A Little More on Countrysides
Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country," and/or "the countryside) over the course of time. According to William Howarth, author of "The Value of Rural Life in American Culture," rural communities were dominant in the beginning of the twentieth century, with the majority of the population living on independent homesteads. However, the rise of mechanized farming caused the population to shift, and in 1920 the census reported that urban populations exceeded 50 percent. Today 75 percent of the United States' inhabitants live in cities and suburbs, but they only occupy 2 percent of its land mass. Rural areas occupy the remaining 98 percent.
About 90 percent of the rural population now earn salaried incomes, often in urban areas. The 10 percent who still produce resources are generate 20 percent of the world's coal, copper, and oil; 10 percent of its wheat, 20 percent of its meat, and 50 percent of its corn. The efficiency these farms is due in large part to the commercialization of the farming industry, and not single family operations.
- From Wikipedia.
