The Differences in Urban and Rural Communities

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Sasha Shaver

English 101

Mr. Segars

10/30/2008

The Differences in Urban and Rural Communities

This country has two predominant societies within it. There are rural communities where, most of the time, safety and noise levels are not issues. Communities are more spread out, but more family oriented. Rural communities do not have major conveniences or a variety of things to offer such as schools and supermarkets. Urban communities have higher crime rate and neighbors are closer together, but people do not know each other as well. Urban communities have conveniences that are not offered by rural communities including many different things such as better school systems and better hospitals. This paper will look at the differences between these two communities.

            During the last twenty years, the rural community in which I have lived has had very little violent crime. In the last year, we have only had one murder, which is too many, but compared to the city of Springfield, where there have been twelve murders already this year, it is still a very low number. In a rural community, you do not have to worry about gangs or someone who just wants to shoot someone else in a drive-by shooting. In the community I lived in, everybody knows everyone and watches out for each other. The houses are not very close together, but the people of the community know what is going on around them. In an urban community, the people live right beside one another, but they do not know what is going on in each other’s lives. They do not

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watch out for each other. In rural communities, it is safe enough for you to leave your house unlocked and leave the keys in your car. It is even safe enough to walk outside by yourself at night. It would not be safe to do any of those things in an urban neighborhood, even if there was a Neighborhood Watch put in place.

            There is a big difference in the noise level in a rural community and in an urban community. In a rural community, the main noises you hear are tractors and machinery during the day and insects at night. It is a very peaceful place where you can hear yourself think. In an urban community you constantly hear people talking and cars driving by. There is almost always something going on and it is rarely quiet. You cannot hear yourself talk, let alone hear yourself think.

Another big difference concerning the two communities is the school systems. In the rural community where I lived, there is one elementary school and one high school. If public school is the school of your choice, you do not have a choice. You will have to drive to another town for either another public school or a private school. In an urban community, there are many elementary, middle, and high schools as well as many private schools to choose from. One advantage to the rural schools is smaller class sizes and more individualized instruction.

Urban communities have a larger tax base and due to this larger tax base, their schools have more money available. Rural communities do not have the financial backing that the urban communities have. Because of this, in a sense, you get what you pay for. In most cases, the more money you can offer the teacher, the better qualified the teacher will be. The more qualified teachers the school has, the better the school will be.

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Also due to that larger tax base, there is more money available for activities. In rural schools, you have limited extracurricular activities including clubs and sports. At the high school in my hometown, there are only three sports that are played: basketball, baseball, and volleyball. Compare that to the many different sports teams in the urban schools including swimming, basketball, baseball, volleyball, football, tennis, golf, soccer, and track.

             One major advantage of the urban community is the convenience and the variety of supermarkets, department stores, specialty shops, and entertainment centers. In most rural communities you do not have all of these conveniences. There will usually be a grocery store, but not a supermarket. Rural communities typically do not have the luxury of having a department store or entertainment center, but there is usually a specialty shop of some kind on Main Street.

Another benefit of an urban community is the hospital. The distance of a hospital could be a matter of life and death. Also, in many urban communities, you have the option to choose from at least two hospitals plus urgent care centers. In most rural communities there are no hospitals available and many only have one clinic with one doctor available only on weekdays. Ambulance response time in rural communities is typically thirty minutes or more.

One of the many advantages of rural communities is the lack of rules and regulations. Most rural communities do not have zoning or building regulations. The owner can build any type of building on his or her own property without government interference. There are also no limitations on outdoor burning, water usage, trash

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disposal, and automobile storage. Residents can burn leaves, trash, or any other item without restriction. They can also use as much water as they want and park their cars wherever they want. In urban communities, there is zoning and building regulations where you have to have building permits. Building permits are required for the initial construction of the house as well as roofing, electrical repairs, driveway construction, or any other major improvements. Most urban communities have restrictions on open burning and water usage. They also have restrictions on trash disposal and automobile storage. You cannot leave an unlicensed vehicle setting in the driveway or yard in many urban communities.

Urban communities appear to have more advantages. Some are schools, supermarkets, and hospitals. However, if you start digging a little deeper you will see that rural communities have the most advantages such as safety, fewer rules and regulations, and less noise, which leads to a better quality of life.