ABSTRACT
Living in the countryside confers advantages and disadvantages that are experienced in very unequal proportions by different groups of people. Those for whom the benefits outweigh the difficulties include people who have control over rural resources and people whose incomes are derived elsewhere and who may have moved into the countryside voluntarily to enjoy its environment and amenities. Those for whom the difficulties outweigh the benefits include people who are dependent on rural resources, such as working the land, but have no control over them. The latter might be identified with ‘traditional’ communities that have always lived in rural localities. Problems of rural areas range from the macro-scale to the extremely localised. The first type result from rural areas’ subordination to external forces, their economic and political weakness, and their peripherality (Marsden et al. 1993; Hoggart et al. 1995; Ilbery 1998). It is the local problems, however, that bear upon the struggle for day-today living, especially for the more vulnerable social groups. Because of the nature of rural areas, the activities that people habitually undertake include many that involve making journeys to other places for normal everyday purposes. While the ability to make such trips may be taken for granted in the city, in rural environments the difficulties of doing the same are frequently so great as to cause hardship and isolation for many people.
