Abstract
THE thoroughness and detail with which American investigators carry out their inquiries is well exemplified in a series of bulletins recently published by Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, dealing with the social and economic characteristics of various counties in New York State. In one of these bulletins written by Mr. H. C. Hoff-sommer and entitled “Relation of Cities and Larger Villages to Changes in Rural Trade and Social Areas in Wayne County, New York”, it is explained that the villages with a population of 500 persons or less have suffered severely from the competition of the larger villages. The smaller villages, however, have maintained their status better socially than economically, and it is interesting to note that the average distance travelled is shortest for church attendance and greatest for the purchase of women's dresses. The data show that social life at present is carried on in relatively small areas. That it will always be so does not follow, and a trend towards the uniting of small social areas into larger ones is evident. But the expansion of the social areas has been much less marked than that of commercial areas. This leads to the conclusion that although churches, schools, and other social and educational agencies may unite for better and more effective work, the areas which they can effectively serve will remain relatively small as compared to those of the more specialised economic services.
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Studies of American Social Areas. Nature 134, 454 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/134454b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/134454b0