In some nations, governments are trying to depopulate the cities and stem rural-urban drift by incentivising movement to the rural areas, some believe that this is not a workable solution and that policymakers should focus on developing cities rather than the countryside. This essay will examine both viewpoints and show that this policy would be beneficial.
The inducement of people to return to villages and small towns in a bid to decongest cities is a novel but commendable approach to solving the problem of severely congested cities. Traffic jams are endless, with polluted air and infrastructure literally creaking under the sheer number of people it has to support. For example it is a well known fact that in a city like New York, despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent on expansion of the road network the traffic congestion has defied solution for decades forcing most people to use the subway. So even if the government spends huge sums on infrastructure it simply cannot keep up with the exploding population of the cities hence finding a way to reduce the headcount by reversing rural – urban migration is a viable solution but it has to be properly planned and carefully executed.
Opponents of this policy drive feel that developing the rural areas would be a white elephant project, and that investment in urban infrastructure should be the priority because no matter the level of government investment in the villages, they would never come close to the cities in terms of opportunity and wealth creation. However those espousing this viewpoint forget that even these urban areas were once tiny hamlets but through sustained infrastructural improvement efforts by successive administrations, they eventually acquired their cosmopolitan status. The same would apply to these areas perceived as rural backwaters, with strategically planned investment by government in housing, infrastructure and crucially, encouraging large firms to set up branches in these places, they would surely be transformed over time, becoming desirable destinations for relocation. . For instance companies can be offered extended tax holidays if they set up branches away from major cities. This is a strategy that many countries like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates have used to successfully attract foreign investment and there is no reason why governments cannot replicate it locally, to induce businesses to spread into the countryside.
In conclusion, i disagree with the notion that reducing overcrowding in cities by encouraging urban- rural migration is a waste of public money because despite significant infrastructural investment, most cities remain overcrowded and heavily polluted. With proper planning and execution, the policy has the potential to improve both urban and rural areas , the former environmentally and the latter economically.