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May 2002 Insights Issue #41Mind the gap!Bridging the rural-urban divideRural areas have long been a source of food, raw materials and labour
for cities. So too, are cities places of opportunity for rural dwellers,
providing markets for agricultural products, specialised services and
sources of temporary employment and shelter. Urban-rural linkages are
particularly intense in the peri-urban interface, characterised by constant
flux, complex social structures, fragmented institutions and shifting
locus. Different policy solutions are clearly needed for peri-urban areas
to those advanced for rural or urban areas.
Other articles in this issue:Even the most remote villages are usually linked to towns and cities - through flows of people, goods, money and information. In the peri-urban interface, changes in livelihood patterns are more profound as a result of transformations in land use and employment opportunities. While this can lead to better prospects for some, for others this can result in increased social and economic marginalisation. Peri-urban natural resource development projects can have both positive and negative consequences for residents and workers. There are various possible health risks... Rural production - urban consumption Does increased investment in rural production lead to improved rural-urban market linkages? What happens when rural and urban development projects are implemented in isolation? Could sectoral approaches to local development restrict information flow and co-ordination between rural and urban stakeholders? Cities going organic: does it work? Cuba's response to growing food insecurity, caused by the collapse of the eastern European bloc and intensified US economic blockades in the early 1990s, offers many useful lessons. Closing the rural-urban nutrient cycle? Fast-growing cities in sub-Saharan Africa challenge rural food production. Consumption-related waste, however, ends up in urban latrines, drains or landfills, transforming cities into vast nutrient sinks. Composting this waste for agriculture could bring 'rural' nutrients back to the farmer. But how might this work? Traditional waste-recycling under threat?Residents in peri-urban East Calcutta, as well as migrants, make a living from recycling city waste and sewage which serve as critical inputs for agricultural activities in the region. The region is now torn between conflicting interests: land needed to house the growing population of Calcutta versus the continuation of traditional waste-recycling activities and sewage-irrigated agriculture. Nakuru, the fast growing capital of the Rift Valley Province, Kenya, is a good example of a town which serves as an urban centre for a predominantly rural area. It demonstrates rural-urban linkages and shows the need for ecological protection of its own natural environment. The Localising Agenda 21 programme promotes practical measures to improve urban governance, combining the use of strategic structure plans with urban pacts to create a process of vision, action and communication. How can poor people living in peri-urban areas participate in planning for their own communities? In India, government departments often make decisions for villagers with minimal consultation. The needs of poor people are thus rarely met in development initiatives. Communities protecting water resources The Kumasi peri-urban area is characterised by high rates of conversion of agricultural land to private housing. Kumasi, Ghana, is also situated across a major drainage divide, resulting in a range of water quality and supply problems. Collaborative DFID-funded research by Royal Holloway, University of London, with government and NGO partners in Ghana, aims to develop and pilot a sustainable co-management approach to peri-urban watersheds. The peri-urban poor as land development managers? How can local interest groups intervene to manage peri-urban land development? What lessons can informal systems of land management have for formal systems of land management? Peri-urban areas in Southern and East Africa are characterised by: rapid change and spiraling socio-economic polarisation; divergent claims, competing interests and identities; and conflicts, disputes and tensions concerning the access, control and use of land resources. Further web resources. |
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Views expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of DFID, IDS, id21 or other contributing institutions. Copyright remains with the original authors but (unless stated otherwise) articles may be copied or quoted without restriction, provided id21 and originating author(s) and institution(s) are acknowledged. Copyright © 2005 id21. All rights reserved. |
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