Environment and sustainable development

Dynamics of Rural and Urban Development

Module Summary

This module provides a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of rural and urban development. It introduces the concepts of rural development, examines the causes and consequences of rural poverty, explores the role of the state and rural development strategies, and analyzes the process of urbanization and urban development. The module also examines urban agriculture as a strategy for sustainable livelihoods and food security. Through theory, policy analysis, and practical case studies, students develop the knowledge and analytical skills needed to address contemporary rural and urban development challenges and promote sustainable, inclusive development.


Gender, culture and development

  

Education, Health and Development

Development theory and strategies

Public Policy, Poverty and Development

Welcome to Public Policy, Poverty and Development. This module provides a comprehensive exploration of the intersection between political frameworks, socioeconomic structures, and international development strategies.
By examining the core concepts of poverty alongside the modern frameworks deployed by international agencies, this course provides analytical tools designed to unpack both global trends and local realities—with a specific, localized focus on Rwanda and developing nations.

What You Will Learn:

  • Theoretical Foundations: Unpack the multidimensional causes and competing theories behind global poverty.
  • Socio-Political Dynamics: Analyze power relations between social classes, political regimes, and varying modes of production.
  • Geopolitical Context: Evaluate internal and external factors affecting systemic challenges within developing economies.
  • Measurement Metrics: Investigate the intricate, technical methodologies used to quantify and map poverty.
  • Action-Oriented Solutions: Design, review, and evaluate participatory poverty alleviation strategies and development projects.

Civil Society and Development

The study of development process until recently has centred largely on the triangle of states-markets-international institutions. For the last decade, mainstream development discourse has adopted the notion of civil society as simultaneously the site of citizens’ collective action as well as a set of actors to be incorporated in the planning, implementation and evaluation of development projects. Today, this notion of civil society has become a topic of widespread discussion and has tended to focus exclusively on NGOs. Likewise it has been incorporated into the discourse of academics, policymakers, and grassroots activists, of multilateral development agencies and local NGOs. The overall aim of the course is to examine the role of civil society in development and the nature, form and impact of public actions associated with non-state actors. The course intends to familiarize students with the debates on civil society in social and political theory, and so to provide them with a broader understanding of it than in mainstream development discourses. It also provides a framework to understand the relation between civil society and contemporary social movement politics. 

Governance and Development

Rerearch Methodology

  

Development policy and planning