desakota

English

Etymology

Coined around 1990 by urban researcher Terry McGee, from Indonesian desa, village, and kota, city.

Noun

desakota (plural desakotas)

1. (geography) An area in the extended surroundings of a large city, especially in Southeast Asia, in which urban and agricultural forms of land use and settlement coexist and are intensively intermingled.
   • 2015 September 24, “Evidence for the Convergence Model: The Emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) in Viet Nam”, in PLOS ONE‎^[1], →DOI:

     McGee identified six characteristics of desakota regions: 1) a large population of smallholder cultivators; 2) an increase in non-agricultural activities; 3) extreme fluidity and mobility of population; 4) a mixture of land uses, agriculture, cottage industries, suburban development; 5) increased participation of the female labor force; and 6) “grey-zones”, where informal and illegal activities group.