LARGE PROBLEMS OF A SMALL REGION: MARNEULI RAYON,GEORGIA

The development problems of a largely agricultural rayon directly south of Tbilisi are described. The author cautions against supporting planned urban development in the rayon center (Marneuli) at the expense of rural labor and resources because: (a) agriculture here is by nature labor-intensive and functions relatively effectively in its present form and (b) the problems created by an exodus from the countryside should not be intentionally repeated here. Rather, the use of rural labor from other areas and reverse commuting from Tbilisi is advocated, as is the dispersion of new development more widely across the rayon, within a Marneuli “rural-urban agglomeration.” The proposal seeks both to keep a functional system of agriculture intact and to ensure controlled growth of the rayon center, arguing against a mechanistic approach to spatially concentrating resources and productive potential (translated by Andrew R. Bond).