To What Extent Are Cities Influenced by Rural Urban Relationships in Africa

Thokozani Simelane

Institute for Systems Science, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa.

DOI: 10.4236/nr.2012.34031                

Abstract

If rural-urban relationship is treated as an open and unregulated process, cities serve as a sink for rural population, meaning that higher proportions of rural people migrate from rural areas to stay permanently in the cities. This process, which is commonly referred to as rural urban migration can be more evident if the urban system is maintained as an open system. This holds key to interpreting how cities attract and retain their populations, a process that is critical to understand the causes of deterioration of most cities in developing countries that still draw much of their population inputs from rural areas, as it is the case with Africa. Deducing from South African experience, if policies that regulate movement of people between rural areas and cities are politically inclined they tend to give a particular character to the evolution and development of cities. This has been found to be true for two sets of policies implemented inSouth Africa. Ones that were implemented during Apartheid, while they encouraged the migration of unskilled laborers from rural to urban areas, failed to promote settlement and adaptation of African communities in the cities and this led to an upsurge of informal settlements around many cities ofSouth Africa. One that have been implemented since the advent of Democracy, due to their relaxed nature have led to an influx of people of African descent into the city centers and the effect of this has been the deterioration of these areas. With these findings this study cautions that urban system needs to be treated as open, that is, be allowed to regulate itself through economic success and failures of people who aspire to live in urban areas by choosing to settle in the cities.

Keywords

Urban Dynamics; Urban Settlement; City Centers; Rural-Urban Relationship

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	J. R. Harris and M. P. Todaro, “Migration, Unemployment and Development: A Two Sector Analysis,” The American Economic Review, Vol. 60, No. 1, 1970, pp. 126-142.
[2]	J. J. Silveira, A. L. Espindola and T. J. Penna, “An Agent Based Model to Rural-Urban Migration Analysis,” Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, Vol. 364, 2006, pp. 445-456.
[3]	A. Bigsten, “Adaptation and Distress in the Urban Economy: A Study of Kampala Households,” World Development, Vol. 20, No. 10, 1992, pp. 1423-1441. Hdoi:10.1016/0305-750X(92)90064-3
[4]	A. Portes, “Migration and Underdevelopment,” Politics Society, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1978, pp. 1-48. Hdoi:10.1177/003232927800800101
[5]	G. S. Fields, “Rural-Urban Migration, Urban Unemployment and Underdevelopment and Job-Search Activity in LOCs,” Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1975, pp. 165-187. Hdoi:10.1016/0304-3878(75)90014-0
[6]	P. Mayer, “Black Villagers in an Industrial Society: Anthropological Perspective on Labour Migration in South Africa,” Oxford University Press, Cape Town, 1980.
[7]	P. Bond, “Cities of Gold, Township of Coal: Essays on South Africa’s New Urban Crisis,” Africa World Press, Trenton, 2000.
[8]	S. Davoudi and D. Stead, “Urban-Rural Relationships: An Introduction and Brief History,” Built Environment, Vol. 28, No. 4, 2002, pp. 269-277.
[9]	J. Azam and F. Gubert, “Migrant’s Remittances and the Household in Africa: A Review of Evidence,” African Journal of Economics, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2006, pp. 426-462. Hdoi:10.1093/jae/ejl030
[10]	E. B. Lucas, “Migration and Economic Development in Africa: A Review of Evidence,” African Journal of Economics, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2006, pp. 337-395. Hdoi:10.1093/jafeco/ejl032
[11]	J. Doyle and D. Ford, “Mental Models Concept for System Dynamics Research,” System Dynamics Review, Vol. 15, No. 4, 1999, pp. 411-415. Hdoi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1727(199924)15:4<411::AID-SDR181>3.0.CO;2-R
[12]	P. Checkland, “Systems Thinking, Systems Practice,” John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 1981.
[13]	S. Van der Berg, “Apartheid’s Enduring Legacy: Inequalities in Education-Super-1,” Journal of African Economics, Vol. 16, No. 5, 2007, pp. 849-880. Hdoi:10.1093/jae/ejm017
[14]	J. W. Forrester, “Industrial Dynamics,” The MIT Press, Cambridge, 1961.
[15]	J. D. Sterman, “Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modelling for Complex World,” Higher Education, McGraw-Hill, 2000.
[16]	J. W. Forrester, “World Dynamics,” Wright-Allen Press, Cambridge, 1971.
[17]	A. Ford and H. Flynn, “Statistical Screening of System Dynamics Models,” System Dynamics Review, Vol. 21, No. 4, 2004, pp. 273-303. Hdoi:10.1002/sdr.322
[18]	W. D. Nordhaus, “World Dynamics: Measurement without Data,” Economic Journal, Vol. 83, No. 332, 1973, pp. 1156-1183. Hdoi:10.2307/2230846
[19]	L. Alfeld, “Urban Dyanamics –The Fifty Years,” System Dynamics Review, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1995, pp. 199-217. Hdoi:10.1002/sdr.4260110303
[20]	J. Forrester, “Industrial Dynamics: A Major Breakthrough for Decision Makers,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 36, No. 4, 1958, pp. 37-66.
[21]	G. P. Richardson, “What Are We Publishing? A Review from Editor’s Desk,” System Dynamics Review, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1991, pp. 61-67. Hdoi:10.1002/sdr.4260070105
[22]	G. J. Scholl, “Benchmarking the System Dynamics,” System Dynamics Review, Vol. 11, No. 2, 1995, pp. 139-155. Hdoi:10.1002/sdr.4260110204
[23]	R. Espejo, “What is Systemic Thinking?” System Dynamics Review, Vol. 10, No. 2-3, 1994, pp. 199-212. Hdoi:10.1002/sdr.4260100208
[24]	C. Mitchell, “Situational Analysis and Network Analysis,” Connections, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1994, pp. 16-23.
[25]	L. C. Freeman, “Computer Programs in Social Network Analysis,” Connections, Vol. 11, 1988, pp. 26-31.
[26]	A. Goebel, “Sustainable Urban Development? Low Cost Housing Challenges in South Africa,” Habitat International, Pretoria, 2007.
[27]	E. F. Wolstenholme, “System Enquiry: A System Dynamics Approach,” John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, 1990.
[28]	A. W. Wolfe, “The Rise of Network Thinking in Anthropology,” Social Networks, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1978, pp. 53-64. Hdoi:10.1016/0378-8733(78)90012-6
[29]	P. Checkland, “Systems Thinking, Systems Practice,” John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 2008.
[30]	C. Bey and R. Isenmann, “Human Systems in Terms of Natural Systems? Employing Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics for Evaluating Industrial Ecology’s Ecosystem Metaphor,” International Journal of Sustainable Development, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2005, pp. 189-206. Hdoi:10.1504/IJSD.2005.008890
[31]	F. Capra, “The Hidden Connotations,” Flamingo, London. 1996.