Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life and economic wellbeing of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. It also denotes the actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in non-urban neighbourhoods, countryside and remote villages. Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of land-intensive natural resources such as agriculture and forestry. However, changes in global production networks and increased urbanization have changed the character of rural areas. Increasingly tourism, niche manufacturers, and recreation have replaced resource extraction and agriculture as dominant economic drivers. The need for rural communities to approach development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentive for agricultural or resource based businesses. Education, entrepreneurship, physical infrastructure, and social infrastructure all play an important role in developing rural regions.