Many poor households have livelihoods that draw on rural and urban resources or opportunities. Urban and rural areas are closely linked, each contributing to the other, which needs to be considered in development planning.
Agriculture has a strong impact on urban development.
Many fast growing cities are within areas with the most rapid increase in the value of agricultural production. For instance, the urban centres serving areas producing:
- high value fruit or vegetables
- coffee or tea
- other high value crops such as silk cocoons
Factors relating to agriculture influencing the prosperity of most such urban centres:
- the value per hectare of the crops
(the higher the value, the more local urban development)
- the potential for local value added
(and the scale of forward and backward multiplier linkages)
- the land owning structure
(the perfect stimulus to local urban development is lots of prosperous relatively small farms growing high value crops)
Urban areas are very important to rural households.
Urban areas are not only as sources of demand for rural produce but also important for rural households as:
- Funding flows for rural development as many migrants to urban areas help support development in the rural settlements from which they moved
- Accommodation and access to jobs or schools for rural family/kin/fellow villagers
- Refuges for some of the poorest rural dwellers
- More diverse labour markets and employment opportunities for those in nearby rural areas
- Access to many different branches of government (including access to justice) and many public services
And rural areas are very important for many urban households.
- A proportion of the urban poor derive some/all of their livelihood from meeting rural demand
- Many poor urban dwellers rely on seasonal employment in agriculture
- Many poor urban dwellers move back to rural areas when times are particularly hard
- Many urban dwellers have relations with rural dwellers to guarantee their food supply
- Many urban dwellers retain key assets in rural areas - and rely on rural dwellers to protect their land, crops or livestock or to provide their children with homes (or even access to schools when urban schools are bad or expensive)
The important difference between rural and urban contexts is the level of income needed to avoid poverty is the key difference. In urban areas there is a very high proportion of income going toward non-food items such as rent, public transport, payment to water vendors and for pay-as-you use public toilets, keeping children at school, health care/medicines, and informal payments to stop homes being demolished or to be allowed to sell goods on the street.