Spaces & Flows: Ninth International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies

Abstract

This paper seeks to investigate some key elements of a growth centre; the principle upon which local government headquarters and state capitals creation incline. It attempts to consider in a spatial dimension, the different channels by which the establishment and development of Dutse (Nigeria) has affected its region (the other major settlements in the state) after twenty-seven years of operation. The paper categorized the effects into three distinct classes: direct, indirect, and induced effects. The study area is Dutse Capital, Jigawa state, Nigeria. Through four research questions, particular issues considered are related to population movement, (migration and commuting), industrial linkages/interference, labour recruitment, and shopping patterns. The study reveals that the recruitment of labour has had some pronounced effects on the settlements in the region/state. That notwithstanding, industrial linkage and the generation of economic activities is limited to Dutse itself. In other words, these effects have not appreciably affected the towns and villages in the state. Hence, the trickle-down effects have not been attractive to any admirable extent in the state investigated.