TO DATE, MOST development theory andpractice have focused on either “urban” or“rural” issues with little consideration of theinterrelations between the two. By contrast,several empirical studies show that the link-ages between urban centres and the coun-tryside, including movement of people, goods,capital and other social transactions, play animportant role in processes of rural and ur-ban change. Within the economic sphere,many urban enterprises rely on demand fromrural consumers, and access to urban mar-kets and services is often crucial for agricul-tural producers. In addition, a large numberof households in both urban and rural areasrely on the combination of agricultural andnon-agricultural income sources for their live-lihoods. This paper reviews some of the re-cent literature on rural-urban interactions,with particular attention to the ways in whichthey have been affected by recent and cur-rent economic, social and cultural transfor-mations. The paper is organized as follows:the first three sections discuss definitions ofrural and urban areas and activities, reviewconceptual frameworks and consider howrural-urban interactions are conceptualizedwithin development planning. The last foursections review empirical studies on differ-ent flows connecting rural and urban areas(flows of people, of goods and of wastes), andon sectoral interactions (agriculture in thecities, non-agricultural employment in thecountryside and rural-urban interlinkages inperi-urban areas).
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