Paper short abstract:

Small and medium towns have for long been described as hubs in the rural – urban interface. But changes are occurring with globalization and liberalization affecting territories and networks. New actors are emerging in trade fields and the place of small and medium sized towns can be challenged.

Paper long abstract:

Small and medium sized towns have for long been described as redistribution points and hubs in the rural - urban interface. Good locations on trade roads, outlets for agricultural areas and supply centers for local or regional demands used to be important elements of urban development.

But changes are occurring with globalization and liberalization affecting territories and networks. New actors, mainly private, are emerging in rural-urban linkages and the place of small and medium sized towns can be challenged. Direct connections from rural areas to main urban centers are sometimes short-circuiting the intermediate level and the key role of middlemen is changing. But new opportunities are also emerging in small urban centers with the development of shops dedicated to farmers (agro inputs, animal feed). Changes in agriculture are also affecting urban commercial patterns.

The paper intends to focus on these issues of global and local changes and their impacts on trade and market characteristics in small and medium towns in East African mountain areas. The case studies are taken in Uganda (Mount Elgon), Tanzania (Mount Rungwe) and Kenya (Central Kenya and Aberdares). It will focus on the organization of markets networks and the emergence of new actors involved in trading relationships between urban and rural areas. Analysis shows that small urban centers are still connected and economically integrated through multi-scalar networks.