L10 - Economic Futures ICT

• the majority of the UKs population lives in urban areas, however 19 percent still live in rural areas
• some rural areas are growing in size due to counter - urbanisation, which means people leave urban areas for a better quality of life
• greenbelts surround rural areas to prevent urban sprawl
• greenbelts have been successful but has led to a shortage of land for new housing - which has led to pressure on the government
• even sparsely populated areas have experienced growth
• the large village of Hurstpierpoint has a high street full of shops and a good pub. trains from the nearest station take 50 minutes to journey to london
• benefit of population growth:

  • it maintains the population of small towns and villages as a balance to rural - urban migration
  • it brings new energy to rural areas
  • helps to maintain the demand for rural services like shops and schools
• problems of population growth:

  • older people retire to love in rural areas and this increases average age
  • newcomers are often wealthy and this helps to push house prices up even further
• the village of capel dewi is in a sparsely populated area of mid wales and during the twentieth century its population declined as young people moved away to find work