South African Geographical Journal · 2005 · 65 citations · 16 references
Social SciencesDevelopment StudiesHuman GeographyGeography Of DevelopmentPostcolonial Development StudiesRural DevelopmentAfrican Development StudiesRural EconomyRural LivelihoodsRural-urban LinkagesRural-urban RelationsUrban-rural LinkagesInformal Social NetworksInformal Social OrganizationLivelihood VulnerabilityLocal LivelihoodsRural InformalityRural-urban ContinuumUrban Socio-spatial Structure
ABSTRACT The concept of the rural and the urban as separate spheres in development studies is increasingly losing analytical value. A growing proportion of the population in developing countries are organising their livelihoods in the context of informal social networks spanning the rural-urban divide. In order to analyse the socio-spatial interaction and the complexity of specific developmental issues an alternative view is to be developed—a translocal perspective. Conventional development approaches arising from thinking in rural-urban dualisms, run the risk of being without effect or even counterproductive, because they do not consider the central aspect of translocality of livelihood-systems and therefore often disregard the socio-spatial structure of interdependency. As a result an alternative perception to the boundaries drawn between the rural and the urban is needed as well as a spatially integrated view on the problem of social vulnerability and livelihood security.
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