RURAL SETTING: THE PARADOX OF ITS ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY IN THE URBAN PLANNING AND POLITICAL ACTIONING

Abstract

The argument that rural areas or rurality will disappear in the face of undoubted urbanisation remains vague and inconclusive. However, the infrastructure poverty and poor service delivery that characterise rural spaces are evident. Using data from interview and focus group discussion (FGD) collected from sampled rural communities in Oyo State Nigeria, this study asks the question if there is no confusion or rather a paradox in what planning and politics ought to be in rural areas. The study concludes that planning and politics in the sampled community driving at opposite direction of public rural infrastructure and service good. The recommendation was for planning to be more rural oriented and the urban bias (as it relates to planning standards) corrected. The need for a more inclusive and responsive rural governance towards achieving inclusion that will promoted national rather than urban development was emphasised.