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Counterurbanization, or deurbanization, is a demographic and
social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
process whereby people move from
urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
s to
rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descr ...
s. It is, like
suburbanization Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...
, inversely related to
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
. It first occurred as a reaction to inner-city deprivation. More recent research has documented the social and political drivers of counterurbanization and its impacts in developing countries such as China, which are currently undergoing the process of mass urbanization. It is one of the causes that can lead to
shrinking cities Shrinking cities or urban depopulation are dense cities that have experienced a notable population loss. Emigration (migration from a place) is a common reason for city shrinkage. Since the infrastructure of such cities was built to support a l ...
. While counterurbanization manifests differently across the world, all forms revolve around the central idea of migration movement from a populated location to a less populated location. Clare J.A. Mitchell, an associate professor in the Department of Geography at the
University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
, argues that in Europe, counterurbanization involves a type of migration leading to deconcentration of one area to another that is beyond suburbanization or metro decentralization. Mitchell categorizes counterurbanization into three sub-types: ex-urbanization, displaced-urbanization, and anti-urbanization.


Causes

Counterurbanization is the process by which people migrate from urban to rural communities, the opposite of
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
. People have moved from urban to rural communities for various reasons, including job opportunities and simpler lifestyles. In recent years, due to technology, the urbanization process has been occurring in reverse. With new communications technology, people from rural communities can remote work because they can connect with each other via rural Internet, which means some employment opportunities no longer require moving to an urban community. Counterurbanization is about people being able to explore alternatives to living in the city, creating changes in living location preferences. In past years, a multi-corporation business would use outsourcing by hiring workers in poorer countries for cheap labor. In more recent years, corporations have been using "rural sourcing" which involves using small to medium-sized town as a source of labor. This creates jobs in the country and also for rural communities so they do not need to move their entire family to a whole new setting and also reduces unnecessary expense for the companies. Most of the workers in these rural settings get paid less but have an option of either working from home or an office. If they were in an urban setting, the company would spend more money on an entirely new office for the urban-based employees to work at. In the past, the general migration trend in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
has been from the east to the west. Art Hall, an executive director of the Centre for Applied Economics at the University of Kansas School of Business states "
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
has been losing people for at least a decade ... two patterns of migration are under way in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. People are leaving the coast and moving to the Northern interior. When they leave, they tend to go to places like Arizona and Nevada. So it's not a far move. And they also are going up north to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
. Part of the answer there is that it's just very expensive to live on the California coast." According to Hall, people have been influenced to move because of factors like climate, jobs, and tax rates. Hall also found that people who are not a part of a more stable family will tend to move more. People choosing to live in rural areas have found it more beneficial because of cleaner air, peace and quiet, and plentiful space. Smaller towns have also been proven to be convenient for the inhabitants. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data published in a 2009 study shows that people are moving from big cities with populations over 4 million to much smaller cities with around 1-2 million people. The reasons that people are leaving cities for smaller cities is not the same across the globe. For Russia, jobs have not always moved to rural areas to accommodate those who want to leave the city. Rather, people find themselves having two homes, one in the city during workdays and one in rural areas for days off. There is a weak infrastructure outside of cities to accommodate people who wish to completely relocate. In 2010, it was found that two-thirds of small towns are depressed, meaning that it has a large working-age population that is unemployed, and businesses are not profitable. Clare J.A. Mitchell believes the phenomenon of counterurbanization to be reflective of values and ideology in people's preferred living style thus taking into consideration not only distances traveled from the urban area but the motivations. Mitchell uses the term “ex-urbanization” that is used in reference to the phenomenon that people reside in the outside perimeters of an urban city but remain closely involved through their social networks and jobs, and the term "ex-urbanites" in reference to those people. Ex-urbanites typically still enjoy the benefits of modern infrastructure. Another term concerning differing motives for traveling or moving away from the city is people who are forced out of the city due to factors such as: the inability to find work, the increased cost of living, or dissatisfaction and/or conflicts with the
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
of urban society. This phenomenon is “displaced-urbanization”. Finally, there are those who participate in “anti-urbanization”. Typically these people are motivated by a sort of rejection concerning the urban lifestyle and consumer culture. Anti-urbanization is an escape for those to choose to leave and forgo the lifestyle and culture of the city. The decisive decision to move away from the city for this type of Counterurbanization is usually a step toward spiritual growth and rejection of materialism. Political factors may also lead to anti-urbanization. In China, during the "
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
" in 1966–1976, urbanization stagnated, and a nationwide anti-urbanization started, which was manifested by a massive "
Down to the Countryside Movement The Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement, often known simply as the Down to the Countryside Movement, was a policy instituted in the People's Republic of China between mid 1950s and 1978. As a result of what he perceived to ...
". Intellectuals and officials were persecuted and removed to rural areas. It is estimated that during the peak period of "Down to the Countryside Movement" at the end of the 1960s, more than 10 million people moved from urban China to rural areas, while the total urban population in China was 168 million in 1968. This anti-urbanization process was fundamentally different from counterurbanization as seen in developed countries, as it resulted from a far-left communist ideology.


See also

*
Exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It sh ...
* Rural flight *
Urbicide Urbicide is a term which literally translates (Latin: ''urbs'': city + Latin: ''occido'': to kill) as "violence against the city". The term was first coined by the author Michael Moorcock in 1963 and later used since the 1960s by urban planners a ...
*
White flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
*
Shrinking city Shrinking cities or urban depopulation are dense cities that have experienced a notable population loss. Emigration (migration from a place) is a common reason for city shrinkage. Since the infrastructure of such cities was built to support a l ...
*
Urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...


References

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External links


A-Level Description of CounterurbanisationChinese Consumers: The Romantic Reappraisal
Urban planning Urban decay Urban geography Human migration