The Importance Of Rural Development

Introduction

Rural regions across the world have undergone vast changes. These changes impact not only land but also the quality of rural life together with economic social and environmental sustainability. Issues across the globe; include food supply, increased population growth, renewable energy, climate change, etc. all differ from place to place. Therefore in this paper I will be looking at various continents and countries.

This paper aims to explain my understanding to the components that make up rural development (planning) and also looks at how this relates to successes and failures rural development planning in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America between 1960s and now. The objective of the above statement is to explain the similarities

Instead it often refers to “smaller settlements such as villages, farmsteads, and market towns are normally included within the concept of rural, while most of the land area is expected to be used as agricultural land, forest or in its natural state”, (Nikolaidis, Baourakis, & Stamataki, 1997). Overall rural development is part of the socio-economic development of a region or country. Looking at poverty of example, it primarily caused by the limited access for people in rural areas to resources.

Rural Development planning is generally seen as the management process/tool use in rural areas in regards to objectives like improving and maintaining rural living standards in terms of access to social, environmental, economic and health services. This type of planning helps find resolution to problems such as lack of access to facilities and services, “substandard” housing, and rural unemployment. (Lassey,

The components of rural development planning vary from one area to another, relative to the specific possibilities and complications in each area. These components help to identify the essential foundational components which promote and restrict the development opportunities and the interrelationship between them.

Successes and failures of rural development planning; in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America (1960s-now)

In general most countries, especially developing ones we find that there is a discouragement in rural economic growth. This is combined various other factors, for example; illiteracy, high migration rates to urban areas, low life expectancy, poor healthcare, malnutrition, high infant mortality rate, lack of infrastructure all contribute to the poor growth of rural areas. (Takeuchi,