Rural+and+urban+habitats

**UNIT 14 RURAL AND URBAN HABITATS ** People live in specific environments, called **habitats **. There are two main types of habitats: **rural ** and **urban **. People who live in a rural habitat live in the country. There are two types of rural communities: In rural environments, concentrated communities are more common. Their inhabitants have access to services, such as schools, health centres, shops, or churches. In developing countries, the rural population makes a living from agriculture and stockbreeding **. ** In developed countries, this is not always the case. Many industries have left the city and moved to the country. These people commute daily from the country to the city. The **urban habitat ** is the city or larger town. The density of people and buildings is higher in urban centres than in rural communities. In urban centres, most people works in industry and services, such as trade and commerce, healthcare, banking, and communications. Towns and cities are built in locations which are good for economic activity and communication. These locations may be on the coast, on large rivers, in fertile valleys, or where roads meet. The layout of a city is the way its streets and buildings are distributed. There are different types of layout: **irregular **, when urban growth has not been planned and **regular **, when urban growth has been planned. Today most towns and cities serve as places of residence, provide services, and have industries. The location of these parts determines the structure of the city. They occupy the most space. While wealthier inhabitants live in the most elegant parts of the city, poorer people live in less attractive districts. Cities provide a wide range of services. The larger the city, the more services it offers. Many of these services are found in the city centre. Politics is the main function of all capital cities but they could have also a cultural, trade or religious function. In the 19th century, industries were started in the cities, which grew as a result. Today, very little industrial activity takes place inside the city. Most industries are located on the outskirts. The **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">urban population **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> refers to the people who lives in cities. In developed countries, 75% of inhabitants live in cities, against 40% in developing countries. However, cities in richer countries have stopped growing, while cities in developing countries are growing fast. Most of the urban population lives in towns and medium-sized cities (less than 500,000 inhabitants). However, the number of cities with more than 10 million inhabitants has increased in the past few decades. These cities are called **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">megacities **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">, such as New York or Tokyo. Cities grow and form extensive urban areas: **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">metropolitan areas **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> (Madrid), **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">conurbations **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> (Rotterdam), and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">megalopolises **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> (Delhi-Islamabad-Lahore). Cities are the political, economic, cultural, communications and transport centres for large areas. Moreover, cities are related to other cities and form an **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">urban network **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. However, not all cities have the same influence. There is a hierarchy, or order of importance: **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">world metropolises **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> (New York), **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">national metropolises **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> (Madrid or Barcelona **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">), regional metropolises **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> (Seville) and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">smaller cities **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. The poorest countries are located in Asia, Central and South America and Africa. These cities are characterised by strong **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">contrasts **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. A wealthy minority lives in modern buildings in the best districts. The majority of the population lives in poor areas in the centre, in **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">shanty towns **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> on the outskirts. There are serious problems, such as a **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">shortage of decent housing **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">, **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">high unemployment rates **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">, and consequently **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">poverty **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">crime **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">; **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">traffic congestion **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">, and air and water **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">pollution **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. Cities in **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">North America **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Canada **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> are not very old. They were planned and built to a **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">grid plan **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. The city centre is the Central Business District (CBD), which is dominated by **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">skyscrapers **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. In all parts of developed world, the outskirts of the cities are growing ( **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">suburbs **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">). The main problems are **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">high housing prices, traffic pollution, crime **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> and **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">poverty **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">SOCIAL STUDIES. Summaries in English ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">HABITATS **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE RURAL HABITAT **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">scattered community **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. Dwellings are far apart, separated by the fields where families cultivate the land.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">concentrated community **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">. Dwellings and other buildings are grouped together to form villages or small towns. Agricultural activity is located around the village or town.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE TRANSFORMATION OF FARM LAND **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE URBAN HABITAT **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE LOCATION OF TOWNS AND CITIES **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">CITY LAYOUT **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">CITY STRUCTURE **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">RESIDENTIAL AREAS **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">SERVICE AREAS **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">INDUSTRIAL AREAS **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE URBAN POPULATION **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">THE URBAN NETWORK **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">CITIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">CITIES IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">European cities **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> are much older. The city centre is the oldest part and is where most of the historic monuments are located, together with the CBD. The layout of this part is usually irregular because is was not built following a plan.