TRANSPORTATION

NETWORKING

Suman Mishra
M Sc. In Civil Engineering ( Transportation Engineering)
University of Calgary, Canada
 Chapter -5
Spatial Models of Rural and
Urban Relations
Rural and Urban Area
• Ingeneral, a rural area is a geographic area that is located outside
cities and towns.
• Typical rural areas have
– a low population density and
– small settlements.
Rural and Urban Area
An urban area is a location characterized by high human population
density and vast human-built features in comparison to the areas
surrounding it.
Rural Urban Area
• There are some key factors that distinguish rural areas from urban
centers,
• These factors vary greatly from country to country and from region
to region.
• What may be defined as urban in one country could be totally rural
in another and vice versa.
Rural Urban Relation
• Oneof the elements is ecology, which is basically concerned with
population density.
• Thenumber of people living in a given place will help qualify the
area as either rural or urban. It is a well known fact that urban areas
are more populated than rural ones.
• Forexample, in Switzerland, urban areas are those that have
inhabitants that total to 10,000 or more, while in Iceland,
populations of 200 or more inhabitants pass for urban. Such is the
contrast in definition in different countries. (Eveline, 2010 p. 123)
Rural Urban Relation
• The second element that is considered in the differentiation of rural
and urban centers is the economic element.
• This
refers to the activities that are carried out with the aim of
generating revenue.
• In
rural areas, much of the activities aimed at generation of capital
are agricultural-based, while in the urban areas they are non-
agricultural.
Rural Urban Relation
• The third aspect that differentiates the two is the social aspect
which looks at how people conduct their daily lives in terms of
behavior, the values they hold dear as well as the channels they use
for communication.
• There is a wide array of factors that can be categorized into the
social aspect of the urban and rural settings, but they are difficult to
measure, hence leaving us with an enormous task of defining what
is urban and what is rural.
Rural Urban Relation
• Relationshave developed between rural and urban substantially
during the last decades.
• Future
perspective for urban-rural relationships include options for
mutual exchange, where
– Cities provide services, cultural activities, infrastructures and
major access to the labor market, while
– Rural areas, apart from producing agricultural products,
provide leisure (free time) potential and green spaces.
Rural Urban Relation
• Ina majority of cases, these towns were once rural area, which
through advances in technology, industrialization and urbanization
have grown into what they now are.
• It
therefore goes without saying that both rural and urban centers
have something that they can interact in common with.
• Ina quest to develop into urban areas, rural areas need to borrow
some development tips from the urban centers, while the urban
centers on the other hand would not survive without the support
from the rural areas.
• Forexample in terms of agricultural products that come from the
rural areas to support livelihood therein.
Rural Urban Relation
• In
addition, movement of people, goods and resources from one
point to another keep these two diversified areas in close
connections (Routledge, 2005 p. 67).
Rural and Urban Linkages
Rural Urban Relation
• Both rural and urban areas constitute some functional elements
that make life what it is in any given region.
• Cities,
as we have seen, cannot survive alone, neither can the
countryside achieve much without some support from the cities.
• Cities
for example, need the human resource or labor that comes
from the rural areas, while the rural areas on the other hand need
the financial capital support that they derive from the cities
(Ravinder, 2009 p. 1).
Rural Urban Relation
• Cities
also function as the market base for surplus commodities
being produced in the rural areas.
• In case of export of any surplus, the cities facilitate such
arrangements.
• Theurban areas and cities on the other hand provides a ground on
which policies and rules that govern activities going on in the
countryside are formulated (Michael, 1977 p. 55).
Rural Urban Relation
• The changes and variations in the relationship between countryside
and the cities are merely a product of the structural
transformations in society and not essentially due to a conscious
process aimed at weakening the interactions.
• Over the years, a new concept, colonialism, has made the whole
concept of rural-urban interaction even a little bit more complex
that necessary.
• Thisis because, colonialism has brought out the aspect that cities
are a major link between rural areas and the international markets,
something that we cannot overlook if planning for rural areas in
relation to the rest of the world is to be done (Richard, 2008 p. 66).
Rural Urban Relation
• When infrastructureis being developed in any given nation, it goes
without saying that the major aim of so doing is to have a linkage
between the two social divides.
• However, when the linkage is not done in a manner that leaves no
overlaps, then there are chances that neo-colonialism will develop
between the rural and the urban, with the urban dominating the
rural.
Theory of growth and
development poles
• One of the most important models (theories) of regional
development is definitely theory of growth and development poles
• It
shows the process of polarization and its effects on social-
economic development.
• Thetheory of growth poles started and developed in France in the
1950s by is F. Perroux.
• Growth generally does not take place simultaneously at all places
but is concentrated in few places.
• Such concentrated places are called growth poles and growth
centers, which are dominant, propulsive and have multiplier effect
to impact the economy as a whole.
• According to Francis Perroux, “growth does not appear everywhere
at the same time, it occurs in poles, centers and points with variable
intensity. It spreads with different channel with variable terminal
effects on the economy as a whole.”
• According to this
theory, all sectors and all dimensions of economy
can’t be planned for at the same time and consequence of growth
may not spread and impact with same intensity.
• Heattempted to explain how modern process of economic growth
deviated from the stationary conception of equilibrium growth.
• Linkage is a concept developed in regional economics.
• Ifa growth in production in one industry stimulates production in
the industries supplying it then that industry has backward
linkages.
• Forexample, the steel industry has backward linkages to the iron
ore mining industry.
• A forward linkage when the availability of the output of an industry
make possible the production of industries using that output.
• For example, the plastic producing industry makes it feasible for
businesses requiring plastic to begin operation.
• Perroux’s idea of an economic space as a field of forces consisting
of centers, “from which centrifugal forces emanate and to which
centripetal forces are attracted.
• Each center, being a center of attraction and repulsion, has its
proper field which is set in the field of other centers.
• According to growth poles theory the propulsive pole is a business
unit (a company, industry) or a set of these units.
• The economic development of a regions depends on the intensity
of the propulsive industries. All other industries, which lack the
strong character, are called propelled.
• This classification then creates polarization of space.
• Perroux also identified the terms dominant region which is the
region where poles of development are concentrated, and
dominated region which is a region where side poles are
concentrated.
• The difference between a growth pole and a growth center is
purely that of scales with former being at larger scales and later on
a smaller scale. Growth poles theory identifies 4 basic types of
polarization:
1.Technological and technical: based on the concentration of new
technology in the growth pole.
2 Income: The growth pole contributes to the concentration and the
growth of income due to expansion of services and dependence on
demand and profit.
3.Psychological: Based on the optimistic anticipation of future
demand in the propelled region.
4.Geographical: Based on the concentration of economic activity in a
geographically determined space.
• Asaccording to this concept over a period of time, deglomeration
economies start functioning on a pole when it grows excessively
due to factors like
i. Congestion, traffic problems
ii. High population density
iii. High prices of land and inputs
iv. Limitation of the expansion of the market
• Hence, the industries start moving towards hinterland. This aspect
has led to most of the developing, underdeveloped as well as
developed countries of the world to adopt this model for regional
planning.
• To attain a balanced regional development the theory of growth
pole suggests that some places in the backward regions must be
selected and developed as poles.
• This actually means creating structural economic disparities
deliberately but this will be of worth as the development of growth
poles in the backward region will have two effects:
1.It will result in higher average income of the region.
2. It will send impulses of economic and industrial pulses throughout
region by trickledown effect.

(Trickledown effect: A belief that additional wealth gained by the richest people in society will have a
good economic effect on the lives of everyone because the rich people will put the extra money into
businesses, investments etc.)
Model of unbalanced growth
• The main founder of theory of unbalanced development A.
Hirschman emphasizes that “investment injection is important, but
not sufficient.
• The strategy of unbalanced growth is most suitable in breaking the
vicious circle of poverty in underdeveloped countries.
• According to Hirschman, “Development is a chain of disequilibria
that must be kept alive rather than eliminate the disequilibrium of
which profits and losses are symptoms in a competitive economy. If
economy is to keep moving ahead, the task of development policy
is to maintain, tension, disproportions and disequilibria.”
• Heasserts that industries with maximum linkages ought to be
developed first, investment in these selected industries or sectors
would accelerate the pace of economic development.
• Thepoor countries are in a state of equilibrium at a low level of
income.
• Production, consumption, saving and investment are so adjusted to
each other at an extremely low level that the state of equilibrium
itself becomes an obstacle to growth.
• Theonly strategy of economic development in such a country is to
break this low-level equilibrium by deliberately planned
unbalanced growth.
• The objective of development is not only to achieve a once for all
increase in national income, rather this process of income
propagation must continue year after year.
• Inorder to see that the development process moves on
continuously, it is necessary to create and maintain deliberate
imbalances in the economy.
• Tocreate these imbalances Hirschman suggests investment in
Social Overhead Capital (SOC) "comprising all those basic services
without which primary, secondary and tertiary productive activities
cannot function".
• This
includes investment in education, public health, transport and
communications, irrigation, drainage etc.
• Large investment in SOC will encourage investment in Directly
Productive Activities (DPA) by providing cheap inputs to
agriculture and industry e.g., cheap electricity and power supply
may encourage the development of industries both large and small
and may stimulate activity in other sectors as well.
• Expansion in investment in DPA without the corresponding
expansion in SOC will lead to increase in cost of production in view
of inadequate availability of overhead facilities.
• Insuch a situation, pressures are likely to be exerted and the
government may step in and undertake investment in SOC for
creating the necessary infrastructure which would lead to an all-
round development of the economy.
Pros
1.Realistic Theory: The theory of unbalanced growth is a realistic
theory. The theory suggests appropriate utilization of the scarce
resources in less developed countries. The theory considers all
aspects of growth planning.
2.More Importance to Basic Industries: The theory underlines the
significance of basic industries in the process of growth. This will
automatically press for the growth of consumer-goods industries.
3.Economies of Large Scale Production: The strategy of
unbalanced growth generates economies of large scale production.
Establishing key industries calls for the establishment of ancillaries,
generating all round increase in income and employment.
Encouragement to New Inventions: Unbalanced growth generates
pulls and pressures in the system, calling for new inventions and
innovations.
4.Self-reliance is the under-current of the theory of unbalanced
growth. It starts with the realistic assumption of chronic scarcity of
resources in less developed countries and contemplates to initiate
and accelerate the process of growth in accordance with the needs
and means of the country concerned.
5.Economic surplus: The strategy of unbalanced growth is expected
to generate greater surplus in the system. This is because of its
emphasis upon the capital-goods industries. This strategy is also
expected to produce a very strong multiplier effect in the system,
stimulating income and employment.
Criticism
1.Inflation- The theory gives undue emphasis to development
through industrialization, notwithstanding the significance of
agriculture. Because of long gestation lags in industries, flow of
goods is expected to be constricted during the short period, causing
inflation.
2.Wastage of Resources- Being concentrated on a couple of
industries, resources may not be appropriately utilized. Some
sectors of the economy will grow at a faster rate while other sectors
will remain neglected.
3.No mention of obstacles- The theory only mentions the
establishing key industries presses for the establishment of other
industries. But the theory is oblivious to the possible difficulties in
establishing key industries to begin with. It is not an easy task to
establish key industries right at the beginning of a development
programme.
4. Increase in uncertainty- The theory inherently assumes that the
success of the growth process depends on external trade and foreign
aids. This increases uncertainty of the growth process.
5.Unbalance is not necessary- The critics are of the opinion that
deliberately introducing unbalances in the system is not so much
needed in the less develop countries. These imbalances are caused
on their own due technical indivisibility and uncertain behavior of
demand and supply forces.
6.Neglect of the degree of unbalance- How much to imbalance and
where to imbalance are not known by the theory of unbalanced
growth. It only tells of the need to imbalance.
7.Linkages effect are not based on empirical data- Prof. Hirschman
has advocated to start only those industries that have maximum
linkages effect. But these effects are not based on statistical data
pertaining the less developed countries.
8.Lack of basic facilities- ‘Unbalanced Growth Theory’ assumes the
availability of certain basic facilities in terms of necessary raw
materials, technical know-how and developed means of transport.
However, in less developed countries mostly these are insufficient.
Model of circular cumulative
causality
• Thistheory according to many theorists is specific in highlighting
structures of regional development.
• Gunnar formulated the circular cumulative causality principal as
basic principal of economic inequality (Prašo, 2001).
• Thebase of theory is the claim that in regional aspect, economy
does not move toward balance, but other way around.
• By analyzing theory of circular cumulative causality, Gunnar
noticed that “in systems which are mutually connected, the change
of one variable affects the change of other which acts in the same
direction” (Gunnar, 1957).
• Thisimplies that cumulative process is spreading in one circular
flow and it can cause positive effects in one place, while in the same
time, brings negative effects in some other place.
• The theory emphasizes that “poverty is further perpetuated by
poverty” and “affluence is further promoted by affluence”. In
backward regions problem creates more problems. In developed
regions auto solutions solve all problems.
• The theory maintains that economic development results in a
circular causation process leading to rapid development of
developed countries while the weaker countries tend to remain
behind and poor.
• It rejects
the assumption of automatic tendency of socio-economic
system towards stabilization and holds that a change does not
create opposite reaction but other changes which emphasize it.
• Thecumulative causation action has been built upon spread effect
and backwash effects.
Negative or Backwash or polarization
• It
basically means that if one particular area in a country starts
growing or developing, it causes people, human capital as well as
physical capital (infrastructure, finance, machines etc.) from other
parts of the country to gravitate towards this growing center.
• It
encourages growth of poles at the expense of other surrounding
regions (Negative impact).
• For instance, in Kathmandu, let’s say
• Kathmandu is the developing center with all the companies being set up
there.
• Then people from all over other parts of Nepal have a tendency to move
to Kathmandu because all companies are located there and better
employment opportunities exist.
• So, Kathmandu will grow but the remaining areas will be worse off. This
is Backwash effect.
Positive or Trickle down or spread effect
• It is the dispersal of growth away from poles towards the
hinterland (Positive Impact).
• The growth of demand in more developed regions for resources
and agricultural products produced in underdeveloped regions or
expansion of technological advancement.
• Counter to the Backwash Effect is the spread effect.
• Development in one place, spreads to its suburbs and all the
adjoining areas.
• Myrdal believes that international and inter-regional economic
relations in practice involve unequal exchanges in the sense that
the weak is always exploited by the strong.
• Hedescribes the backwash effects of migration, capital movement
and trade in the backward regions.
• The main cause of backwardness and regional disparities has been
the strong backwash effect and weak spread effects.
• Developed region is developing at a faster rate at the cost of
backward region. Income earned by developed region is not
reinvested in backward regions but is repatriated to the developed
sectors/regions leading to more development in these areas.

• Spread effect continues to become stronger in developed countries

while backward effect continued to become even more spread in
backward countries.
Relationship between backwash and spread effect:
o When backwash effect dominates divergence will develop;
periphery will remain weak, only center will develop and dualism in
growth is promoted.
o When spread effect dominates convergence will develop;
periphery will develop, there will be economic integration between
center and periphery, propagating a balanced development.
Cumulative causation theory proves that:
o Market mechanism will not bring equality between regions but will
increase inequalities.
o Govt. Intervention will check backwash effect from getting
cumulative.
Model of exporting base
• D.D. North, L. Klassen, W. Thompson, created the theory of
exporting base during 1960s (1964- 1968), especially emphasizing
reaching regional development and improvement of region.
• Themain guidelines for development, according to this theory, are
the factors of foreign market for good regions, which initiates
exporting orientation.
• Theoryof exporting base, explains export as basic starting
mechanism region development.
• Other activities serve for satisfying local economy and population
needs. Search for resources in surrounding region is growing, which
influences trading and transport connecting of region with outer
world, and then their usage as well.
• Accordingto this analytical division there are: active, passive and
balanced areas.
• Among active region areas are the ones which achieve surplus of
goods i.e. export over domestic production.
• Passiveregions are the opposite ones, they achieve deficit of
export over import.
• Balanced regions achieve balanced export-import process.
• Themain goal is to create such economic mechanisms which can
enable greater scope of export since export orientation has been
the base of this theory considering the correlation with economic
growth of the region.
• The export growth in one region means that, in regional economic
surrounding, income is generated from local goods and costumer
services out of that region.
• Onthe basis of those incomes, the new local consumption is
enabled, which therefore, increases the income of local bidders
who parts of that income spend in the local area.
• Economic strength of the region is measured by production
specialization in those sectors where there is interregional
exchange, i.e. excess of export over import.
• Themain activities that are export-orientated are: trade, industry,
extractive industry (Osmanković, 1999).
• Itcan be concluded that according to theory of exporting base, in
order to reach economic growth, important thing is specialization
in production structure i.e. basic goods and their export, and factor
of external demand, which will stimulate regional growth and
improve interregional functions.
Thank You!!