Rural Sociologists have identified a number of different types of rural communities, which have arisen as a result of changing economic trends within rural regions of industrial nations. The basic trend seems to be one in which communities are required to become entrepreneurial. Those that lack the sort of characteristics mentioned below, are forced to either seek out their niche or accept eventual economic defeat. These towns focus on

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

whilst bidding for business and government operations, such as factories or off-site

data processing Data processing is the collection and manipulation of digital data to produce meaningful information. Data processing is a form of ''information processing'', which is the modification (processing) of information in any manner detectable by an o ...

. For instance, International Falls, Minnesota markets itself as a site for sub-zero temperature experiments,

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...

has attracted three

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese firms, Freeport, Maine has become a center for mail-order companies such as L. L. Bean, and Mobile, Arizona has become the home of a number of solid-waste landfills.

Academic communities

The primary employers in an academic community are

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, research laboratories, or

corporate training Training and development involves improving Organizational effectiveness, the effectiveness of organizations and the individuals and teams within them. Training may be viewed as being related to immediate changes in effectiveness via organized in ...

facilities. These academic institutions attract people from other regions, bringing new capital into the area. Academic institutions in

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 are typically desc ...

s are very much like factories in that the economic success of the community depends upon the success of the institution. However, academic institutions primarily offer medium-skilled or professional jobs, while factories tend toward low-skilled work. Examples: Ames, Iowa; Bath, Maine; Plainfield, Vermont.

Area Trade-Centers

The

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

allows rural residents to travel farther, in less time, for goods and services. This, along with decreasing rural population, reduces the importance of the rural store. As businesses relocate from other communities, one town will become the trade center for its region, sometimes constructing a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

. Generally, businesses in a trade-center town, except for those in competition with the mall, will benefit from the mall's presence as shoppers spill over. However, business in nearby towns will suffer as shoppers converge on the town with the greatest variety of stores. Examples: West Burlington, Iowa; Wickenburg, Arizona.

Exurbs

See:

Commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

, Exurb

Government centers

Government in rural regions is becoming increasingly consolidated, so that a small number of towns are centers of government activity, while the rest are devoid of government infrastructure. These centers include state and local capitals, and areas with prisons or

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

s. Centralized public administration focuses public-sector employment on a single community, assisting it over its neighbors. Benefits for the government center include improved public services, increased efficiency, and economic savings. Examples: Lorton, Virginia;

Quantico, Virginia Quantico (; formerly Potomac) is a town in southeastern Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 578 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., bound ...

Recreation communities

Recreation communities ("tourist towns") define some local feature, usually a historic site or scenic vista, as a "natural resource" and market this to tourists. Travelers will then spend money on food, hotels, and the like, which brings capital into the town. Examples: Deadwood, South Dakota; Harper's Ferry, West Virginia;

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Prospecting, prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona, Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last ...

; St. Charles, Missouri; Pleasant Hill, Kentucky; Intercourse, Pennsylvania.

Retirement communities

Retirement communities tend to house large numbers of elderly people who have left the workforce. These retirees bring pensions,

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

, and savings which infuse the area with capital. Many rural

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

s do not have enough patients to support their operational budgets, but those near retirement communities can make up for this by focusing on

gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, culture, cultural, psychology, psychological, cognitive, and biology, biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Ancient Greek, Greek ('), meaning "o ...

. Retirement communities often have income inequality between local residents and those who have migrated from cities. Examples: Green Valley, Arizona; Heritage Village, Connecticut. See also: demographic history of the United States, rural sociology,

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

References

External links

UK Commission for Rural Communities - publicationsUSDA Rural Development - PublicationsJournal of Rural Community Psychology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Types Of Rural Communities Rural geography Types of communities