On other posts I've commented on the futility of subjective definitions like "urban" and "suburban" and "sprawl." The meaning of "rural" and "countryside" falls into this same hopeless category. The only thing we know for certain is that "wilderness" refers to places on earth that neither have nor can support permanent human settlement. The ocean, by default, is wilderness, despite our ongoing abuse of its resources.
Zoning bylaws that set forth restrictions on land use with the intent of preserving a "rural" character are distinctly at odds with logic. Once settlement patterns have disturbed a wilderness, and once agricultural uses have been replaced by tract houses, then anything that can be honestly called "rural" has ceased to exist. A settled area that consists primarily of houses and roads marks a disruption of natural ecosystems. Large-lot zoning only exacerbates this condition. People like it though.
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