Global mapping of urban-rural catchment areas reveals unequal access to services.

ABSTRACT: Using travel time to cities of different sizes, we map populations across an urban-rural continuum to improve on the standard dichotomous representations of urban-rural interactions. We extend existing approaches by 1) building on central place theory to capture the urban hierarchy in access to services and employment opportunities provided by urban centers of different sizes, 2) defining urban-rural catchment areas (URCAs) expressing the interconnection between urban centers and their surrounding rural areas, and 3) adopting a global gridded approach comparable across countries. We find that one-fourth of the global population lives in periurban areas of intermediate and smaller cities and towns, which challenges the centrality of large cities in development. In low-income countries, 64%

SUBMITTER: Cattaneo A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7959575 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature