Define the term "rural community" and summarize rural community issues in the United States

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

About 25 percent of the U.S. population resides in rural areas, identified

as communities of 2,500 people or less by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sociologists typically identify rural communities as small, sparsely settled areas that have a

relatively homogeneous population of people who primarily engage in agriculture. For

individuals in rural areas who have made their livelihood through farming and other

agricultural endeavors, recent decades have been very difficult for many, both financially and

emotionally. Rural crises such as droughts, crop failures, and the loss of small businesses

in the community have had a negative effect on many adults and their children. Like their

urban counterparts, rural families have experienced problems of divorce, alcoholism, abuse

and other crises, but these issues have sometimes been exacerbated by such events as the

loss of the family farm or business. Since home is also the center of work in farming

families, the loss of the farm may also mean the loss of family and social life. Some rural

children and adolescents are also subject to injuries associated with farm work, such as

livestock kicks or crushing, falling out of a tractor or pickup, and operating machinery

designed for adults.

Economic opportunities are limited in many rural areas, and average salaries are typically

lower than in urban areas, based on the assumption that a family can live on less money in

rural communities than in cities. Rural schools typically face a severe teacher shortage and

often pay salaries that lag far behind those in urban and suburban school districts. In rural

areas, one of the most pressing problems is the availability of health services and doctors.

Because of the pressing time constraints of tending to patients with life-threatening

problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, the availability of community clinics and

hospitals in rural areas may be a life-or-death matter for some residents. Loss of these

facilities can have a devastating effect on people's health and life chances. Another factor is

the proliferation of superstores, such as Wal­Mart, Lowe's, and Home Depot. In some

cases, these superstores have effectively put small businesses out of business because

local merchants cannot meet the prices established by these large-volume discount chains.