Reassessing spatial interdependence: impacts of urbanization in Malaysia

Abstract

The idea of relationships between places, the interconnections between space and the creation of new interstices of life are influenced by the larger changes in the local and global environments. The traditional relationship between rural and urban, for example, has evolved over the years from a simple agricultural periphery for a core of urban market, to a disjointed relationship where the rural might be tied more closely to the global economy rather than the economy of the city. The everyday networks of both places have also changed to go beyond the traditional Christaller's treelike central place structure to a more open ended relationship. The choice of the underlying spatial interdependence assumed will result in a different viewing of relationships and policy implications for development. This paper uses a rhizomatic approach to view the changing spatial interdependence brought about by the processes of urbanization in the Bernam-Linggi conurbation of Malaysia. The paper argues that there is a blurring of the traditional rural urban dichotomy and questions the continued use of such categorization to plan future development and present an alternate viewing through the findings of an urbanization study of the area.