Briefly describe how the rural settlements are changed or modified by rural urban migration (20

marks)

The economy of rural areas is no longer dominated by farming. As agricultural jobs have been lost,
manufacturing, high technology and the service sector have increased. Other significant new users of
rural space are recreation, tourism and environmental conservation. The rural landscape has evolved
into a complex multiple-use resource and as this has happened the rural population has changed in
character. These economic changes have fuelled social change in the countryside with the in-migration
of particular groups of people. In the post-war period the government has attempted to contain
expansion into the countryside by creating green belts and by the allocation of housing to urban areas or
to large key villages. The considerable increase in car ownership in recent decades has had a devastating
effect on public transport. While this has not disadvantaged rural car owners very much it has
considerably increased the isolation of the poor, the elderly and the young. The lack of public transport
puts intense pressure on low-income households to own a car, a large additional expense that many
could do without. Recent increases in the price of fuel have exacerbated this problem. The size of farms
has steadily increased. Such changes have resulted in a significant loss of hedgerows, which provide
important ecological networks. Agricultural wages are significantly below the national average and as a
result farmers are among the poorest of the working poor. As many farmers have struggled to make a
living from traditional agricultural practices, a growing number have sought to diversify.