These days, it seems that an increasing number of people are leaving rural areas to live in the city. Discuss some of the effects of rural depopulation (migration from the country to the city ) and suggest some ways on which this trend could be reversed.

While country towns were once vibrant and growing places, these days many appear to be as people move to the city in search of work and excitement. In this essay, I intend to discuss the impact of this problem as well as how more people could be encouraged to live in the rural areas. Surprisingly, the most serious consequences of rural depopulation are often felt in urban areas. As a result of overcrowding, cities throughout the word today are increasing prone to environment problems like air, water and noise pollution. Beijing is a particularly good example of this. Further, the uncontrolled growth of cities also gives rise to social problems such as high unemployment, crime and in less affluent countries, the creation of slums. Clearly, there is a limit to how many people can live in one area before living standards are negatively influenced. In order to stem the tide of rural depopulation, I believe we must first address its root causes. At the heart of the matter is the disparity between services and facilities in the country and those in the city. I firmly believe that urban and rural dwellers alike would find the idea of country life far more appealing if high quality shopping centres, cinemas, swimming pools, restaurants, libraries, schools and hospitals were more readily available in the country. One further method of attracting people to the country would be for government to provide lfinancial incentives to business and professional workers who willingly relocate to rural areas. In reality, this problem is unlikely to be resolved in the short term. However, it is by no means insurmountable, and I am convinced that more people will choose the country life becomes less comfortable and more expensive