The Rural Exodus - cause and effect analytical writing (artifact 10)

     Rural-urban migration has long been associated with economic development and growth in the economic literature. With the industrial revolution, more and more forms of mechanized farm work were being accomplished by ever fewer individuals. This work could be mechanized by the use of threshers, tillers, fertilizers, and harvesters that would eliminate the need for manual labor. Fewer people were now needed to accomplish the same amount of work. Without the availability of jobs, farm tenants could not afford to stay on the land. Without jobs, families could no longer pay for the many children that were previously needed for assisting in farm labor. Finally, the jobs that could be acquired, were located in the greatly expanding cities of the industrial North and the capitol of London. In addition to people leaving the rural locations, many English, Scottish, and Irish chose to leave for the relative opportunity of a new life in North America, Australia or other British colonies.

     London, in particular, attracted people from all over Britain to come and seek their fortunes. In rural areas, often on small family farms, it is difficult to improve one's standard of living beyond basic sustenance. Farm living is dependent on unpredictable environmental conditions, and in times of drought, flood or pestilence, survival becomes extremely problematic. London, in contrast, was known to be a place where money and wealth were centralised. Cities were where fortunes are made and where social mobility was possible. Businesses, which generate jobs and capital, are usually located in those urban areas. Whether the source is trade or tourism, it is also through the cities that foreign money flows into a country’s larger economy. Moreover, people were forcibly driven from the land into factories by 'enclosure' from the late 18th century. Landless, the agricultural labourers who remained were powerless in the prevention of further exploitation by wealthy landowners, therefore they were forced to work for longer hours for meager, and usually irregular wages. They attempted to fight back against the landowners in the 1870’s through trade union but failed on doing so.

     Some villagers decided to leave the Dales of rural England due to the prospect of jobs, especially amongst younger family members. Also, young people were increasingly being driven out of the area in order to find their own place to live whenever they left their family homes. For example, as late as 1971, the opportunity to get employment in a new worsted mill a little over 30 miles away at Dolphinholme (near Lancaster) attracted a countless number of families from the valley of Dentdale. Another cause was that about 150 to 200 years ago, the Scottish were evicted from their homes by English landlords to make way for sheep pastures, which were much more profitable than collecting rents. This was known as the terrible 'Highland Clearances'. Many of the people who were evicted, emigrated to the USA and Canada for lack of another suitable local place to go. Inadequate social amenities and facilities in the rural areas also acted as a motivation for people to move to the urban regions. These included pipe-borne water, electricity, good roads, hospitals, schools, recreational centers and other reasons. Inadequate jobs in the rural areas also drove many youths' wish, such as, the migration to urban areas that could provide better opportunities for them to make a reasonable living. Other causes include the Irish potato famine, constant colonial wars for Empire, and the rise of the landed gentry who had no use for over-populated estates with meager rents.

     The urbanisation process has marked effects on the natural and cultural environment, on housing arrangements and social networks, as well as on work and employment patterns, not only in the cities, but also in the rural areas. Access to health care, social services, and cultural activities are in many cases better in the cities, but the access there may not be evenly distributed among the population. The urbanisation was also part of larger processes occurring in the world, of which market integration is the most important. Globalisation means flow of economic capital, labour, goods and services, as well as ideologies across national borders. Shifts in social networks and living arrangements may lead to changes in mental health and social capital, and a depletion of human capital may be the outcome in some rural areas. As more and more people left villages and farms to live in the cities, urban growth resulted. England's population shifted greatly, from rural to urban and from mother country to colony. This human exodus proved to be extremely beneficial to England's ability to create and expand its empire and thereby influence the world culturally. Today, England still remains widely rural, and it has a tradition of small villages, and manner houses dotting the countryside. The social fabric of England changed profoundly as a result of the migration. Urban poor became very much a part of the class system supported by the rigid economic realities of the urban-industrial setting.

     Because of the density of people, wealth, and other resources in cities, many institutions become possible that would not be in areas where such things are more spread out. Basically, when enough people are put together in a small area, they will start coming up with ideas to do things - cultural, political, commercial and social activities that just don't occur outside of cities. On the other hand, rural-urban migration also had negative consequences too. It eventually lead to overpopulation in the urban areas, however, as the cities expand, more companies and corporations are opened yearly, helping people find suitable jobs in the developing countries.While it is true that opportunities exist in cities, it is also true that the competition for these opportunities is fierce. Very few people make their fortunes, and the rest must still find ways to eat and sleep while they wait for their chance. This lead to one of the most obvious effects of urbanisation - the growth of slums. Slums are areas where large populations of extremely poor people live in sub-standard conditions. Common features of slums include land Insecurity. Slum dwellers are often 'squatters', living on land that they don't officially own. The land is often owned by the government, and there is a constant danger that it may be sold out from under its powerless inhabitants. These displacements exacerbate a poverty that is already oppressive. Poor Living Conditions are also another problem, the houses in slums are often made of any materials at hand, which could include mud, sticks, sheet metal, cartons, and other waste materials. Crowding is typically extreme, with entire families living in one-room structures, and very little space between one structure and the next. Sanitationin dense urban settings is often very poor, which contributes to the spread of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, diphtheria, and bilharzia. Utilities such as electricity, water and sewage disposal are either not available or only available on a very unreliable basis. Slum conditions make maintenance of law and order extremely difficult, and patrolling the slums is not usually a priority for law enforcement officers. As a result, crime is typically rampant in those areas, and common activities include drug trafficking and abuse, weapons trafficking, burglary, and prostitution. Criminal elements are sometimes organised into gangs, and are sometimes independent.

     Urbanisation also slowed down the rate of development of the rural areas. As populations grew, more items were consumed. This put a further strain on planetary resources, especially non-renewable resources. More pollution is created through human activity, whether it be ground, water, air, noise or light pollution. As urban environments grew, they encroached on the local natural habitats, converting them into suburbs. This reduced habitat for wildlife, watersheds for rainfall and carbon sinking by forests and plants, it also reduced the amount of arable land available for farming. Also, the food demand increased and more land needed to be cleared for food production. Although we have regulations and governing authorities to help improve energy efficiency, recycle, build green buildings and so forth, as population expands we will inherently consume more, that's a given. In addition, poor waste management causes the spread of disease and pollution, and high density of people can lead to conflicts and the quick spread of health problems.

     The growth of cities can have significant impact on the surrounding environment. Temperature, due to several factors, including the paving over of formerly vegetated land and the high concentration of heat sources, cities tend to be warmer than surrounding countryside, sometimes by a difference as large as 10° Celsius. Large cities become 'regional heat islands', which can alter local weather patterns. Air Pollution, one of the most obvious differences between an urban and a rural area is the air quality. Due in large part to heavy motor vehicle traffic, and also to energy production, a blanket of smog hangs over many cities. This polluted air is, in addition to being quite ugly, a public health problem. Water Issues, when an area is urbanised, the water cycle in the area changes dramatically. Destruction of Habitat, the conversion of a natural area to an urban area means the destruction of whatever was there previously. When wetlands, for example, are paved over, an ecosystem is lost, and any species dependent on that ecosystem die out in the area. A less drastic example is that of erosion valleys tend to contain fertile topsoil, which tends to get washed away if the valley is urbanised.

     Today, day by day millions of people from all over the world continue on moving from rural areas into more urbanized areas, such as big cities. Most migrations take place in developing countries, possibly due to lower standards of living, lower wages and less job opportunities in rural areas.



Reflection questions:

1) a. What main topic does the artifact relates to? In what way?

ans: This relates to the topic Urbanisation. Everything I discussed in this essay is about urbanisation, the effects, and causes, it's relative pros and cons.

b. Which other main topic does it also relate to?

ans: It also relates to the building of the modern economy.

2) Why did you choose this artifact, and how much time did you spend creating and /or processing it?

ans: I didn't choose this artifact, Mr. Kinzer chose this. It took me around 2h30min to do this.

3) What insights and understanding have you gained from the creation and/or processing of this artifact?

ans: I think the deeper you analyse and think about a topic, the more you will understand it.

4) Does this artifact reflect your best work and/or ideas? Why, or why not?

ans: This artifact reflects my best work and ideas. I spend a lot of time researching on urbanisation, and it also took time to revise and correct grammatical errors or repeated ideas.

5) Rate this artifact on a scale of -5 to 5 (0 is neutral) for the following four criterion.
a. Impact on the quality of your portfolio. 2
b. Impact on your level of enjoyment and happiness. 1
c. Impact on your learning. 1
d. Level of creativity and Originality. 1

ans: 1.5-2

6) Any additional comments.

ans: I think it is a little longer than expected, and I didn't really only stick to the 19th century