Dynamic livelihoods: making the most of rural-urban connections

This briefing seeks to dispel myths surrounding rural as opposed to urban; and challenge the way that these categories are often simplistically used in development policy. Instead of seeing the rural and urban as distinct and separate categories, the authors advocate an understanding of the complex synergies between them. In short, policy makers need to focus less on sectors and more on systems.

This would imply seeing the rural to urban as a network of interconnections. In particular, food and agricultural systems highlight the complexities of rural-urban livelihoods. For instance, rural farmers sell their produce at both rural and urban markets and there are constant flows of people and goods to and from rural and urban centres.

In the overview, the authors explain that a rural-urban lens can be used to understand how rural and urban livelihoods are intimately connected. Policy makers need to understand these connections systemically, in order to capture how best to forge policy interventions aimed at poverty reduction.

The report includes three sub-briefings. These relate the preceding overview to key areas of policy, these cover:

• the dynamism of livelihoods
• mobility and migration
• policies and institutions and their role in removing barriers to rural-urban exchange.