2026–2028 GAČR Project: Rethinking the Urbanisation–Migration Nexus: WASH and (Im)mobility in India and Ethiopia

In many late-urbanising countries, settlement growth is no longer concentrated in major metropolitan cores. A large share of change is taking place in small towns, peri-urban areas and rapidly densifying places that may still be officially recorded as rural. In these settings, the expansion of basic public services often lags behind. Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) can therefore shape migration aspirations, influence who can realise mobility plans, and affect the everyday experience of staying.

The project examines how urbanisation, migration and immobility are co-produced, using WASH as an indicator of public service quality, territorial governance and inequality. It combines a systematic review with global analyses of high-resolution spatial data on urbanisation, net migration and WASH coverage, and statistical modelling of migration aspirations based on international survey data and country-level indicators. In West Bengal (India) and Oromia (Ethiopia), the project will develop a typology of urbanisation beyond core cities using satellite-based mapping, complemented by six local case studies drawing on household surveys and interviews. Expected outputs include a typology-based conceptual framework and evidence relevant for more equitable service provision and migration-sensitive approaches to urban policy.

Main research objectives:

1. To rethink contemporary urbanisation by analysing its co-evolution with migration and immobility, focusing on rapidly changing areas beyond major urban cores.
2. To identify and compare global and regional patterns linking urbanisation, migration and access to WASH services using spatial data and international surveys.
3. To develop a typology of urbanisation processes in India and Ethiopia and validate it through local case studies examining (im)mobility, service governance and inequality.

Research team:

Principal investigator: Josef Novotný

Other members:

Jiří Hasman

Aneta Stoker

Lukáš Brůha

Saurav Chakraborty

Šimon Přikryl

Adam Šíma

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