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Rural areas since the industrial revolution

Before the industrial revolution, the majority of Dutch people were farmers of some sort. But with the introduction of machinery a lot was going to change in the Netherlands. Horse and carriage became machines, this change of ways is called mechanisation. It quite literally means replacing the older tools with new mechanical tools. Now farmers could milk more cows and grow more crops while doing less. But the machinery was expensive so the farmers couldn’t grow crops and keep cattle at the same time anymore. They had to become specialised in something.

The introduction of machines meant no more work for many workers that had a job in a rural area. Farmers who couldn’t afford machinery couldn’t compete with the more efficient specialised farmers. These workers and farmers had no choice but to look for a job in an urban area, at a factory for example.

From rural to more rural

Rural areas that are surrounding an urban area are the rural-urban fringe, the place where urban becomes rural. If you’d travel a bit further, you’ll reach the commuter belt, the zone where people are able to commute into the urban area on a daily basis. Travel even further and you will reach the countryside, here there are fewer houses. For the most part this area is used for agriculture and natural terrains like forests.

So to be clear: Urban > Rural-urban fringe > Commuter belt > countryside

Challenges in the rural-urban fringe and the commuter belt

There are lots of people who would like to live in the rural-urban fringe or the commuter belt because it is relatively close to some of the essential services in the city. Land prices are lower so that they can make a house with a garden affordable. The combination of these two pull-factors leads to competition over land use. There are multiple parties who would like to buy land in these areas. For example residents, company offices, factories, recreational areas or is the land in question to be left in a natural state?

Rural areas since the industrial revolution

Before the industrial revolution, the majority of Dutch people were farmers of some sort. But with the introduction of machinery a lot was going to change in the Netherlands. Horse and carriage became machines, this change of ways is called mechanisation. It quite literally means replacing the older tools with new mechanical tools. Now farmers could milk more cows and grow more crops while doing less. But the machinery was expensive so the farmers couldn’t grow crops and keep cattle at the same time anymore. They had to become specialised in something.

The introduction of machines meant no more work for many workers that had a job in a rural area. Farmers who couldn’t afford machinery couldn’t compete with the more efficient specialised farmers. These workers and farmers had no choice but to look for a job in an urban area, at a factory for example.

From rural to more rural

Rural areas that are surrounding an urban area are the rural-urban fringe, the place where urban becomes rural. If you’d travel a bit further, you’ll reach the commuter belt, the zone where people are able to commute into the urban area on a daily basis. Travel even further and you will reach the countryside, here there are fewer houses. For the most part this area is used for agriculture and natural terrains like forests.

So to be clear: Urban > Rural-urban fringe > Commuter belt > countryside

Challenges in the rural-urban fringe and the commuter belt

There are lots of people who would like to live in the rural-urban fringe or the commuter belt because it is relatively close to some of the essential services in the city. Land prices are lower so that they can make a house with a garden affordable. The combination of these two pull-factors leads to competition over land use. There are multiple parties who would like to buy land in these areas. For example residents, company offices, factories, recreational areas or is the land in question to be left in a natural state? Because of the high command of land in these areas, the prices are increasing as a result.