Moving to cities uplifts hundreds of thousands, even in difficult times

Many people who migrate to cities from the countryside have managed to lift themselves out of extreme poverty, despite the poor economic performance of the South African economy over the last decade. However, many also refrain from committing fully to urban lifestyles. This dual existence may add to their cost of living and could perpetuate the psychological divide between town and country, write Prof. Ivan Turok and Dr Justin Visagie.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Human Science Research Council SA
Published
2026-05-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.14749/32381991
Primary Topic
Local Economic Development and Planning
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Moving to cities uplifts hundreds of thousands, even in difficult times

Human Sciences Research Council
Human Science Research Council SA
Local Economic Development and Planning
article

Moving to cities uplifts hundreds of thousands, even in difficult times

Human Sciences Research Council
article en

Abstract

Many people who migrate to cities from the countryside have managed to lift themselves out of extreme poverty, despite the poor economic performance of the South African economy over the last decade. However, many also refrain from committing fully to urban lifestyles. This dual existence may add to their cost of living and could perpetuate the psychological divide between town and country, write Prof. Ivan Turok and Dr Justin Visagie.

Human Science Research Council SA
No poverty
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Local Economic Development and Planning
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