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our objectives our work
For
the majority of the world's poorest residents, local rural-urban linkages,
investment patterns and population movements are probably far more important
than the much touted global linkages, foreign direct investments, and
international migration.
First,
rural-urban linkages are important to achieve balanced economic growth.
Isolated rural settlements that cannot tap local urban markets will not
benefit from expanding global markets. Small urban centres bypassed by
agricultural exporters will not play a dynamic role in regional development.
Second,
rural urban linkages can reduce vulnerability, and play a critical role
in the livelihood strategies of the poorest groups, both rural and urban.
Low income rural dwellers often rely on urban-based non-farm jobs and
on remittances and other transfers from migrant relatives. Low income
urban dwellers often rely on seasonal farm jobs, and on the help of rural
relatives in looking after children and family property.
Third,
rural-urban interactions are often critical influences on natural resource
use and management, especially in the peri-urban interface. But these
linkages and interactions are usually neglected by both local government
(which tends to divide rural and urban responsibilities) and national
government (whose ministries rarely address urban rural linkages directly).
Rural-urban
interactions can be defined as linkages across space (such as flows of
people, goods, money, information and wastes) and linkages between sectors
(for example, between agriculture and services and manufacturing). In
broad terms, they also include 'rural' activities taking place in urban
centres (such as urban agriculture) and activities often classified as
'urban' (such as manufacturing and services) taking place in rural settlements.
Objectives
Our
work seeks to:
- improve
our understanding of how changing rural-urban interactions affect the
livelihoods of low-income and vulnerable groups in urban and rural settlements
(including developing appropriate methodologies);
- support
the capacity of local institutions and government to identify the opportunities
and constraints for poverty reduction and regional development provided
by rural-urban linkages, and act on them;
- help
develop a dialogue between national and local government to ensure a
better integration between national macro-economic and sectoral policies
and local initiatives.
The
key focus areas of our work
Governance
in decentralised structures, especially in small urban centres and peri-urban
areas
Because of the variations in the nature
and scale of rural-urban interactions between and within nations, local
governments are best placed to respond to location-specific needs and
priorities. Decentralisation has great potential with regard to efficiency
and democratic accountability, but often carries costs and constraints
(such as insufficient revenue and capacity, and weak links with national
planning). Special attention is given to the identification of ways to
better support local governments, particularly in improving the role of
small and intermediate urban centres in the development of their surrounding
regions and in peri-urban areas.
The
role of urban centres in the development of their surrounding rural region
Access to urban markets is key to increasing incomes for rural and peri-urban
producers. Crucial dimensions include: physical infrastructure (including
road networks and affordable transport); the relations between producers
and traders; and farmers' information on how markets operate, including
price fluctuations and consumer preferences. Special attention is also
given to local urban markets as links to regional, national and international
markets through the analysis of commodity supply chains.
Income
diversification and rural non-farm employment
There is ample evidence that most rural (and in many cases urban) households
rely on the combination of farm and non-farm income sources, thereby reducing
fluctuations and risk and, in some cases, increasing their asset base.
Research on this theme focuses on transformations in local labour markets
(often influenced by globalisation) and how they affect different groups
on the basis of gender, age, migrant status, ethnicity, wealth and location.
Emerging issues such as the role of clustering in the development of small-scale
enterprises, and opportunities in the growing tourism industry are also
explored.
Migration
and mobility
With urbanization and changing employment patterns, migration and mobility
(such as commuting between rural settlements and urban centres) are increasingly
important. Specific areas of interest are the differences and reasons
behind in the mobility of different groups (including the often unintended
impact of national macro-economic and sectoral policies), and the impact
of migration on households and communities in both sending and receiving
settlements.
Transformations
in peri-urban areas
The immediate periphery of urban centres often undergoes processes of
extremely rapid transformation. There are many opportunities, such as
increasing urban demand for high value horticultural and livestock produce
which often trigger agricultural intensification; and non-farm employment
opportunities help households diversify their income sources. But there
can also be many constraints, which can result in the marginalisation
of vulnerable residents and in environmental problems. Specific areas
of interest are transformations in land tenure and natural resource management
(and their impact on low-income groups), and the management of different
types of wastes originating from the urban centre.
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