Infrastructure’s Double Edge: How Roads Reshape Rural Prosperity and Nature in the Global South

Transport infrastructure in the Global South is rapidly transforming rural livelihoods, boosting income, mobility and education while simultaneously driving deforestation, land loss and deep social disruptions. The review finds that although financial and human capital often improve, natural and social capital face significant and long-term risks.

A landmark systematic review by the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester, drawing on research from institutes across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania, reveals how the massive expansion of transport infrastructure is transforming rural livelihoods across the Global South. Reviewing 76 studies published between 2018 and mid-2025, the study finds that highways, railways, ports, and development corridors are remapping economic opportunities while simultaneously destabilising ecosystems and community structures. A PRISMA flow chart in the paper shows how more than 1500 initial records were narrowed to the few that directly documented livelihood impacts, underscoring the fragmented state of global evidence.

Nature Under Siege

The strongest and most troubling pattern appears in the category of natural capital. Thirty studies show that new roads, highways, and rail links frequently accelerate ecological decline. In Malaysian Borneo, road expansion has pushed traditional rice and maize cultivation aside for oil palm plantations. In Uganda, road paving has degraded agricultural soils; in Cambodia and Brunei, new access routes have opened remote forests to loggers, hunters, and shifting cultivation. The Peruvian Amazon faces similar threats from planned transport corridors that cut through indigenous territories and protected areas. Environmental harm is not absolute. Research from Ghana shows that better roads can intensify agriculture without additional forest loss, but overall, infrastructure is overwhelmingly associated with deforestation, wildlife depletion, mangrove destruction, and heightened pressure on common resources.

Pathways to Income and Inequality

Despite environmental costs, financial capital tends to rise after infrastructure development. Sixty-four studies highlight increased household income, diversification of livelihoods, and new market access. Farmers in India, China, Ethiopia, and Cambodia sell more produce, forest products, and handicrafts thanks to improved mobility. Roadside markets blossom; wage labour expands; rural youth shift to motorcycle taxi services or construction work; and migrant labour flows intensify. Tourism corridors along the China–Laos railway and the China–Pakistan route generate new hospitality livelihoods. However, the benefits are uneven. Large corridors may reinforce income gaps between wealthy landowners and poorer households, while poorly maintained roads, particularly in Nigeria and Ethiopia, quickly erode economic gains. Some studies also warn of widening gender disparities when infrastructure favours male-dominated labour markets.

Empowerment, Education and New Skills

Human capital also improves in most cases. Better connectivity helps children reach schools, raises enrolment, and gives women access to training centres, colleges, and formal employment. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, infrastructure attracts investment in rural educational services. In India and Cambodia, improved transport enables farmers to adopt modern skills and technologies. Yet the picture is nuanced. In some Indian villages, easier access to jobs leads teenagers to abandon schooling in search of immediate income, while elsewhere it expands their educational horizons. Still, most evidence suggests that infrastructure increases opportunities for education, mobility, and skill acquisition, especially for women and youth.

What We Don't See: Fragile Social Fabrics

The report exposes a glaring blind spot in global research: the impact of mega-infrastructure on social capital. Only nine studies examine how roads and corridors reshape relationships, cultural norms, and community networks. Where evidence exists, it shows that mobility often strengthens family ties, makes inter-community interaction easier, and reduces cultural isolation. But displacement from road or dam construction can sever long-standing social bonds, and expanded access to wage labour for women sometimes triggers household tensions. The review argues that the Sustainable Livelihood Framework struggles to capture these deeper social dynamics and that future research must confront how infrastructure alters trust, reciprocity, cultural identity, and local governance.