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Demographic and Economic Changes in Small Towns in South Africa’s Karoo: Looking from the Inside Out

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Abstract

This article seeks to situate the experience of demographic and economic change in South African small towns within a broader context. Drawing on international literature detailing demographic, economic and racial changes within small towns, the paper relates these trends to the Karoo region in South Africa. The research findings reveal that small towns in the Karoo are experiencing selective demographic and economic growth, which particularly favours the larger small towns. There is clear racial differentiation in the growth which is taking place and, contrary to predictions made in the 1970s, small towns in South Africa are not all experiencing absolute decline.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the National Research Foundation. The authors are also grateful to the two anonymous referees for their advice and guidance which assisted in the revision of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Etienne Nel

  2. Research Fellow, School of Tourism and Hospitality, Faculty of Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Etienne Nel

  3. Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

    B. Taylor

  4. Discipline of Geography, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

    T. Hill

  5. Centre for Development Support, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    D. Atkinson

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  1. Etienne Nel
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  2. B. Taylor
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  4. D. Atkinson
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Correspondence to Etienne Nel.

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Nel, E., Taylor, B., Hill, T. et al. Demographic and Economic Changes in Small Towns in South Africa’s Karoo: Looking from the Inside Out. Urban Forum 22, 395–410 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-011-9131-z

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