<p> This study examines the problem of "rurbanization," which is a term that has been applied to the process by which
rural areas are being changed by urban influences. This implies
more than the traditional geographic concept of land-use change at the rural-urban fringe, but is concerned with bagic changes in the agricultural industry relating to appearance, land use, nengity and social structure.</p> <p> In rural Southern Ontario, there are two main phenomena occurring to effect these changes: the increage in part-time farming and in low-density residences. This study is concerned more specifically with an examination of these two phenomena. Its two main objectives are to gee how these two are interrelated and how they have affected agriculture and rural society. </p> <p> The study achieveg thege objectives through the use of a questionnaire admtnigtered to residents of Brantford township, a rural area with a thriving agricultural industry, but at the same time under considerable stress from urban pressures. Three types of residents were surveyed: full-
time farmers, part-time farmers and non-farmers. The data collected was subjected to discriminant and cross-tabulation
analyses in order to observe similarities and differences among the three groups . These similarities and differences
allowed inferences concerning the acceptance or rejection of
six postulated hypotheses. </p> <p> The following general conclusions result from the analysis: </p> <p> Part-time farmers and rural non-farmers are predominantly former urbanites who have migrated to rural areas. Both groups share similar occupations and have lived at the rural location for a similar length of time, but non-farmers tend to be older an to have been born and raised on a farm. However, there does exist a significant minority of part-time farmers who ere former full-time farmers. Both phenomena appear to be fairly permanent arrangements as the overwhelming majority of both groups wished to maintain their present status. </p> <p>Full-time farmers tend to have a larger size of holding than part-time farmers. Part-time farmers place less emphasis on livestock and tobacco as the predominant crop than do full-time farmers, and tend to place a greater emphasis upon corn and mixed grains as cash crops. The type and quality of land that is occupied and the attitude toward the preservation of agricultural land do not vary significantly by group. All three groups were strongly in favour of preservation of land for farming. The participation rates of part time and non farmers in the rural organizations of the township and in the urban organizations of nearby towns are not significantly different from those of full-time farmers. </p> <p> The study has confirmed some of the findings of other researchers and has in turn shed some new light on the "rurbanization" problem. Urban out-migration has been found to be the most important cause of the problem. Thus, the problem appears to be the result of a social phenomenon rather than a physical one, and the phenomena causing the problem appear to be persistent and permanent. It may also be noted that the choice of alternative, either part-time farming or non-farming residency, is somehow related to the age and location of birth and childhood of the urban out-migrant. Significantly, more part-time farmers were born in city and more non-farmers were born on a farm. It may be argued that is precisely opposite to the situation that might be expected. / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/17667 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Czajer, Brian |
| Contributors | Reeds, L. G., Geography |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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