Translocality and Inclusive Urbanisation in Small Towns in Tanzania

Abstract Inclusive urbanisation is being promoted in development discourse, and a scholarly debate is emerging, but the conceptualisation and empirical understanding of this process should be placed in relation to urbanisation trends. In sub-Saharan Africa more than a quarter of the urban population lives in small towns. These are predicted to experience the most rapid population growth in the coming decades, with urbanisation driven largely by lacking rural opportunities. Limited opportunities in urban areas suggest that linkages to agriculture will continue to be important to livelihoods in small urban centres. Rural livelihood linkages are therefore likely to affect the inclusivity of urbanisation. This article makes three contributions: firstly, the literature on inclusive urbanisation focuses on metropolitan areas and we contribute by situating existing research in relation to small towns. Secondly, the concept of inclusive urbanisation is linked to translocality research. Inclusive urbanisation has been conceptualised in relation to social, political, and economic processes, but translocal family based systems of welfare provision have been excluded. Thirdly, we analyse translocal relationships empirically using survey data from 2033 households and qualitative data from focus group discussions in eight small towns in Tanzania. By analysing the distributional aspects of translocal livelihood arrangements, including transfers and access to key resources such as land and property, the article elucidates the empirical linkages between translocality and inclusive urbanisation.