Between modern urbanism and ‘rurban’ realities : Rwanda’s changing rural–urban interface and the implications for inclusive development

Abstract

Urbanisation is a critical feature of contemporary societal change in sub-Saharan Africa. Urbanisation, and the profound rural–urban transformations it implies at the local level, is also at the centre of the debate on the future of African urbanism. To contribute to an understanding of what the ideal of ‘modern’ urbanism in Africa's urban future means in terms of inclusive and sustainable development, this book analyses the combined processes of urbanisation and rural transformation as manifested by small-town development in Rwanda. Drawing on extensive mixed-methods research conducted over two years in Rwanda, it presents how the country’s urbanisation project – focused on smaller urban settlements as part of a state-building project – affects the livelihoods of ordinary Rwandans. The book explores how this process implies a spatial and social re-engineering of space, and how different socio-economic groups and generations navigate their way through this changing landscape.