One factor which is known to affect fertility performance is residence, whether urban or rural. The urban family is presumably more sophisticated and more exposed to new ideas through the mass media and through non familial contacts than the rural family, which is usually tradition bound and resistant to any kind of change.
These differences lead to differentials in fertility, which is lower in urban than in rural areas. A specific policy may be adopted to modernise villages and to break their isolation; and this will have implications for fertility performance.
Villages can be linked up with urban areas through a network of roads. The mass media of communication, specially the newspapers, films and radio and now television, can spread awareness of new ideas.
The development of rural areas can be effected by the provision of electricity, schools and better public health facilities. With improved agricultural technologies new high yielding seeds, fertilisers and large-scale irrigation, increased productivity in agriculture can be achieved.
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With economic prosperity and exposure to new ideas, a higher level of aspirations can be expected, with corresponding reductions in fertility.
Though not consciously adopted as an indirect anti-natalist policy, the urbanising of rural communities in developed countries has already led to the narrowing down of fertility differentials in rural and urban areas which, in some cases have completely disappeared.
On the other hand, in a country like India, the expected rural-urban differentials in fertility were, till recently, practically non-existent; it is only recently that they have started making their appearance in big metropolitan areas.
Such a situation exists because urban Indians do not necessarily adopt the urban way of life. Many of them maintain their rural ties and cling to their rural roots, move in their own language group, and invariably live close to their own caste and family groups.
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The development of an urban mentality in such groups, will take place only with greater exposure to mass communications and increased opportunities for contacts with the outer group and outer world.
Thus, in developing countries, even for urban people, policies for the development of the urban mentality will have to be adopted with a view to affecting fertility indirectly.