Bolivia: Metropolitan areas in regional development perspective

Abstract

Close to the creation of departmental autonomies and the celebration of an Asamblea Constituyente in June of 2006, metropolitan areas become the main cores of economic development in Bolivia. This paper analyzes the rapid way in which Bolivia has moved from a rural country to an urban one, around a central axis that will gather almost three quarters of the total population (mainly of indigenous origin) within a few decades, as well as the demands for services and labor market. From the South, where the main mining and gas settlements are located, another axis competes with this one, as well as another one from the North, but with less potential. The comparative analysis remarks the different perspectives of each zone, the differentiated nature of urban and regional processes and the possible courses and rhythms of the rural-urban change.