Rural Studies

Rural Studies is getting harder and harder to define because the differentiation between rural and urban is getting harder to define. Much thinking is now regional with urban hubs.

Now that in North America most of the food production process is an urban activity (preparation of inputs, manufacture of machinery, processing of raw foodstuffs), a very small portion of the process actually takes place on a "farm". This has resulted in massive migration of population to the urban areas, resulting in the need for the rural community to restructure itself in new ways with the few people left.

Brandon, as a city is a fascinating dynamic because it is where urban meets rural. It can be compared to the entrance of a huge (urban) river flowing into a (rural) saltwater bay, as it pushes the salt water back, and then there is a churning area where the two kinds of water mix, then finally the river is diluted in a more uniform manner. Brandon could be compared to the place where the two waters churn and are still identifiable in their many "pockets" or sub-communities of rural and urban.

Further Resources

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