Whether an area is considered urban or rural generally depends on population density and settlement size, with urban areas usually having 10,000+ residents in the UK, or 5,000+ in the US. Urban areas feature high-density buildings, businesses, and services, while rural areas are characterized by lower density, open spaces, and agricultural land.
The urban domain is defined as comprising physical settlements with a usually resident population of 10,000 people or more, all other areas being considered rural.
If you live in ULBs (Urban Local Bodies) towns then you are urban viz. Mahanagar Palika (Municipal Corporation), Nagar Palika Parishad (Municipal Board), Nagar Panchayat (City-council/Notified Area Committee), etc.
Counties that are nonmetropolitan or micropolitan (that is, not metropolitan) are considered rural by FORHP. Within metropolitan counties, FORHP identifies additional census tracts as rural based on Rural Urban Community Area code and population density.
Urban and Rural Areas Explained – What's the Real Difference?
How to identify an urban area?
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs.
Urban areas are typically centers of industry, commerce, and government. Rural areas, on the other hand, are primarily focused on agriculture growth and production or extraction and processing of raw materials.
To qualify as an urban area, the territory identified according to criteria must encompass at least 2,000 housing units or have a population of at least 5,000.
Rural areas, regardless of where they are located, are defined by the absence of busy roads or other large infrastructure, in direct contrast to urban areas. They may consist of inhabited spaces such as farms, villages, ranches, and small towns, or wilder landscapes such as forests, tundra, grasslands, or desert.
An urban area is the region surrounding a city. Most inhabitants of urban areas have non-agricultural jobs. Urban areas are very developed, meaning there is a density of human structures, such as houses, commercial buildings, roads, bridges, and railways.
Suburban areas originally developed as subsets of cities, but now suburban communities in America often exist independently of cities and are essentially a middle ground between rural and urban.
Rural areas have less modern technology, pollution, and crime but also less stable incomes and education. Urban areas offer more amenities, opportunities, and wealth but also overcrowding, pollution from industry and traffic, and less connection to nature.
A rural settlement tends to have small population and low population density. Urban settlement often has a large population size and high population density. Site is the actual piece of land upon which a settlement is built.
The Census definition of urban area includes urbanized areas of 50,000 or more population and urban clusters of at least 2,500 and less than 50,000 population. The Census Bureau uses the term "urban area" to refer to both urbanized areas and urban clusters collectively.
Difference between Urban and Rural is explained here in detail. Rural area or countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Cities, towns and suburbs are classified as Urban areas. Typically, Urban areas have high population density and rural areas have low population density.
Examples of rural areas are Sedona in the US, the Scottish highlands, the Australian outback, and the Amazon forest. Urban area examples pertain to cities such as New York City, London, and Cairo; however, the definition of urban can differ worldwide.
Typically, urban areas contain a city, such as New York City, Washington, DC, or Dallas, Texas, with a population of 250,000 to 10 million people. In the United States, the largest city, in terms of population, is New York City, followed by Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington, DC; Boston; and Philadelphia.
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically described as rural, as well as other areas lacking substantial development.
