Relevance of the Todaro model in explaining Black migration to and within the Durban Functional Region.

Abstract

Until recently it was fashionable to describe Durban as one of the fastest growing cities in the world. For those who held this view, the proliferation of informal settlements in and around the city pointed to massive rural-urban in-migration from the rural areas. Migration, itself, it was conceived, was typically the outcome of a direct move from the rural areas, whereby the migrant simply arrived in the city and took to squatting on any available land he or she could find. In actuality, while research has pointed out that substantial rural-urban in-migration is indeed a feature of the urban landscape, little light has been shed on the extent and nature of such migration. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to elucidate on these two features of the migration phenomenon. Through the application of the Todaro model of migration it is hoped that an understanding of the driving force behind migration to and within the Durban Functional Region could also be achieved.