ABSTRACT
Until relatively recently much rural-urban research has focused on a single city and its hinterland. However, the increasing importance of international links and the process of globalisation have an impact on rural-urban relations. In addition, cities throughout the world are often caught between the pressure to be included in the world economy, on the one hand, and on the other the need for links with their rural hinterlands. Such tensions raise issues that have not been considered until recently. This tension is paralleled in the competing processes of globalisation and decentralisation.
