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Peripheralization pp 121–144Cite as

The Missing Link Between Urban and Rural Development: Lessons from Iraqi Kurdistan Region

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Abstract

This paper contributes to the development of a better understanding of the “peripheralization” concept by highlighting the causes and effects of socio-spatial and economic disparities between rural and urban areas in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. Peripheralization is defined here as the presence of an increasing gap between the urban core and the rural periphery, one which stretches “to socially and politically unacceptable levels” (Rodríguez-Posea/Fratesib, 2002: 3). In the local context, rural periphery denotes an area with limited access not only to infrastructure and social services but also to income opportunities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The majority of people who migrate from rural areas usually settle in the suburbs of the major cities, where they face new forms of exclusion (social, economic and political).

  2. 2.

    The Seweil rural area in the Sulaimaniya Province was researched during the author’s doctoral fieldwork in 2006.

  3. 3.

    A map and detailed discussion about the linkages between these places are included in the section 3.4.

  4. 4.

    Usually, cultural norms and attitudes do not encourage female participation in public life and economic activity, “preparing them instead for taking up traditional family roles like matrimony and motherhood” (KRG Ministry of Planning, 2011).

  5. 5.

    It should be mentioned that in the Kurdistan Region there is no official body for coordinating and cross-checking public statistics and there is lack of relevant and reliable data.

  6. 6.

    Chwarta, located in immediate vicinity of the Sulaimaniya city, is seen as a semi-rural town, while Basne, located far from the Sulaimaniya city, is seen as a rural town.

  7. 7.

    The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has tried to implement the same policy in the city of Erbil.

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Authors
  1. Arian Mahzouni
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Berlin, Germany

    Andrea Fischer-Tahir

  2. Erkner, Germany

    Matthias Naumann

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Mahzouni, A. (2013). The Missing Link Between Urban and Rural Development: Lessons from Iraqi Kurdistan Region. In: Fischer-Tahir, A., Naumann, M. (eds) Peripheralization. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-19018-1_6

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