Urbanization

An attempt has been made to represent the realities of present and predicted conditions, the current trends in development, and development efforts, policies and planning in Third World countries. Topics deal with the transformation due to urbanization in demographics and economics, the political changes and the changes in developments policy, and the very pressing issue of infrastructure needs and provisions. The book is organized into 4 parts, each of which has chapters examining a variety of aspects of the central topic. Part I on resource policy: population and agriculture has articles on the need for a conceptual framework on population policy, the impact of structural adjustment policies on changes in agriculture and the reduction in poverty, the problems and future prospects for agricultural policy and production in sub-Saharan Africa, population growth and food supply in Africa, postharvest grain losses in developing countries, and the world food shortage. The test of policy is in its implementation, and many policy officials have a resigned or unconcerned attitude. Corruption is a problem. Strategies can be adopted to improve Africa's agricultural productivity. Part II is devoted to transferring appropriate technology. Chapters focus on applying information technology to the development process, the transferability of management technology to developing countries, the implementation of high technology and its impact, rootfuel as an approach to the fuel wood scarcity, and the Bhopal disaster and its impact on transfers of hazardous technology. Reference is made to an article in an African magazine which suggests measures to assure appropriate technology transfer. The ramifications of land use and the effects of policy and funding on urban crises are discussed in Part III. Topics covered are the Ivory Coast's response to an urban/rural crisis, ethnicity and an urban setting in Africa, urban criminal behavior in Nigeria, possible family policies,