Spill-over Effects of Rural Industrialization on Community Transformation

Abstract

Rural industrialization has resulted in the transformation of the general landscape of the countryside. The development path
taken by the peri-urban or urbanizing barangay (or community) studied was influenced by internal and external factors. Overall,
the most influential factor was the establishment of industrial estates in nearby barangays. The impacts of rural industrialization
spilled-over to the peri-urban barangay and affected its natural and financial assets. This was evidenced by the conversion of
agricultural lands to settlement and commercial sites and the emergence of other livelihood options to cater to the needs of the growing number of industrial estate workers who settled in the peri-urban barangay. The beneficial spill-over effects of rural industrialization include improved access to and delivery of educational, health and other social services, improved physical infrastructure, strengthened aspirations for better education, better housing and housing facilities, generation of more employment opportunities, increased female labor participation rate, regularity and increased income, and more diverse business prospects. In spite, however, of the beneficial effects, industrialization has likewise led to a number of negative outcomes like rapid increase in population which eventually gave way to the conversion of lands to settlement sites for housing and to commercial use to cater to the service needs of migrants as well as temporary settlers. The effects of rural industrialization indeed spilled-over to adjoining communities which were not prepared or designed to provide public service beyond the needs of its local residents. This occurrence has significant governance implication and hence should be integrated in government development plans. Authorities concerned should address these needs through appropriate planning and policy interventions and additional resources to enable the peri-urban communities to cope with the exigencies associated with increased population and diversity in social and economic activities. More in-depth study of its theoretical and practical bases is needed to determine its applicability and typology for more realistic planning and policy making.