THIS BOOK IS part of the Urban Management Series, which focuses on impacts of demographic and economic changes in developing countries. It proposes new communication and knowledge management methods that are currently used in business management, and which are different from the communication theories dominant in the 1950s and 1960s that involved generally one-way non-participatory communication models to transfer knowledge from the North to the South, mainly to achieve industrialization and economic growth. The book brings together a diverse range of expertise and opinions, as the 22 authors analyze communication from different angles and propose new perspectives on communication methods, with an overall focus on benefiting the poor. The different chapters explore the range of stakeholders involved in communication processes, ways of transferring knowledge, the importance of local networks and intermediaries, obstacles to the communication process and ways of overcoming them.

The book is divided into two parts. Part I explores theories of communication and development. The first two chapters look at communication models, while Chapters 3–5 discuss social and academic networks. The following three chapters analyze gaps and obstacles in the communication process, while the last chapter in Part I presents a critique of the prevailing development discourse, and challenges the need for development.

Part II translates the theoretical discourses into practice by exploring different case studies. The chosen examples draw on experiences from countries in both the North and South, covering different issues such as the international use of multimedia, internet-based research, electronic conferencing and networks, as vehicles of communication. The concluding chapter reflects on the arguments introduced throughout the book, and presents some valuable recommendations for researchers, policy makers and development practitioners. Positive and negative aspects of global communication technologies are illustrated, emphasizing the importance of “dialogue, humility and respect” between all stakeholders for development in favour of poor communities.