Counter Urbanisation
The process of population decentralisation as people move from major urban areas to smaller settlements in rural areas.
Causes
• Improvements in transport enabling long distance commuting
• Improvements in IT
• Growth in retirement migration
• Government policies in some countries that encourage more people to live in rural areas
• Changing residential preferences in quality of life between large cities and smaller towns and villages.
• Relocation of offices and shows to factories on edge of city Greenfield sites
• Improvements in health and education in some rural areas.
Impact on Villages
Many villages have grown at a very rapid rate and have lost their original character form and function – often described as dormitory, commuter or suburbanised villages. Villages without good transport or too far to commute have tended to retain their character. The size of the population of these villages may not have changed a great deal
