Urbanization is an inevitable process of progress of the country's economic and societal development. The last decade of the twentieth century opens a new developmental step of urbanization in Vietnam. In particular, after the National Assembly of Vietnam issued Business Law (2000); the Government issued a Decree on Regulation of industrial zones, export processing zones (1997),ect. domestic investment capital and direct foreign investment capital rocketed, stuck by extensive formation of, with large amount and fast speed, industrial zones, export processing zones, new urban areas and significant improvement of infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. The wave of urbanization had pervaded, attracted and impacted directly on agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. While transformation of economy, geography, demography... in the process of urbanization are interested by many scientists in their researches, transformation of society, culture, people, life of individuals and communities in urbanized regions are not much in researches. By the situation, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Thi Mai Huong and associates compiled the book "Study of social and psychosocial aspects of rural communities in the context of urbanization".
The authors focused on clarifying social and psychological characteristics of the residents, who were farmers in rural society, in process of social transformation from the rural to the urban, describing good and bad characters of rural communities demonstrated in this process, outlining transformative dimension of psychological characteristics. They also contrast them with a stereotype of traditional rural culture, and discover change actions of these social and psychological characteristics under social impact. They mention psychological difficulties of farmers in joining urban society, as well as pointing out which group of farmers who are in a hazard of having many risks, and which group of farmers who are likely to benefit from urbanization generated from their social and psychological characteristics.
The psychosocial aspects of rural residents in the context of urbanization, which are emphasized, are adaptation to urban lifestyle of rural residents, value system and value orientation to social changes, a farmer's adaptation to career transition, communication and interpersonal relationships in community in process of changing cultural pattern from the traditional rural to the urban, individuality and community to socio-cultural changes, life mood and attitude of residents for the life in process of social change.
Our country, which is originally an agricultural country, therefore, farmers became the largest social group. In the currently urbanization process, a not small group of farmers stand before a deep and extensive transition about culture, society, career,ect. as well as psychology. This part counts increasingly large amount along with spread of urbanization areas as well as social-economic development of the country. They stand before a big challenge, a big change in their lives - changes of career and job. Moreover, they also undergo a process of transformation to adapt to a new lifestyle, a new culture - urban lifestyle, urban culture – which are very different from their traditional rural culture lifestyle. Farmers in process of urbanization became a special farmer groups with increasing amount.
Urbanization brings to prospects and full challenge to the people as well as the society. Inadequacies in social movements of relationships between person and person, person and career, people and society, as well as in organization of social administration in urban areas, have posed many problems that are necessary to be researched in terms of people and their psychological lives. The phenomena that have relatively popularly occurred during process of urbanization, such as: use of compensation for land to serve consumption and shopping needs of individuals and families, not to invest in development of production and careers, family and neighbourhood conflicts because of land disputes, epicurean lifestyle, many good values of traditional village are deformed, social conduct towards some village rule rather than complying with the laws, lack of ready psychosphere before transformation of a part of farmers ... were researched by the authors for contributing to solving effectively social administration as well as people administration, education of young generation for healthy development.
The book is a reference material, building psychological preparation programs for residents, especially the young, in this process to mitigate its negative implications in the society; it also is the scientific basis for planning policies of socio-economic development in the process of urbanization strongly going on in Vietnam currently.
Nguyen Thu Ha
