found out one of the examples she came across was under social capitalism. “Everybody knows everybody else and knows what they’re doing and that’s the reason so many young people want to leave and go someplace else,” Flora said “But then when you have children you began to realize you really like it if your neighbors knew your kids and you could keep an eye out.”
She said she also found out another example of return migration. “On the flip side, the push factor at once in your life cycle was the pull factor in another stage,” Flora said, “so it’s that sense of shared community.”
Each rural community is different and it depends on the attitude of the community on whether the community continues to grow or not. Research shows more older people live in rural communities than young adults.
“In these communities, older people know how things are supposed to be, and they’re that way,” Flora said. “And I think that that is very oppressive for younger people who are ready for or looking for change.”
Flora explained that younger people who end up moving to bigger cities, later come to find out that it’s more expensive and they can’t afford housing. They then want to come back to rural communities. She said they try to explain to rural communities that if they want people to live in rural communities, they need to be open to change and know that there will be changes.
“Change should not be frightening,” Flora said. “What concerns me right now is that were an atmosphere where anything different is seen as dangerous, we’re in a climate that keeps inducing sheer rather than exploration and excitement of difference.”
Jan Flora agreed with his wife, but also had a different point about agriculture to add. “When we’re talking about agricultural areas, the way that agriculture has gone has contributed to the decline of rural communities,” he said. “It’s true with forest communities and to some degree it’s also true for urban areas that were dependent on manufacturing because all of those kinds of activities require fewer people.
Agriculture is actually the most saving of labor of any of our primary activities. The amount of investment per worker is really staggering so we spend a fair portion of our lives working on alternate agriculture that might employ more people. It’s true, agriculture is the most saving of labor.”
People from bigger cities don’t realize how different rural communities can be and overlook the advantages and disadvantages. In an article “What Rural Living is Really Like,” author Tom Harkins explains how rural living can have advantages over bigger cities, but how it can also be harder.
Compared to bigger cities, Harkins explained a few things where rural areas have the advantages. Rural living can have the option of a bigger and more affordable home, it can be quieter than cities, less crime occurs, rural areas are also more open and more freedom to do what you want. Some disadvantages include fewer housing choices, fewer shopping and recreational areas, fewer job opportunities and more maintenance work to do (if you live in a farm house).
As Cornelia Flora said, even with all these disadvantages and advantages, it all just really comes down to the same thing. She also said opportunities happen if people in the community allow growth.
Harkins listed several advantages and disadvantages in his article, but listed them in a way to keep an open mind and maybe see different perspectives. For example, Harkins explains that there may be fewer job opportunities in rural areas compared to several options bigger cities offer. However, in rural areas people can possibly start their own businesses and even work from home.
He said this is probably possible because the cost of living in rural areas tends to be lower than in bigger cities, so therefore it is easier to be able to have a unique job that allows someone to work from home without worrying about the expensive cost of city living.
As stated in the book “Rural Communities Legacy and Change,” “many people imagine a rural America characterized by farming, homogeneous cultures, and close-knit communities. In reality rural communities differ more from each other than they do, on average, from urban areas.”