Population pressure and areas of potential rural development in Southern Nigeria

The spatial analysis of agricultural development is the necessary precondition for research in the rural landscape and for rural planning. Basic data emerging from field investigation and a systematic interpretation of aerial photographs have resulted in a series of thematic maps of Southern Nigeria and parts of Western Cameroon. This comprehensive research work has been organized within the framework of the Afrika-Kartenwerk of the German Research Society.In this paper our recently published population map of the scale of 1:1 million and the map of rural settlement patterns form the basis for some rather general estimates of agricultural potential. Exact spatial information of simple but non the less most important regional processes, like migration, are caused by population pressure. Not bare statistical figures but their transformation by cartographic means forms a fundament for area studies and hypothetical prospects for regional planning as well as for regional analysis.By larger scale observations agricultural carrying capacity, evaluation of rural potential, migration dynamics and changes of land-use systems have to be analyzed. This calls for meticulous studies of individual areas. The first of three such case studies stresses the process of intensification of land utilization near the Nsukka-Escarpment. Linear settlement patterns and chains of regular individually owned stripfields can be seen as inprints of a dynamic transformation within the cultural landscape. Reception of new agricultural technology has been a way for emigrant farmers to exploit traditionally sparsely utilized zones with rich soils, which had been less attractive, because they were hard to cultivate with the hoe.The second case deals with the well known migratory and agro-economic links between the overpopulated food crop belt of Northern Yoruba Savannah Country and the cocoabelt in the rain forest about 100 km further south.In Central Iboland rural overpopulation of more than 1000 persons per km² and land shortage theoretically could be diminished by opening up uninhabited areas of the Niger flood-plain and the delta for modern agricultural exploitation. But not only the physical obstacles such as there are poor soils, very high rainfall and seasonal floods within the Niger low lands are hindering rural colonization. Social and political factors, like ethnic traditions and historic barriers still seem to be very perserverant. All this hardly allows strangers to get hold of unused land, to exploit valuable natural resources or to introduce modern agricultural technology. But generally speaking, population pressure as well as higher demand for social services and better incomes result in changes in the traditional land-use systems. The impact of growing urban or industrial economic spheres on agriculture acts as accelerating factor in this development. A paradise-landscape for Africa where optimal utilization of all physical resources under best socio-economic conditions may be practiced and where more than ten times of the present population of Africa could exist, as CAROL puts it in one of his scenarios (1973 and 1975), seems to be quite unrealistic and really never will be desirable.     

The need for more overt integrated rural planning: The case of Malawi

Based on the premise that planning should contain a major social component, this paper argues that Less Developed Countries do not give enough overt consideration to planning the rural environment. Planning activity is inherently urban biased. Using Malawi as a case study it can be demonstrated, employing a number of social indicators, that the rural populous is disadvantaged in both relative and absolute terms in comparison with their urban counterparts. Rural development programmes are, however, hampered by the need to co-ordinate the activities of the numerous ministries responsible for different sectoral initiatives. In particular, rural service provision cannot be dissociated from agricultural reform and investment to improve agricultural productivity and rural incomes. Further difficulties also arise from the attitudes of aid and grant agencies which will only fund particular types of project irrespective of whether these are best suited to local socio-economic conditions. By providing an integrated National Physical Development Plan it is hoped that some of these difficulties may be reduced, and more effective rural development policies pursued.     

Economic development and population distribution in Albania

This article analyses the relationship between internal migration patterns and regional economic development in present-day Albania. Using demographic data migration figures were calculated for the period 1965–1971. These figures indicate that there is a Strong tendency for migration from the peripheral areas to the industrial triangle of Durrës-Tirana-Elbasan, and to the fertile farming area of the coastal lowlands which used to be malarial swamps. Present government policy however is directing growth away from the largest centres towards both the smaller centres and rural areas. Recent aims have been to achieve as even a spread of population and economic activity as possible.     

临沂市兰山区城乡建设用地增减挂钩工作探讨

城乡建设用地增减挂钩是改善农村生产生活条件和环境,实现城乡统筹,建立城乡统一的土地市场的必然要求。通过对临沂市兰山区的分析,在对＂挂钩政策＂实施中存在的问题分析的基础上,得出＂挂钩政策＂应遵循的基本原则,提出了在挂钩政策下的一条切实可行的操作模式,并依此提出政策建议,为政府决策提供了依据,使其为新农村建设做出更大的贡献。     

A comparison of two baseline screening approaches to regional energy facility siting

This study evaluates the impact of Pakistan's development policies on regional development, using multi-variate statistical techniques of analysis. Regional economic development policies were inspired by the growth pole theory, but the centralized sectoral planning processes, relying on the market mechanism on the one hand and controlled fiscal and monetary policies on the other, have increased interregional development inequalities. The growth pole planning strategies have stimulated very little development in the lagging areas, especially agricultural development. Future planning strategies need to be divised that will assure development advances in Pakistan's backward regions.     

The spatial perspective of water resource management and economic development in Nigeria

The indispensability of good water supply in the development of a healthy citizenry and consequently its economy is very well known. In Nigeria the last drought that affected areas north of 12^oN has awakened some awareness on the need for good water resource management. Most of the scarce food items in the market are caused by lack of irrigation and total relying on the rhythm of the rain for their cultivation.In this paper the government is reminded of its obligation in the inauguration of a national water resource management (control and usage) policy that will result in integrated development. Water supply in the rural areas will not attract industries, improve agricultural output, but reduce the incidence of water-borne diseases and the rate of rural-urban migration. Improvement in living standards due to good water supply means the development of human capital that can be mobilized for economic development in the country.     

区域综合地质调查助力乡村振兴的关键内容、战略路径与未来对策

区域综合地质调查是助力乡村振兴的基础性工作和重要技术支撑。本研究基于地质视角解读乡村振兴,围绕乡村人地安全、产业发展、地质文化、环境保护等方面进行剖析,提出地质灾害调查、工程地质评价、水文地质调查、农业地质调查、旅游地质遗迹调查等区域综合地质调查助力乡村振兴的关键内容;为提高助力效率效果,需做好项目顶层设计、制定乡村地区区域地质调查技术要求等标准、构建服务地方工作机制、开展系统人才培训培养等战略路径。未来乡村发展中,应进一步解决区域统筹部署与重点发展村镇选择、综合地质调查与乡村规划建设空间尺度匹配、综合地质调查和纵向专业性调查配合使用、工程地质评价与乡村地下空间集约利用、地质文化村建设与乡村规划建设衔接等问题,不断提高区域综合地质调查技术方法的服务能力,为乡村可持续振兴提供解决思路和方案。     

Towards an urbanization strategy for Zimbabwe

Rapid urbanization through rural-urban migration (hitherto controlled by legislation) is developing in Zimbabwe with the advent of black majority rule. Although some advocate its encouragement to relieve pressures on Tribal Trust Lands, rapid urbanization will nevertheless pose severe planning problems. Although current public sector development proposals represent a conceptual advance, a comprehensive urbanization strategy has yet to emerge. This paper considers such a strategy, relating the country's varying regional development potential to a scheme of classification for proposed growth centres and rural service centres, based on their different characteristics and locations. It is concluded that an hierarchy of growth centres, evaluated by economic efficiency criteria, should be developed in the formerly white-controlled national economic core. In the peripheral, basically subsistent Tribal Trust Lands, a limited number of rural service centres should be developed, based on social/equity criteria. The choice and location of these various development centres, and their phasing should contribute to building up a dynamic national urban system that is nationally and regionally integrated, in contrast to past dualism, and will more effectively serve the needs of planned urbanization and of regional development.     

Soil erosion, policy and people's perceptions in a rural community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

In South Africa the science and practice of soil conservation have been dominated by a technical approach which does not take into account the perceptions, knowledge and needs of people living in rural areas. Attempts to incorporate land users into soil conservation programmes have not had much influence on conservation policies. In order to compare the scientifically-based physical appraisals of an area with the community's perceptions of soil erosion on their land, a project was established in a rural area of KwaZulu/Natal. This paper briefly reviews soil conservation policy in former homeland areas. It then considers the historical development of the community of Cornfields and their responses to changing government policies. The research indicates that rural dwellers have valuable knowledge concerning soil conservation, but that the neglest of such communities by agricultural and conservation authorities has led to the unsustainable use of the land. The area is severely eroded and soils in the area are amongst the most highly erodible in the province. Therefore levels of degradation would be high even without dense human occupation. This evidence is clearly important in future conservation planning and recommendations are made regarding a policy for the management of soil resources in rural areas.     

Regionalism as resistance: Governance and identity in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt

Extensive rural regions are facing major socio-economic, political and environmental change from the dual effects of agricultural restructuring and environmental degradation. While central governments often rely on regional level policy responses, local actors, such as rural local governments may resist these ‘top-down’ initiatives. This paper examines the oppositional response of 34 rural local governments to state-led regionalisation for economic development and natural resource management in the extensive and sparely populated Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The analysis explores how state threats of amalgamation; shifting national policy empathies in rural development; and, local preferences for horizontal rather than vertical forms of cooperation are influential in catalysing a brand of defensive regionalism amongst local government actors. Adopting this defensive posture allowed local actors to both buffer state intervention and improve the effectiveness of their own cooperative planning and management activities for sustainable development. These observations are interpreted through concepts of collective identity formation, providing an analytical perspective that is sensitive to the inter-scalar politics in rural governance.     

Experiencing agricultural failure: Internal migration, tourism and local perceptions of regional change in the Yucatan

In response to a growing body of literature encouraging geographers to present textured, regional case studies that demonstrate how neoliberalism functions at diverse scales, this article presents a nuanced account of neoliberalism in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. The study seeks to illustrate how neoliberal reforms to agriculture and ongoing neoliberal tourism development in the Yucatecan state of Quintana Roo intersect to create a unique regional context for migration between the state’s rural areas and Mexico’s largest planned tourism development zone in Cancun. The research presented is based on a series of in-depth qualitative interviews that took place in 2003 with rural residents and regional migrants working in Cancun. Through the employment of an experiential definition of neoliberalism, grounded in the lived experiences and perceptions of study participants, the article suggests that rural-urban tourist pole migration is the result of a complex negotiation of the region’s neoliberal landscape. The article argues that rural residents’ and migrants’ perceptions of the failure of agriculture as a livelihood is shaped relative to the perceived success of the tourism industry and better livelihood opportunities in Cancun. These widespread perceptions of agricultural failure in the Yucatan peninsula are constructed not solely in response to local conditions but rather in response to the overall regional outcome of neoliberal economic restructuring initiatives which have negatively affected traditional agriculture in the rural sphere while privileging tourism development in the urban sphere centered in Cancun.     

Rural development and rural to urban migration in China 1978–1990

Economic reforms since the late 1970s have brought about significant changes in rural China. A large number of surplus rural labourers have been released from the agricultural sector and there has been a massive transition of rural residents from agricultural to non-agricultural employment. These changes will be analyzed by examining the changes in the employment structure of rural residents. Rural to urban migration is another important option for many rural labourers. The size of China's urban population and the scale of rural to urban migration continue to be an ‘enigma’ due to several changes in the definition of the urban population. Several data sources will be used to provide more realistic estimates of rural to urban migrations on a set of comparable though different bases. Data on the new entries into urban employment and the urban ‘non-agricultural population’ will be used to illustrate the scale of migration by rural residents to the formal urban sector. This may only record those migrants who have changed their registration status from ‘agricultural population’ to ‘non-agricultural population’ which is tightly controlled by the government. The 1990 Census data provide some evidence on the rural to urban migration by the registered ‘agricultural population’. The 1987 1% population sampling data will be used to analyze the actual migrations among cities, towns and counties over the period 1982–1987. It is found that town and county populations tended to move to towns at the intra-provincial level, but to cities at the inter-provincial level. Out-migrants from cities tended to move to cities at both the intra- and inter-provincial levels.     

Making the countryside more like the countryside? Rural planning and metropolitan visions in post-quake Chengdu

In 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck southwest China less than 100 km north of Chengdu, the booming capital of Sichuan Province. The city government undertook a massive reconstruction project in its rural hinterlands that was guided by existing policies to develop rural areas through coordinated urban and rural planning. Planners sought to avoid replicating urban settlements in rural areas by developing recognizably “pastoral” villages, an approach that is being widely echoed in the relatively new discipline of rural spatial planning in China. This paper argues that such design concessions evade the key feature of the new villages: the concentration of rural residents. The Chengdu government, though this symbolic and actual de-peopling of rural landscapes, has recast rural space as an environmental amenity and an abstract stock of arable land. Drawing on interviews, site visits, and policy and media documents, the paper analyzes the metropolitan plans that provided the framework for rural reconstruction in post-quake Chengdu, and connects these to a model village site in Chengdu’s rural periphery. The case illustrates the need to understand site-level village planning in the context of regional political economies of land, and highlights the new role that metropolitan governments are playing in rural development strategies.     

Locational components of urban and regional public policy in postwar Vietnam: The case of Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon)

Ho Chi Minh city is a primate city in which wartime dislocations have resulted in severely overcrowded conditions as well as a shrunken economic base. The new government has opted for a policy based on the rapid decanting of a large proportion of the urban population by encouraging internal migration to New Economic Zones in the hinterlands. This policy is based on a hierarchial administrative structure with agricultural productivity as its prime goal. A Green Belt policy has been articulated that uses the New Economic Zones as building blocks. The Green Belts constrain urban growth as well as provide foodstuff for the remaining urban residents. The ultimate objective of the overall policy is a balanced urban and regional environment that is in tune with Vietnam's agricultural economy.     

The role of economic sectoral structure as a policy mechanism towards more resilient peripheral regions: the case of South Africa

The role of economic sectoral structure in regional growth and development is widely acknowledged. However, there has been scarce reflection on its role as a policy instrument, particularly for peripheral regions. In reaction, this paper investigates the role of economic sectoral structure as a policy instrument towards more resilient peripheral regions. Through a multiple country policy analysis, the paper determines to what degree economic sectoral structure is reflected in regional development policies of 18 countries with predominantly rural characteristics and lagging regions. Moreover, the role of economic sectoral structure towards more resilient regions is quantified and measured for a specific peripheral region case in South Africa as developing country exhibiting poor economic resilience. The paper highlights related variety as a key ingredient for a region to reach a state of dynamic stability between adaptation and adaptability towards enhanced long-term resilience capacity of the peripheral region. The research concludes that policy focus should support the maintenance of the sectors and industries of comparative advantage on the regional scale, but strongly focus on sectoral comparative advantage within the national scale (if present) to establish a more robust region. This will establish and strengthen the identified peripheral growth centres as centres of national competitiveness and specialisation. Primary policy actions as emanated from the literature and the multiple country policy analysis will promote more efficient sectoral composition as key towards more resilient peripheral regions. It is acknowledged that these policy actions must be informed by a detailed regional economic analysis for different peripheral regions to determine inherent and latent economic potential and link with interdependent industries. This paper will highlight that regional policy should become more explicit by exploiting the role of economic and natural resources as growth engines for the peripheral regional economy in a more effective way through a multi-centred territorial structure.

     

Planning regional development: Promoting small settlements in a trans-frontier situation

Under communism local authorities tended to be largely passive bystanders in a regional development process which emerged through the central planning process through the spatial allocations of investment by government ministries. Attention was given to physical planning, but comparatively little material entered the public domain on location policy and spatial priorities generally, apart from the objective of greater equality between regions and a commitment to backward areas generally. Now that much investment is down to private enterprise and government has become more decentralised and accountable, there is a need for concepts and strategies to coordinate public sector investment and provide guidelines for the evaluation of private development proposals. At the same time, there is an open competition for investment which requires communities to promote themselves in terms of their identity and development potential. This paper offers an overview by taking two countries - Hungary and Romania - where progress can be compared and where the focus can be placed on a common frontier which is diverting attention from conventional regional planning to cross-border cooperation. In both contexts however, attention is given to the ways in which planning can divert investment away from the main centres to the peripheral areas, including action to strengthen the role of small towns and also to improve cohesion among functionally-related groups of settlements and communes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Regional policy in Poland: A search for equity

Polish regional policy and planning has long traditions and post-war socialist policies demonstrate important continuities with the 1930s. Regional policy since 1945 has progressed from sets of individual decisions on reconstruction through more coordinated policies for uniform development, for rational location and for activation of backward regions. Lack of adequate coordination and rigorous accounting, though, often meant excessive concentration of development in existing industrial areas and key urban centres. In the 1960s fashionable growthpole concepts were applied to medium-sized city development without maintaining adequate balance between continued growth in larger cities and new smaller-town development. Reform, long overdue, is required to implement the national spatial plan for the 1990s.     

长株潭地区耕地压力的时空变化及驱动因素分析

利用1997-2010年长株潭地区的土地利用现状数据和社会经济数据,运用耕地压力指数模型和主成分分析法分析了长株潭地区耕地压力的时空分布及驱动因素。结果表明:（1）长株潭地区耕地总量总体呈阶梯减少趋势;（2）整体看,长株潭地区耕地压力指数小于1,耕地压力不明显,但耕地压力指数呈上升-下降-上升走势,耕地压力呈上升势头。（3）具体看,长株潭地区耕地压力:长沙市>株洲市>湘潭市;并且县域空间差异明显,尤其是城区耕地压力指数远大于1,表明城区耕地压力非常大,其他县市压力相对较小。（4）人口快速增长、经济跨越式快速发展、农业机械化普及与农业投入的增加等4个方面是长株潭地区耕地压力变化的主要驱动因素。研究成果有利于提高人们对长株潭地区的耕地保护意识,为促进区域土地合理利用规划,实现两型发展提供科学依据。      

Landscape diagnosis as a geographical contribution to landscape management

Geographical analysis, diagnosis and prognosis of landscape centre on regional questions. Within this framework landscape diagnosis helps to evaluate capabilities of or hazards to landscape elements or landscape units, starting from an analysis of the equipment of the landscape and of land use patterns, taking into account tendencies of their development. Landscape diagnosis is connected with landscape prognosis, which characterizes conditions and processes of changes in the landscape and contributes to decision making with regard to landscape development. Examples from the densely populated areas round Halle and Karl-Marx-Stadt and the fruit-growing Havel region around Potsdam will serve to show that small-scaled and medium-scaled landscape diagnoses can be developed as secondary diagnoses mainly on the basis of thematic maps, which can then be used in the offices for regional planning in the GDR. Large-scaled landscape diagnoses, however, will be shown as directly derived from field data and as immediately applicable (as a working basis) to landscape management. The synthetic aspect, which takes into consideration the present state and the development of landscape as a whole, will apply to all scales.     

Settler migration during the 1984/85 resettlement programme in Ethiopia

The recent history of resettlement in Ethiopia is briefly reviewed and the caused, flow patterns and some demographic impacts of the 1984/85 government-sponsored resettlement migration are examined with the objective of identifying motivations and constraints in the migration process, analysing changes in population distribution and examining policy implications. Famine was the major push factor in migration, but traditional reactions of peasants to drought and overpopulation caused more drought victims to leave their homes spontaneously for relief and transit centres than as recruits of the government-sponsored resettlement programme. However, motivation to migrate and distances travelled to centres showed strong regional variation, indicating the severity of the famine and traditional adaptive strategies. Changes in rural population density were significant in several awrajas (districts) but were reduced by return migration. Problems associated with this emergency resettlement programme are reflected in difficulties during programme implementation, generally low agricultural production of settlers and high rates of return migration. Further studies are needed on the ecological impact of settler migration in both sending and receiving areas, peasant coping behaviour, as well as the evolution of new settler migration patterns in the new settlement areas in W Ethiopia.