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The Evolution of Urban-Rural Space

Olson, Jeffrey L
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1376926850

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Geography.
Revolutions in communications technology, transportation of people and goods, and the reorganization of economic production between the local and global scales have resulted in the spatial re-arrangement of daily human activities in the United States and other parts of the world. Traditionally rural, primary economic activities have waned as local sources of employment and wages due to both low-cost global competition and increasing productivity of capital versus labor. At the same time, the U.S. has shifted to being a service economy with many firms choosing the benefits of locating in, or close to urban agglomerations. Rising household incomes since World War II gave a growing number of people the ability to afford transportation between bucolic, rural residential and recreational locations and their workplaces in large cities or suburbs. Researchers have noted that areas rich in natural amenities, areas of pleasant climates and scenic beauty, have drawn people and jobs into their environs via inter- and intra-regional migration decisions. The result has been the obliteration of clear distinction between urban and rural spaces. Rural landscapes and small towns are now homes to long-distance commuters, recreational entrepreneurs and artisans, retirees, sprawling manufacturing branch plants, back-office service jobs, and tech companies in addition to (or in place of) the farmer, the mining operation, and the lumberjack. Many new terms have been invented to put a name to this emergent face on the landscape, but few have addressed the new arrangement of human activities in addition to the evolving processes and flows that cross the urban-rural continuum. The evaluation of urban and rural changes is important because the spatial organization of human activities impact ecosystems, social relationships, economic dynamism, as well as planning and policymaking. The conceptual toolkits of researchers engaging in spatial science, including geographers, need to be improved beyond the binary approach to spaces being either urban or rural. Many scholars recognize that an urban-rural binary is no longer accurate, yet continue to operationalize dichotomous urban/rural definitions in research frameworks and data analysis. This dissertation explores the concept of urban-rural spaces as multifunctional, dynamic spaces displaying a hybrid of urban and rural characteristics. Prominent conceptual themes addressed include rural economic restructuring, urban deconcentration, amenity-led growth, and ideas of spatial organization (human landscape and infrastructural patterns). These topics are addressed in an urban-rural space context by utilizing spatial-temporal data to construct trajectories of change in historical GIS frameworks. The work contained in this dissertation is meant to be an interdisciplinary product, working at the interface of geography, rural development and economics, GIScience, and land science. I find that urban-rural space is a strong conceptual tool, and that the utilization of readily available historical data in the construction of spatial databases enhances the representation and evaluation of urban-rural dynamics.
Darla Munroe (Advisor)
Edward Malecki (Committee Member)
Daniel Sui (Committee Member)
211 p.
Geography
geographic information systems, urban-rural space, rural development, spatial organization, spatial-temporal data, historical GIS

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Olson, J. L. (2013). The Evolution of Urban-Rural Space [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1376926850

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Olson, Jeffrey. The Evolution of Urban-Rural Space. 2013. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1376926850.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Olson, Jeffrey. "The Evolution of Urban-Rural Space." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1376926850

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1376926850
329
© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.