In a press release from the Ohio State News, researchers have found five new ways to define “rural”.
Urbanizing rural, suburban middle-income destinations, rural low-income destinations, stable rural areas, and stagnating rural areas are the five new definitions, based on migration patterns the researchers found happening in Ohio.
From the press release: “Three of the five types of rural communities were found near the outskirts of major metropolitan areas.
“The line between urban and rural areas is getting blurred and very dynamic,” said Darla Munroe, co-author of the study and professor of geography at The Ohio State University.
“We are seeing a rural America these days that encompasses different types of people who are making homes there for very different reasons.”
While the study was done in Ohio, Munroe said she believes most states have a variety of different types of rural communities, even if the types aren’t all the same as what the researchers found in Ohio.”
Using migration and census data, the researchers studied households who moved from a more urban area to rural areas. The 2008-2016 migration in Ohio was large enough to show a decrease in households in metro and suburban areas.
To red the rest of the press release, click here.
To read the study, click here.
SOURCE: Ohio State University, The Daily Yonder
