ABSTRACT
In order to provide the perspective for towns in the Ciskei it is necessary to outline the development and characteristics of an urban system. There are two major components to an urban system viz. the nodes or towns themselves and the channels of communication that link them. The process of ubanisation involves the evolution of an urban system in the broadest sense. When considering the towns of the Ciskei it should be remembered that the country has been and at present still is an integral part of the Republic of South Africa. The links in an urban system are not merely road and rail connections, but involve all levels of communication from the intangible flow of ideas and information to the measurable volume of goods or people transported from one point to another. Coupled with a policy which emphasises agricultural growth in an effort to achieve interregional equity should be one which concentrates on existing rural villages and agricultural settlements.
