Abstract
Until recently it was almost an article of faith that urbanization and capital intensive technology are the keys to development. However, many critics now maintain that the Western-inspired urban-industrial model may not be applicable to developing nations. The first part of this paper critically examines the role of large cities in developing countries. Although primate cities and economic dualism are associated with serious inter-class and inter-regional inequity problems, the principal alternative development strategies-promotion of medium-size growth centers and emphasis on rural development-also are beset by conceptual and practical difficulties. If no single development trategy appears to have universal validity, suggestions nevertheless are made for improving social welfare through a better organization of human settlement systems.
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Hansen, N. Population settlement alternatives in developing countries. Social Indicators Research 4, 337–352 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00353137
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00353137