Rural-Urban Interaction in the Developing World
This book examines the flows and linkages between urban and rural areas in developing countries and considers them in the context of development theory. Chapter 1 introduces the approach adopted by this book, explaining how it focuses on the flows that link areas rather than the structures or processes that separate them. The remaining chapters each focus on an aspect of these flows. Chapter 2 focuses on flows of food, specifically on the supply of food to the city from the countryside, as well as on the interaction with urban-based procurement strategies which may include urban as well as rural production. Chapter 3 focuses on systems of the natural environment and resources, including the systems that provide cities with raw materials and energy. This chapter also examines the implications of obtaining these resources from rural areas and the extent of their ecological impact, raising the question of how far a city places its environmental burden beyond its own boundary. Chapter 4 examines human strategies and how these impact upon people's residence and movement from urban to rural or rural to urban areas. Chapter 5 examines the importance of the flows of ideas and information. Finally, wealth/finance flows are discussed in chapter 6. Conclusions and future perspectives are presented in chapter 7. The book has a subject index.