Small urban centres in Sierra Leone : a geographical study with particular reference to their role in rural development

Kargbo, TO

Abstract

Regional inequalities in the developing countries have in recent
years led to increasing attention to various proposals of deconcentration
and decentralization, which in turn have triggered renewed interest in
rural developnent and the potential significance of small urban centres.
Yet little is known about the social, econanic and geographical
relations of these centres with whom the majority of the rural population
have contact. This thesis is a geographical study of small urban centres
paying particular attention to their role in rural development in Sierra
Leone. In choosing these centres as subjects of study, the author
echoes other scholars, that the instances where they play a positive role
are few and that to get than to do so would entail transformations
within the economy and society which though necessary may prove so
difficult under the present political and economic structures.
The study is divided into two sections. Section I (Chapters IIII)
forms the theoretical framework. Section II (Chapters IV - VII)
is devoted to testing the hypotheses in the study area.
The thesis starts with introducing the aims and objectives of the
study, definition of tents and concepts used and justifies their
application in the study area. The data and methodology are also
fully discussed and the structure of the study outlined (Chapter I).
The second chapter reviews various economic and spatial theories
and literature on small urban centres forming the theoretical framework
on which the hypotheses drawn are based.
Studying small urban centres without paying attention to the
macro-economic. and political context in which they are set and
operate may prove futile. The third chapter therefore examines those
aspects bf the study area which are considered relevant to this
investigation.
Section II of the thesis starts with tracing the origins of these
centres and finds out how these origins have influenced their
functions and thereby structures. Here a retrospective approach is
adopted by tracing their pre-urban origins and discussing the factors
which contributed to their urban status. The implications of these
origins for rural development are pointed out (Chapter IV).
In assessing their present role (Chapter V) the numbers and
spatial distribution of these centres and their relative centrality
are examined. From the furtional units within these centres, centrality ratios are calculated to determine whether these centres are adequately
provided for. The limitations imposed on the positive role they can
play in rural development by their lack of adequate numbers and low
centrality is examined and their implication on using the present
framework for the delivery of goods and services is assessed.
Chapter VI is devoted to an examination of the relationships of
small urban centres and their immediate rural hinterlands, through
the consumer travel patterns to secure goods and services fron these
centres. Where no positive links exist the chances of such centres
acting as stimuli for rural development are indeed limited.
The functional relationships of these centres through consumer
travel patterns form the subject of investigation in Chapter VII.
These relationships give us an idea on the way these centres
function with other members in the urban hierarchy. The analysis
is based on the hierarchical concepts of central place theory.
The conclusion (Chapter VIII) sunmarizes the findings of the
study and makes recamiendations where it is deemed necessary and in
each case pointing out the implications of such recommendations.

Citation

Kargbo, T. Small urban centres in Sierra Leone : a geographical study with particular reference to their role in rural development. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 18, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 18, 2011
• Award Date: Jan 1, 1982