The perceptions and experiences of urban dwellers, regarding the transition from an agrarian to an urban society : A qualitative interview study conducted in Urban Babati, Tanzania

Abstract: This study investigates how farmers, authorities, day laborers and full-time employees experience and perceive the transition from an agrarian to a more urban society in Babati, Tanzania. It is an interview-based essay, and an inductive thematic analysis method has been used to analyze the perceptions and experiences about the transition, and to profoundly examine the main environmental, social, and economic benefits and challenges that follows.The results of the study show how the economic challenges govern the development compared to the social and environmental challenges, that are less prioritized in Babati. The results also show how urbanization was perceived as something good that increases prosperity and the number of social services. The society in Babati is still very connected and dependent on agriculture. Though the study explains possible future scenarios that indicates further rifts between the producer and the consumer in the food production as agriculture is being more rationalized, with the justification of primarily solving the situation regarding food security.