Outline the processes of counter-urbanisation and descirbe its effects (8)

Outline the processes of counter-urbanisation and describe its effects (8) 

Counter urbanisation is the process of migration of people from major urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas. The process of counter urbanisation began as there was an increase in the number of people who wanted a better quality of life, away from inner cities, which suffered from a lot of air and noise pollution, as well as busy traffic, dirt and the crime of urban environments. Additionally, as GNP was rising, most people wanted larger homes, with a lot of land, which is found in rural fringes. 

The process continued developing as land on the rural fringes was a lot cheaper than in inner cities, which meant that employers were also starting to move to rural areas, and thus attracted people to move too. Between 1981 and 1996, rural areas gained more than 1 million jobs. Improvements in telecommunications, and faster Internet has also allowed people to work from home, which allowed them to move away from the louder towns and cities. Additionally, there has also been a rise in demand for homes to be bought by elderly retirees, who have higher levels of affluent. This also links with the need for rural areas to attract more incomes, for example agricultural businesses are struggling and one way for them to make money is by selling unwanted land or buildings as residential properties. 

There have been effects, of counter urbanisation, for example, the change in the layout of rural settlements. Modern housing estates are built on the edges of small settlements, and small industrial units on the main roads leading into the settlement. Former open areas are built on, old properties and some agricultural buildings are being converted and modernised. As with the gentrified areas in inner cities, there is thus tension between the newcomers and the locals. Additionally as more people want to move to urban areas there is a higher demand for housing, and so house prices increase, while this is a positive impact for landlords who live in the rural area, young people from the same area may not be able to afford that housing, and thus, the population would then be dominated by older people.