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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT the rural population is sparse, which has an

Economic development involves variations in inverse relationship with agriculturism.
occupations, commercilalisation of agriculture, 7. Urban areas are developed in a planned
and change from primary ro secondary and and systematic way, according to the pro-
tertiary occupations. Occupation-wise, people cess of urbanisation and industrialisation.
may be divided in three groups— those engaged Development in rural areas is seldom, based
in primary occupations (i.e., agrculture, mining on the availability of natural vegetation and
and quarrying,) in scecondary occupations (i.e., fauna in the region.
trade, commerce, manufacturing and transport), 8. When it comes to social mobilisation, urban
and in tertiary occupations (i.e., services). people are highly intensive as they change
Key Differences Between Urban and Rural their occupation or residence frequently in
The fundamental differences between urban and search of better opportunities. However, in
rural are discussed in the following points: rural areas occupational or territorial mobil-
ity of the people is relatively less intensive.
1. A settlement where the population is very
high and has the features of a built environ- 9. Division of labour and specialisation is
ment (an environment that provides basic always present in the urban settlement at
facilities for human activity), is known as the time of job allotment. As opposed to
urban. Rural is the geographical region rural areas, there is no division of labour.
located in the outer parts of the cities or MIGRATION TRENDS
towns. Migration
2. The life in urban areas is fast and compli- As per the 2011 census, more people are migrat-
cated, whereas rural life is simple and ing to the cities with employment, education, etc.
relaxed. acting as a pull factor. There is migration from

3. The Urban settlement includes cities and urban to rural areas too, but the percentage is
towns. On the other hand, the rural settle- minuscule in comparison to the people moving
ment includes villages and hamlets. from villages to cities. Mumbai saw the largest
4. There is greater isolation from nature in migration and with a population of 12.5 million,
urban areas, due to the existence of the built it is at present the largest metropolis followed by
environment. Conversely, rural areas are in Delhi (11 million) and a rise of 2% in population
direct contact with nature, as natural ele- in Kolkata. Urbanisation commenced in India
ments influence them. after independence, but in the recent years the
5. Urban people are engaged in non- trend has gained acceleration. The main causes
agricultural work, i.e., trade, commerce or for this trend are employment opportunities,
service industry. In contrast, the primary education, medical facilities and chiefly, the
occupation of rural people is agriculture and promise of a better quality of life.
animal husbandry. However, Indian cities are not equipped to cater
6. Population-wise, urban areas are densely to this accelerated speed of urbanisation and
populated, which is based on the urbanisa- therefore, this trend is taking its toll on basic
tion, i.e., the higher the urbanisation, the infrastructure like water supply, electricity lines
higher is the population. On the contrary, and roads. As a result, not only is there an
increase in slum areas and construction of unsafe

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