Rural poverty affects 10 million people living across the United States (Housing Assistance Council 2014). Rural poverty differs from urban poverty. Rural poverty occurs in on Native American Reservations, in the Deep South, and in the Appalachian Mountain region. Communities affected by rural poverty have similar conditions affecting residents such as drug use. Rural poverty concentrates in certain areas of the United States where there is little to no opportunities and leads to problems such as substance abuse.
When comparing urban poverty to rural poverty, there are some slight differences due to region and concentration of poverty. In inner cities, the poverty rate is much higher than rural areas; however, there are more counties in rural areas with 20% of the population below the poverty level (Eitzen, Zinn, and Smith 2014). Another difference for the rural impoverished is that in rural areas housing costs less compared to urban areas and many have land to grow their own food. The urban impoverished have more job opportunities, more options for public transport, and fewer social services (Eitzen, Zinn and Smith 2014). Many people and industries leave rural areas when opportunities diminish in these areas. The …show more content…
After coal markets declined in the early 1960s to a region that was already economically disadvantaged, President Lyndon B Johnson made Appalachia the center of his plan “The War on Poverty” (McGreal 2015). At the time of Johnson, half of the population could not read or write (McGreal 2015). Although the poverty rate has dropped, Appalachia still has problems. Today, 33.1% of the population living in some parts of Appalachia dropped out of high school (McGreal 2015). The number of employed people, in eastern Kentucky, fell by half in during the 2007-2009 recession (McGreal 2015). The coal and timber industries are on the decline in the Appalachian Mountain area as
When comparing urban poverty to rural poverty, there are some slight differences due to region and concentration of poverty. In inner cities, the poverty rate is much higher than rural areas; however, there are more counties in rural areas with 20% of the population below the poverty level (Eitzen, Zinn, and Smith 2014). Another difference for the rural impoverished is that in rural areas housing costs less compared to urban areas and many have land to grow their own food. The urban impoverished have more job opportunities, more options for public transport, and fewer social services (Eitzen, Zinn and Smith 2014). Many people and industries leave rural areas when opportunities diminish in these areas. The …show more content…
After coal markets declined in the early 1960s to a region that was already economically disadvantaged, President Lyndon B Johnson made Appalachia the center of his plan “The War on Poverty” (McGreal 2015). At the time of Johnson, half of the population could not read or write (McGreal 2015). Although the poverty rate has dropped, Appalachia still has problems. Today, 33.1% of the population living in some parts of Appalachia dropped out of high school (McGreal 2015). The number of employed people, in eastern Kentucky, fell by half in during the 2007-2009 recession (McGreal 2015). The coal and timber industries are on the decline in the Appalachian Mountain area as