ABSTRACT
In this paper, rural-urban interactions are considered as linkages across space reflected in the flows of people, goods, services, finance, and informa tion between urban and rural areas. We will draw mainly upon findings of research in West Africa, although our argument has a much wider purport. We do not attempt to exactly define the ‘urban’ and the ‘rural’, since every such attempt is controversial. ‘Rural’ activities like agricultural and livestock breeding occur in cities, and an activity usually classified as ‘urban’ (such as manufacturing) may turn up in the countryside. Moreover, in Africa a settle ment of 5,000 people is typically ‘urban’ in morphology and functions, while in India such a settlement is classified as ‘rural'.
