JOHN TURNER'S THEORY OF INTRA‐URBAN MOBILITY AND THE AFRICAN REALITY

Abstract

"The purpose of this paper is to discover whether Turner's Latin American model of intra-urban mobility also applies to Sub-Saharan Africa. Because of the scarcity of literature on mobility within African cities, it is not entirely possible to arrive at definitive conclusions. Nevertheless, the often temporary nature of rural-to-urban migration, the operation of ethnic networks in the city, the role of the extended family in the integration of migrants and the specific patterns of landownership in the peripheral zones around African cities strongly suggest that the Latin American model is of little value for explaining the African reality."