The transformation of English rural communities

A popular prejudice is that rural communities are close-knit, cooperative and supportive and the people self-reliant, friendly and helpful. However, a host of systemic changes in rural life, taken cumulatively, suggest that this ‘rural idyll’ etched in the popular imagination is under threat. In order to evaluate whether this is indeed the case, the results of 350 interviews conducted in five contrasting rural communities during 2000–2001 are reported here. This reveals that despite a widespread perception that community spirit is alive and well in rural areas, such attitudes are not always expressed in the actions of the rural population. A large minority of the rural population, composed mostly of low-income and jobless households, find themselves excluded from both community-based groups and one-to-one networks of reciprocal support. Arguing that there is a need for policies to encourage their reinclusion into rural life, the paper concludes by outlining a number of policy initiatives to achieve this goal.