Beyond the artisanal mining site: migration, housing capital accumulation and indirect urbanization in East Africa

Jønsson, J. B. and Bryceson, D. F. (2017) Beyond the artisanal mining site: migration, housing capital accumulation and indirect urbanization in East Africa. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 11(1), pp. 3-23. (doi: 10.1080/17531055.2017.1287245)

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Abstract

During the past 30 years, Tanzania has experienced successive precious mineral rushes led by artisanal miners. Their settlement, livelihood and housing strategies have evolved amidst high mobility in pursuit of mineral wealth. Cumulatively, the spatial movement of artisanal miners and an associated following of economically motivated migrant service providers have catalysed large-scale “direct urbanization” at artisanal mine sites-cum-small towns. These settlements have been generally characterized by relatively makeshift accommodation, which may mask accumulated savings of in situ earnings for housing investment elsewhere. In this article, in addition to documenting the mine-led direct urbanization process, we draw attention to a subsequent “indirect urbanization” phenomenon, whereby many successful artisanal miners and other entrepreneurial mining settlement residents make strategic house building investments in larger towns and cities. In anticipation of declining mineral yields and retirement from days of “roughing it” in mining sites, they endeavour to channel savings into housing in more urbanized locations, aiming to diversify into profitable business activities, living a life with better physical and social amenities. Their second-wave onward migration from mine sites encompasses more diverse destinations, particularly regional towns and cities, which accommodate their work and family life cycle needs and lifestyle preferences. Such mine-led direct and indirect urbanization processes arise from sequential migration decision-making of participants in Tanzania’s artisanal mining sector. In this article, we interrogate mining settlement residents’ locational choices on the basis of fieldwork survey findings from four artisanal gold and diamond mining settlements in Tanzania’s mineral-rich regions of Geita, Mwanza and Shinyanga, and from in-depth interviews with miners-cum-entrepreneurs residing in Mwanza, Tanzania’s second largest city, situated in the heart of Tanzania’s gold fields.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:Research for this article was made possible due to the University of Glasgow’s Urbanization and Poverty in Mining Africa (UPIMA) project funded by the Department for International Development UK Government and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC RES-167–25–0488).
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Jonsson, Dr Jesper Bosse
Authors: Jønsson, J. B., and Bryceson, D. F.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
Journal Name:Journal of Eastern African Studies
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:1753-1055
ISSN (Online):1753-1063
Published Online:21 February 2017
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor and Francis Group
First Published:First published in Journal of Eastern African Studies 11(1): 3-23
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
528551Urban Growth and Poverty in Mining AfricaDeborah BrycesonEconomic & Social Research Council (ESRC)ES/H033521/1SCHOOL OF GEOGRAPHICAL & EARTH SCIENCES