Abstract
The rural transport infrastructure sector is a critical force for sustainable development that is interwoven with many other sectors. Rural transportation is an underlying driver of many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a crucial contributor to many socioeconomic benefits for rural people around the world. This review paper expands upon, enhances, and cross-references the perspectives outlined in previous rural infrastructure-focused review papers. Firstly, this work gives a thorough look into the progress of the rural transportation sector in recent years by focusing on the thematic relationships between infrastructure and other components of sustainable development, namely, economics and agriculture, policy and governance, health, gender, education, and climate change and the environment. Secondly, several strategies, approaches, and tools employed by governments and practitioners within the rural transport sector are analyzed and discussed for their contributions to the wellbeing of rural dwellers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These include rural roads, bridges, maintenance, and non-infrastructural approaches that include concepts such as advanced technological innovations, intermediate modes of transport (IMTs), and transport services. This paper concludes that enhancement, improvement, and extension of rural transportation infrastructure brings significant benefits to rural dwellers. However, this paper also calls for additional integration of the sector and increased usage of systems approaches that view rural transport as an active part of many other sectors and a key leverage point within rural development as a whole. Further, this paper notes areas for future research and investigation, including increased investigation of the relationship between rural transportation infrastructure and education, improved data collection and management in support of improved policymaking, improved prioritization of interventions and institutionalization of maintenance, and expansion of pro-poor transportation strategies and interventions.
Highlights
One-third of the global rural population—approximately one billion people—live farther than 2 km from an all-season road [1], creating isolated communities with little access to essential services
The review provides an updated evidence base for rural access stakeholders including key policy makers in national and local governments; international finance institutions such as bi, multi, and regional development banks; nongovernmental organizations serving communities across the rural access sector; private sector organizations who are designing and constructing rural infrastructure; capacity building institutions who train the generation of rural access implementers; and others, in order to assist in the prioritization of rural access networks
Rural transportation infrastructure is a critical component of development in isolated communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) across the globe
Summary
One-third of the global rural population—approximately one billion people—live farther than 2 km from an all-season road [1], creating isolated communities with little access to essential services. This paper focuses on a review of rural transportation infrastructure and its many relationships to socioeconomic benefits including economic and agricultural, policy and governance, health, gender, education, and climate change and the environment, with an additional review of the implementation activities in the sector including rural roads, rural bridges, maintenance, and non-infrastructure approaches. The review provides an updated evidence base for rural access stakeholders including key policy makers in national and local governments; international finance institutions such as bi-, multi, and regional development banks; nongovernmental organizations serving communities across the rural access sector; private sector organizations who are designing and constructing rural infrastructure; capacity building institutions who train the generation of rural access implementers; and others, in order to assist in the prioritization of rural access networks
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