| dc.description.abstract | Although studies have been carried out on the
notion of growth centres in developing countries, very
few have examined this policy at the local level. This
study examines this policy in Bungoma District, an area
in a transitional stage from subsistence to commercial
agriculture •
Attention was given to the analysis of people's
perception and use of service centres. It was found
that due to low per capita income and high friction of
distance, people visited centres nearest to their homes
irrespective of whether they were large or small. Their
use of high order functions and services was found to be
relatively limited. Hence, one of the conclusions of
this study is that the growth centre policy in rural
areas of Kenya should be focussed on smaller centres,
especially those located as nodes on the local transportation
network.
The study also sought to find out the specific
functions and services for which people generally
visit service centres in rural areas. These can be used
as indices for choosing growth centres from which development
can readily spread to surrounding areas. A few low
,order and ubiquitous functions such as using the maize
mills, the periodic open air markets and the use of bus
services were found to be such indices. A well-developed
hierarchy of services does not exist in Bungoma District
except for administrative functions. For this reason,
this study recommends a "dispersed concentration" strategy:
that is, rather than concentrating investments in one or
two large urban centres in the district such as the
district headquarters, investment should be dispersed
in a large number of smaller market and rural centres.
The concept of hinterlands was analysed using
empirical data. Service areas were found to be elongated
along transport routes. As such, easily accessible centres
like Bungoma, Kimilili and Webuye were found to have larger
service areas compared to those not served by an adequate
road network. | en |
