The rural–urban continuum approach is an important perspective in urban sociology that challenges the rigid distinction between rural and urban societies. Instead of viewing villages and cities as two completely separate and contrasting forms of social organization, this approach argues that they exist along a continuous spectrum. Communities differ in the degree of urban characteristics they display rather than belonging exclusively to either the rural or urban category. This perspective recognizes that many settlements possess a mixture of rural and urban features and that social change gradually transforms one into the other. The concept emerged as a response to earlier sociological theories that sharply contrasted rural and urban life. Traditional approaches often portrayed rural society as small, homogeneous, stable, and based on primary relationships, while urban society was seen as large, heterogeneous, dynamic, and characterized by secondary and impersonal relationships. The rural–urban continuum rejected these extreme dichotomies and emphasized gradual transitions instead of abrupt differences. One of the earliest contributors to this perspective was Pitirim Sorokin, along with Carle Zimmerman and Charles Galpin, who argued that rural and urban communities could be placed on a continuum based on social, economic, and cultural characteristics. Later, Robert Redfield