Rurality: Why This Is Important

When asked by the publishing team to write the editorial for this on the broad topic of ‘rurality’ I wondered what I should write as there are books and journals that focus on many aspects of what is at the heart of ‘rurality’: both the remote and rural geographies and the impact of living in such locations on those who have either grown up there or who have chosen to move into rural areas. An area may be rural in the sense of landscape, often with scenic views and, depending on the country and the respective definition of what constitutes the size of a rural community may be a small village or even rural town. Or it may be a hamlet or farming area yes also remains accessible to urban cores where services such as banking, schools, health and social care, fuel and shopping are available. But rural can also mean living in communities of very few people at a long distance geographically and time wise from any services such as hospitals, long term care homes, specialist education and what many living in urban locations take for granted—locations with a choice of shops, restaurants, supermarkets, specialist health care.

The challenges of rurality are many and are well documented and resonate when asking people living in rural areas about their experiences. Transport, or the lack of it, that is affordable and available and accessible, both to get around the rural area or to access urban cores where services are located. Fuel poverty is also common in rural areas, as is poverty more generally. In the UK, a small country in terms of landmass, but with most of the population living in or near urban conurbations, rural poverty is higher than in urban areas rural areas (Shucksmith, Glass, Chapman and Atterton 2023, [1]). Access to broadband and other technologies can be problematic. Social isolation and loneliness can be. or become, a problem. Isolation can be particularly challenging as individuals age, when family members have moved out of rural communities, and if a sense of rural living ‘not being as it used to be’ when strong local communities become fragmented as they age, members die, and younger people move away for work or education.