Rural Sociology and Urban sociology are two major sub-disciplines of sociology, between which there are some differences. The key difference is that rural sociology, as the term suggests,studies the rural communities whereas urban sociology focus on the metropolitan areas. The rural sociology goes hand in hand with environmental sociology, which studies the agricultural aspects of the communities. Urban sociology deals with city areas, and this subject field was highly developed after the Industrial Revolution.
Rural Sociology also studies about the migration of people from rural to urban areas, demographic patterns, land policies and issues, environmental concerns, natural resources such as mines, rivers, lakes, etc. Many social issues are included in rural sociology, and most sociologists focus their attention on third world countries where there are many natural resources as well as social issues.
Urban Sociology deals with the studies of social issues that arise in the big cities. This discipline examines the problems of, changes, patterns, structures and processes of urban areas, and it also tries to help with planning and policymaking of urban areas. It is necessary to understand the changes, effects and issues of developmental processes towards the society as well as toward the individuals. Urban sociologists use statistical methods, interviews, observations and other research methods to conduct their studies. Urban sociologists also focus on values and ethics, economics, poverty, race issues and health situations.
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