Contextualizing rurality for data analysis

There are numerous definitions of rurality, yet a simple dichotomy is often used to identify an area as either rural or not rural—often at a coarse resolution, such as the county-level. However, there is a need for a finer... [ view full abstract ]

There are numerous definitions of rurality, yet a simple dichotomy is often used to identify an area as either rural or not rural—often at a coarse resolution, such as the county-level. However, there is a need for a finer resolution and contextualization of rurality to better describe the landscape and its inhabitants. The research presented here will provide a methodology for contextualizing rurality within the functional situation of its surroundings, and offer examples of how this contextualization can parse the finer details of a landscape and its people through the analysis of basic demographic variables at multiple scales and nested geographies. There are obvious gradients of rurality, from the hinterlands surrounding urban centers to the frontier zones far from the amenities and services provided by cities and towns. Further, depending on the scale of spatial aggregation, areas of rural and non-rural landscapes are often mixed together. This limits researchers, local organizations, and policy makers in their ability to describe and summarize rural landscapes—diluting the “true” character of the rural environment that they strive to represent. A given location that is identified as rural can be further described by the broader landscape in which it exists. Doing this can quickly become complex and varied across the diverse landscapes of the United States. Instead, the methodology used for this research provides a spatially consistent yet informative description of the context in which the rural landscape exists that can be readily implemented across the entire United States using publically available U.S. Census data.