Discover the Differences Between Rural and Urban Places!

You live in a community that is either rural or urban. An urban place is a big, busy city with many buildings and people living close together. A rural place is a small, quiet area with open land, farms, and forests.

You can learn more about different kinds of communities by exploring Types of Communities. Understanding your Local Environment Natural Features and Human Structures also helps you see how places are built and shaped.

In a city, you see tall buildings where many people live and work. You also see busy roads, buses, and lots of shops and schools close together.

In a rural area, you see open fields, barns, and forests. There are fewer buildings and much more open space with trees and nature all around you.

In rural areas, you can find farm animals like cows and horses. You can also spot wild animals like deer, bears, and eagles nesting in tall trees. Salmon swim in rural rivers and streams in places like British Columbia.

In cities, people keep pets like parrots, goldfish, and hamsters in their homes. City parks give you some green space, but rural areas have much more open land and many more trees. The air in rural areas is clean and fresh because there are fewer cars and factories.

You can discover more about caring for these natural spaces by visiting Caring for Our Surroundings and Civic and Environmental Duties People and Planet Stewardship.

In a city, you can ride a bus, subway, or bike to get around. A subway is an underground train found in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver.

In rural areas, people use cars, trucks, and tractors to travel and work. Tractors help farmers grow crops and take care of the land. You can explore how communities use their resources by visiting Community Resources.

In rural areas, farmers grow fruits, vegetables, and crops. Fishers catch fish in rivers and coastal waters. Loggers work in forests cutting trees for lumber. Park rangers protect forests and nature in rural areas.

In cities, bus drivers help people travel around. Mail carriers deliver letters and packages to homes and businesses in both urban and rural areas. Hospitals are close by in cities, making it easy for people to get help.

Learn more about how people and places connect by visiting People and Places and Features of Our Community.

Urban Place: An urban place is a big city with many buildings and people living close together. Vancouver is an example of an urban place in British Columbia.

Rural Place: A rural place is a small, quiet community with open land, farms, and forests. Small farm towns in the countryside are rural places.

City: A city is a large, busy place with many buildings and people. You can find shops, schools, hospitals, and public transit in a city.

Farm: A farm is a rural place with open land used to grow crops and raise animals. Farmers in British Columbia grow fruits and berries on their farms.

Forest: A forest is a natural area full of trees. You can find forests in rural parts of Canada like British Columbia.

Neighbourhood: A neighbourhood is a small community of homes found within towns or cities. Your neighbourhood is the area around your home where you live and play.

Farmer: A farmer is a person who works on rural land growing crops and raising animals. Farmers are common in Canada's prairie provinces and rural British Columbia.

Bus Driver: A bus driver is a city or town worker who helps people travel around urban areas. You might ride a bus driven by a bus driver to get to school.

Fisher: A fisher is a person who works near coastal or lake areas catching fish. Fishers are important in rural and coastal communities across Canada.

Mail Carrier: A mail carrier delivers letters and packages to homes and businesses. Mail carriers work in both urban and rural areas of Canada.

You can draw a picture of a city and a farm side by side. Try to add tall buildings on one side and open fields and barns on the other side.

You can also make a list of animals you might see in a rural area and animals you might keep as pets in a city. Think about what sounds you would hear in each place! Learn more about how communities change over time by visiting How Communities Change and Population Growth and Community Development.

You already learned about Types of Communities and Local Environment Natural Features and Human Structures. Those topics helped you understand what communities look like and how they are built.

Next, you will explore Where People Live and Climate and Geography Impact to learn how the land and weather affect where people choose to live. You will also discover Regional Biodiversity Plants and Animals Across Diverse Ecosystems and Types of Landforms Mountains Valleys and Plains.

You can explore Features of Our Community to learn what makes each community special. Visit People and Places to see how people shape the places they live in.

Learn how communities grow and change by visiting Population Growth and Community Development and Population Shifts Growth and Decline in Communities. You can also explore How Communities Change to understand how rural and urban places grow over time.

Discover how natural resources are used in rural areas by visiting Natural Resource Industries Mining Forestry and Energy Production. Learn how water is managed in communities by exploring Water and Sewage Treatment Infrastructure Impact.

You can also explore Community Resources, Caring for Our Surroundings, Civic and Environmental Duties People and Planet Stewardship, Basic Mapping Concepts, and Community Environmental Protection Values to build a full picture of how people and nature work together in all kinds of communities.