Role of urbanization in national development : bridging the rural-urban divide

and much of the donor community have adopted rural-based development strategies - often deemphasizing urbanization or even considering it as a problem. This paper discusses the importance of urbanization in overall national development, with a specific focus on rural-urban linkages. It is argued that urbanization in developing countries falls along a continuum of two extreme theoretical types: Type I, in which urbanization contributes to national economic growth; and Type II, in which it is coincident with inadequate growth and even underdevelopment. Generally, countries in the Near East share characteristics of Type I, sub-Saharan countries share characteristics of Type II, while Asian and Latin American nations share a mixture of both types. Government policies affecting human settlement and economically motivated rural-to-urban migration have been two key factors influencing urbanization. Equally important is the character of rural-urban linkages, which encompass economic, technological, spatial, infrastructural, financial, administrative, and participant (e.g., producer, processor, distributor, consumer, etc.) aspects. An A.I.D.-funded study of Kutus Town, Kenya, is cited to illustrate these features. According to the report, rural-urban linkages in Type I urbanization actively contribute to dynamic market systems, while linkages in Type II environments fail to create opportunities for increased employment or income generation. In reaction to the usual separation of rural and urban planning, an analytical framework for rural-urban linkage development, called ARULINKED or "Are You Linked?," is developed based on A.I.D.'s 15-year experience of trying to capture and channel energies that reinforce both rural and urban development. This framework examines patterns of migration, backward linkages, off-farm employment, urban poverty, and mega-city growth. ARULINKED is also used to generate illustrative questions - posed in terms of macro- and sector-level analysis and planning issues - to guide project designers and Mission strategists toward a new view of urbanization.