Linkage and Disjuncture: Rural-urban connectivity and livelihood change in Viet Nam

Date & time: Wednesday, 24 April 2019, 4-5:30pm
Location: Tonantei, 2F Inamori Foundation Building
Language: English
Speakers:
YANAGISAWA Masayuki – CSEAS Kyoto University
THOMAS Kimberley, CSEAS, Kyoto University and the Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University
Discussant: HIRSCH Philip, University of Sydney

Session description:
Rural-urban relations are becoming ever more intertwined as Viet Nam undergoes rapid economic development. Labor dynamics, land-use practices, and patterns of exchange (e.g. of people, capital, information, and goods) are dialectically shaping and being shaped by these relations. We conceptualize such processes in terms of linkage and disjuncture. Rural-urban connectivity is being reified as existing livelihood systems are dismantled and reconfigured. We present preliminary data from recent fieldwork in the Mekong and Red River deltas to characterize these shifts, situate them within their respective geographical and historical contexts, and reflect on their consequences for affected communities.