ABSTRACT
An attempt was made in the previous chapter to show briefly the history of the peri-urban areas and what distinguishes them from the fully urbanized areas and the countryside. In addition, the interrelation between urbanization and globalization was discussed as well as the positive and negative effects of the latter. The discussion of over-urbanization made it clear that rapid urbanization is never the cause, neither for urban nor for rural poverty. In this chapter, using the results of the empirical investigation, the dimensions of rural and urban poverty as well as relative prosperity in Mozambique should be analyzed. The discussion of other socio-economic characteristics and their differences between the investigated areas will show how social change can be observed from the rural via the peri-urban to the fully urbanized areas, called cement cities in Mozambique.
