Circular migration, whereby rural migrants do not remain permanently in town, has particular significance in the academic literature on development and urbanization in Africa, often having negative connotations in southern Africanist studies due to its links with an iniquitous migrant labour system. Literature on other African regions often views circular migration more positively. This book reviews the current evidence about circular migration and urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa. The author challenges the dominant view that rural-urban migration continues unabated and shows that circular migration has continued and has adapted, with faster out-migration in the face of declining urban economic opportunities.
The empirical core of the book illustrates these trends through a detailed examination of the case of Zimbabwe based on the author's longstanding research on Harare. The political and economic changes in Zimbabwe since the 1980s transformed Harare from one of the best African cities to live in over this period to one of the worst. Harare citizens' livelihoods exemplify, in microcosm, the central theme of the book: the re-invention of circulation and rural-urban links in response to economic change.
Deborah Potts is Senior Lecturer in Geography, King's College London.
Details
First Published: 18 Nov 2010
13 Digit ISBN: 9781847010230
Pages: 312
Size: 23.4 x 15.6
Binding: Hardback
Imprint: James Currey
Subject:
African StudiesBIC Class: GTB
Details updated on 05 Sep 2010
Contents
- 1 Preface
- 2 Introduction: re-inventing the wheel?
- 3 Regional paradigms & approaches to circular migration: tropical Africa
- 4 Regional paradigms & approaches to circular migration: Southern Africa
- 5 Harare & Zimbabwe: from formal city to outsourced urban livelihoods
- 6 Migrant livelihoods & migration trajectories in Harare: 1980s to 2000s
- 7 Harare migrants' rural links & assets
- 8 Variations in migrants' experience, perceptions & options
- 9 Social & cultural attachments to rural settings & homes
- 10 Attacking the urban poor & abusing rural links: Operation Murambatsvina 2005
- 11 Conclusion
