The Rural-Urban Continuum and Environmental Concerns

Studies have generally found rural residents to be less concerned about environmental problems than urbanites. This difference has been attributed primarily to a nature-exploitative attitude of famters. The present study finds little support for this proposition, but an alternative explanation, derived from rational choice and exchange theory, is supported. Owneroperator fanners are different from tenants and absentee owners in their level of environmental concern and shiftpositions across the range of environmental issues, as do rural nonfarm and small town residents. Furthemtore, urban respondents are not consistently more likely than all rural categories to show the greatest environmental concern. A preponderance of research indicates that urban dwellers tend to be more concerned than their rural counterparts about environmental issues (e.g. Tremblay and Dunlap 1978; Van Liere and Dunlap 1980; Lowe and Pinhey 1982). Van Liere and Dunlap (1980, pp. 190-91) however, have observed that "there are a number of contradictions to this pattern . . . [and] the coefficients vary considerably in magnitude, both within and across studies." A statewide study of Nebraska adults was designed to examine and clarify the relationship between residence and environmental concerns. We distinguished among different categories of residence across the ruralurban continuum, and examined attitudes toward both agricukwal and nonagricultural environmental issues. Our conclusions stress the importance of recognizing the multidimensional nature of environmental