AbstractIntermediate cities have experienced economic dynamism in recent years, but, with the focus firmly on large metropoles and sprawling megacities, the development potential of intermediate cities has stayed out of the limelight. This paper upholds the relevance and potential of intermediate cities, arguing that they can play as important a role – if not a more important one – than the large metropoles that, until now, have been the focus of attention. Intermediate cities hold considerable advantages, in particular for poverty reduction and as more efficient ecosystems to live and work. Untapping the potential of intermediate cities requires, however, more territorially balanced, place‐sensitive strategies.
In recent decades, the exponential growth of tourism and mining in Cusco and Cajamarca has made these two intermediate cities in the Peruvian Andes important on the global economic scene. Foreign direct investment in these industries has attracted internal and transnational migrants who now dominate the lucrative real estate and labor markets in these cities. Residents have been driven to the peripheries, and there is a sharp contrast between those who have access to the benefits of mining and tourism and those who do not. The article shows that these intermediate cities can no longer escape the spatial segregation, economic exploitation, and inequality that used to be associated almost exclusively with metropolitan centers. These supposedly livable and harmonious urban environments are increasingly jeopardized by the growing imbalance between the livelihoods of local residents and those of transnational elites. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright holder.]
In recent decades, the exponential growth of tourism and mining in Cusco and Cajamarca has made these two intermediate cities in the Peruvian Andes important on the global economic scene. Foreign direct investment in these industries has attracted internal and transnational migrants who now dominate the lucrative real estate and labor markets in these cities. Residents have been driven to the peripheries, and there is a sharp contrast between those who have access to the benefits of mining and tourism and those who do not. The article shows that these intermediate cities can no longer escape the spatial segregation, economic exploitation, and inequality that used to be associated almost exclusively with metropolitan centers. These supposedly livable and harmonious urban environments are increasingly jeopardized by the growing imbalance between the livelihoods of local residents and those of transnational elites. En las décadas recientes, el crecimiento exponencial del turismo y la minería en Cusco y Cajamarca ha hecho de estas dos ciudades medianas de los Andes peruanos importantes urbes en el escenario económico global. La inversión extranjera directa en estas industrias ha atraído a migrantes internos y trasnacionales quienes ahora dominan los mercados lucrativos de bienes raíces y labor en estas ciudades. Los residentes han sido empujados a la periferia, y existe un marcado contraste entre quienes tienen acceso a los beneficios de la minería y el turismo, y quienes no. El artículo demuestra que estas ciudades medianas no pueden más escaparse de la segregación espacial, la explotación económica, y la desigualdad que antes se asociaba exclusivamente con los centros metropolitanos. Estos supuestamente habitables y armoniosos ambientes urbanos se encuentran cada vez mas perjudicados por la creciente falta de balance entre el sustento de los residentes y el de las élites trasnacionales.
Africa's large cities are rapidly urbanising and are becoming expensive, regressive and unhealthy; hence, secondary or intermediate cities have become the continent's backbone for absorbing most of the urban population growth. Africa's intermediate cities will be home to more than half its urban population by 2030. However, these cities have considerable investment gaps in critical infrastructure: consequently, they are less resilient and face disproportionate disasters and risks of climate stressors and other environmental challenges. The vulnerabilities of Africa's intermediate cities are exacerbated by rapid urbanisation and inappropriate planning. As Africa's intermediate cities continue to experience population growth and rapid urbanisation occasioned by a youthful population, high fertility and excess of births over deaths, family planning is one of the most critical investments that city leaders and officials can make to ensure a slow urban population growth and thus buy sufficient time for governments to put critical hard infrastructure and appropriate planning in place to support healthy living. Increased investment in family planning will contribute to prosperous and resilient intermediate cities in Africa.
