Unit 3 - Typology of Urban Rural Linkages

Types of Urban - Rural Linkages

  • The process of urban-rural interaction is the consequence of various linkages and flows operating between urban and rural areas and vice-versa.
  • An understanding of urban- rural linkage typology provides a basics for formulating investment policies that provides a broad framework for the consideration of urban-rural interaction.
  • Different scholars have attempted to provide various urban-rural linkages. Thus, the types of urban-rural linkages can be obtained differently according to different scholars:

According to Preston there are five types of rural urban linkage:

  • Transport of people or migration
  • Flow of goods, services and energy
  • Financial transfer through trades, taxes and state disbursements
  • Transfer of assets- Property rights, allocation of state investment, capital in other forms
  • Flow of information: Technical information and social ideas

Rondineilli’s Typology of Rural Urban Linkage

  • Physical Linkage
  • Economic Linkage
  • Technological Linkage
  • Population movement linkage
  • Social Linkage
  • Service delivery Linkage and
  • Political Linkage

Common Typology of Rural Urban Linkage

1. Spatial and Physical Linkage

  • This sort of linkage can be describes in terms of transport networks including roads, waterways, rail systems, bus networks and ecological interdependencies.
  • Transportation is important for spatial interaction and human flow which links production areas to distribution areas.
  • It can be interpreted by spatial organization of settlements which includes their size, pattern, spacing and functional relationships.
  • The ecological interdependencies may include natural resources use systems between upland and lowland areas or between upstream and downstream which may provide basic opportunities for social interaction and economic exchange of developing countries.

2. Economic Linkages

  • Economic linkage is fundamental for both urban and rural development which includes marketing links, shopping patterns, flows of raw materials, intermediate products, goods, capitals and income and productions.
  • The production linkages in product chain can be described in terms of backward linkage, forward linkage and lateral linkages.
  • If the products originates in small urban centers, the flow of the final products from that urban center or other places including rural settlements and large centers can be called Forward Linkage and the flow of raw materials or immediate products from other places to that urban centre is known as Backward Linkage.
  • The flow of products that takes place between urban places of equal importance can be called “Lateral Linkage”.
  • The marketing linkage involves the flow of goods from production to final consumption through different marketing channels.
  • The marketing linkage can be discussed spatially as :
  • Local Linkage: refers to the link for goods and services between a market center and its immediate hinterland areas with in a region.
  • Internal Linkage: refers to the link of an urban centre with other urban places with in the defined region.
  • External Linkage: flows of goods and services takes place between urban center of a region with urban centre of outside.
  • For the development of a region, external & forward linkage needed to be encouraged as they bring more resources (capital) into the region.

3. Technological Linkage

  • The technological linkage can be described in terms of telecommunication network, water supply, sewerage system, energy flows & network, irrigation & other technological systems.
  • These components are directly concerned with increasing of productions in both urban and rural areas.
  • The spatial implications of technological linkages are frequently overlooked in development planning.

4. Financial Linkage

  • This linkage may include direct money flows, such as the payment for the rural products supplied to the cities, flows resulting from payment for goods and services provided for the rural population, direct cash remittances from those living in the towns and cities to home town: village and flows resulting from investments, government budgetary allocations and credit to rural farmers.
  • Many credit institutions established in towns are apparently to cater the credit needs of rural population for investment in increasing productivity or other purposes.
  • However, in circumstances where the direct cash remittances are put into productive use, these financial linkages could provide a means of mitigating an inequalities that exist between urban and rural areas & play important role in upgrading rural life.

5. Socio-Cultural Linkage

  • Social linkage may include social group interactions, social and religious gatherings (rituals, games and dances, religious activities), visiting and kinship patterns, donations to traditional institutions, population movement and land tenancies.
  • The social and cultural linkages can help to strengthen economic linkages between town and countryside. Social change takes place increasingly with the emergence and developing of town. Strong traditional family and kinship relationships change with social transformation and local identity is gradually being weakened with time.
  • This linkage is very important for rural initiatives and demands.
  • They generate a rich source of information, innovations and ideas. Therefore regional development should take an account of the diversity and richness of these situations.
  • The ownership of land is key component of social stratification in rural region. The most important point is the relationship between landowners and tenants. The rural social structure may reflect largely from the land ownership patterns.

6. Political Linkage

  • The political linkage between urban and rural can be described in terms of structural relationship, power & authority flows, government budgetary flows, inter-jurisdictional transaction patterns and informal policies decision chain.
  • The capital cities and district towns may often tend to be centers of power & authority.
  • Political parties and their representatives are linking medium from rural to urban.
  • There is political link to local & social institutions in terms of planning implementation and management of local projects.

7. Administrative and Organizational Linkage

  • The administrative linkages are reflected in formal government structure relationships, decision channels, administrative authority and organizational interdependencies and authority approval or supervision patterns.
  • They also act as channels for political support & authority to undertake activities essential to regional development.
  • For administrative linkages to be effective in promoting rural-urban relations, administrative units must relate horizontally with organizations at the same level and vertically between local organizations and central organizations.

8. Service Delivery Linkage

  • The service delivery linkage may be described in terms of delivery system of education, health, training and extension, service pattern of professional, commercial and technical, transport and communication service system, information sources and systems, and disseminations patterns and coverage.
  • They provide the support structure to economic and social linkages.
  • Information flows are indispensable prerequisites for the flows of capital, labor, commodities and innovative ideas and technologies.

Constraints in Rural-Urban Linkage in Developing Countries

  • Different geo-political conditions, historical and cultural traditions and socio-political environment.
  • Mere development of physical links such as roads and communication will not be adequately enough for strengthening rural urban linkage.
  • Time is another factor which cuts through almost all the dimensions of rural urban linkage. It is not only the time is needed to overcome a distance.
  • Change in settlement pattern and rural to urban migration.
  • Administrative procedure.
  • Lack of means of communication.
  • The existence of some demographic problems.

Old questions for the discussion

  • Describe different types of rural urban linkages in the context of rural development of Nepal. 15 marks , 2067
  • Define rural urban linkages. Explain typologies of rural urban linkages in the context of rural development of Nepal. 15 marks
  • Spatial linkage : 5 marks, 2068