Pour le processus de transformation du rapport ville/fleuve, trois moments variants sont définis par les chercheurs français : celui de la ville commerciale, celui de la ville industrielle et celui de la ville en mutation vers le postindustriel (ou la ville tertiaire). Cependant, les villes fluviales chinoise ont les particularités dans la trace de l'évolution : il n'existait pas au début d'orientation vers le commerce à l'époque dite "du commerce", ni de révolution industrielle à l'époque de l'industrie ; il ne s'agit que d'un emprunt formel au modèle occidental de développement des fonctions tertiaires à l'époque dite "de la tertiarisation".Notre recherche est élaborée autour deux hypothèses principales : premièrement, le rapport ville/fleuve chinois sont passées par les trois états qui caractérisent l'évolution historique des villes occidentales, mais la dynamique de leur urbanisation est née et s'est adaptée au cadre particulier chinois ; deuxièmement, avec l'introduction des modèles étrangers, les villes fluviales chinoises opèrent une interprétation originale pour l'adapter à leurs propres contextes économiques et sociaux. L'emprunt des méthodes externes est mis au service des logiques internes. Nous voulons analyser en plus les enjeux des acteurs dans ces trois moments en Chine. Il existe deux caractéristiques communes dites le pragmatisme et le dirigisme : d'une part la dictature du pragmatisme, (le fleuve est toujours considéré comme un " outil pratique ") ; d'autre part l'effet déterminant des acteurs, dont les plus importants sont l'Etat et la direction des communes, qui ont déterminé en très grande partie le sillon de l'évolution des fonctions et des formes du fleuve. Notre thèse a trois parties principales en répondant aux trois phases de l'évolution du rapport ville/fleuve : l'époque de concession, entre 1840 et 1949, l'époque de reconstruction de la Chine, entre 1949 et 1978, et l'époque de l'"Ouverture", de 1978 à aujourd'hui. Quatre villes sont choisies comme terrain de recherche après une étude initiale: Shanghaï, Canton, Wuhan et Tianjin. A la lumière de ces études, la diversité des enjeux liés à la thématique de l'usage du fleuve au cours de l'urbanisation est mise en évidence. La compréhension du mécanisme d'interaction entre les modèles étrangers et les logiques internes nous permettent d'établir une théorisation de la relation entre les grandes villes et leur fleuve, et plus particulièrement sur le rôle du fleuve dans le processus de l'urbanisation en Chine

The performance of the Integrated Urban Wastewater Systems (IUWS) including: sewer system, WWTP and river, in both operational control and design, under unavoidable future climate change and urbanisation is a concern for water engineers which still needs to be improved. Additionally, with regard to the recent attention around the world to the environment, the quality of water, as the main component of that, has received significant attention as it can have impacts on health of human life, aquatic life and so on. Hence, the necessity of improving systems performance under the future changes to maintain the quality of water is observed. The research presented in this thesis describes the development of risk-based and non-risk-based models to improve the operational control and design of the IUWS under future climate change and urbanisation aiming to maintain the quality of water in recipients. In this thesis, impacts of climate change and urbanisation on the IUWS performance in terms of the receiving water quality was investigated. In the line with this, different indicators of climate change and urbanisation were selected for evaluation. Also the performance of the IUWS under future climate change and urbanisation was improved by development of a novel non-risk-based operational control and design models aiming to maintain the quality of water in the river to meet the water quality standards in the recipient. This is initiated by applying a scenario-based approach to describe the possible features of future climate change and /or urbanisation. Additionally the performance of the IUWS under future climate change and urbanisation was improved by development of a novel risk-based operational control and design models to reduce the risk of water quality failures to maintain the health of aquatic life. This is initiated by considering the uncertainties involved with the urbanisation parameters considered. The risk concept is applied to estimate the risk of water quality breaches for the aquatic life. Also due to the complexity and time-demanding nature of the IUWS simulation models (which are called about the optimisation process), there is the concern about excessive running times in this study. The novel “MOGA-ANNβ” algorithm was developed for the optimisation process throughout the thesis to speed it up while preserving the accuracy. The meta-model developed was tested and its performance was evaluated. In this study, the results obtained from the impact analysis of the future climate change and urbanisation (on the performance of the IUWS) showed that the future conditions have potential to influence the performance of the IUWS in both quality and quantity of water. In line with this, selecting proper future conditions’ parameters is important for the system impact analysis. Also the observations demonstrated that the system improvement is required under future conditions. In line with this, the results showed that both risk-based and non-risk-based operational control optimisation of the IUWS in isolation is not good enough to cope with the future conditions and therefore the IUWS design optimisation was carried out to improve the system performance. The riskbased design improvement of the IUWS in this study showed a better potential than the non-risk-based design improvement to meet all the water quality criteria considered in this study.

Existing research on the foraging ecology and breeding biology of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits(Parus major) has mainly concentrated on populations in woodland. However increasing urbanisation means much of the suitable tit habitat is represented by fragmented areas, not large woodlands, and little is known about factors that may affect reproductive success in urban environments. Using General and Generalised Linear Models this study compared reproductive performance in four habitat types with differing levels of habitat modification: the Cambridge University Botanic Garden (CUBG) with an abundance of non-native vegetation and structural fragmentation, two marginal sites with native scrubby vegetation and structural fragmentation and small fragments and large fragments of native woodland. Compositional analysis was used in a study focused on how foraging blue tits used the heterogeneous habitat of the CUBG. Additionally frequency tests were used to compare foraging preferences and foraging behaviours of both species in the CUBG. Productivity was poor in the CUBG compared to all of the other habitats, with great tits appearing to do worse than blue tits, rearing lower quality chicks (significantly lower mean mass than in other habitats). Within the CUBG, positive relationships were found between the abundance of native trees and shrubs and breeding success for both blue tits and great tits. A positive relationship was found between breeding success in blue tits and the abundance of Quercus and Betula. However, habitat and year interactions showed that habitat and reproductive relationships were complicated by annual variation. The two species differed in their foraging preferences in the CUBG; blue tits were observed feeding in native deciduous trees significantly more than in non-native species and had a preference for birch trees over other taxa. Great tits however showed no strong preferences for any of the habitat types. With regards to foraging behaviours, great tits used a wider range of foraging heights and different foraging locations and capture techniques than blue tits. Blue tits were observed‘hanging’ from twigs more frequently, and appeared to be more effective at foraging in the wider variety of plants available in the heterogeneous vegetation of the garden. The data presented in this thesis suggest that blue tits have adopted a better foraging strategy by preferentially choosing native deciduous trees over the abundance of non-natives available in the CUBG. However, despite the apparent better foraging strategy of blue tits, reproductive performance of both species is poor in this urban garden compared to marginal sites and woodland. Urbanisation and the associated loss of optimal tit habitat are likely to continue. It is therefore important to offset urbanisation by the addition of appropriate foraging habitats that are likely to improve reproductive success, such as native trees and shrubs.

De 1890 à 1964, les grands réseaux techniques s’appuient sur des processus d’industrialisation et d’urbanisation engendrant des déséquilibres requérant temps d’adaptation et aménagements pionniers propres au département de Seine & Oise dans l’aire d’attraction et de chalandise parisienne. En 1914, ces processus conjuguent réseaux traditionnels à ceux nés de la seconde industrialisation dans une modernité bâtie selon une superposition-substitution continue. De 1914 à 1944, répondant aux guerres et crises économiques, le département doit envisager reconstruction et modernisation en tenant compte de la rentabilité. L’explosion urbaine confirme la césure entre habitat et emploi, et l’allongement croissant des déplacements pose la question de la mobilité. Les anciens réseaux répondaient mal aux revendications des usagers (confort, transports, communication), à l’origine d’une synthèse de systèmes techniques de la vapeur, de l’électricité et du téléphone. La modernité intégrant la vitesse prônait la flexibilité de la voiture face au rail.Les réseaux qui avaient défini la modernité urbaine requéraient des espaces proches des anciennes sources d’énergie (eau, charbon) aux possibilités d’extension limitées. Ceux issus des sciences et des technologies du 20e siècle (l’électricité et le nucléaire) obligeaient à trouver des espaces de réserve importants que les vallées fluviales saturées ne pouvaient offrir. Une remontée vers les côtes et les plateaux permettait ces développements qui dorénavant échappaient en partie au département de par l’échelle de leurs débouchés (Saclay, Fontenay aux Roses, Orsay). Communication et information allaient transformer l’espace et le temps pour les intégrer désormais à une échelle plus nationale (voire internationale) comme le prouve la décision de 1964 de diviser le département en trois nouveaux espaces: les Yvelines, l’Essonne et le Val d’Oise à travers énergies et savoirs scientifiques nouveaux. / From 1890 to 1964 major technical networks relied on industrialization and urbanization processes generating inbalances that required adaptation periods and pioneering planing charasteristic of the Seine 1 Oise in the parisian attraction and market radius.In1914, these processes combined traditional networks with those brought bu the second industrialization within a type of modernity fouded on a continuous superposition-substitution.From 1914 to 1944, to meet wars and economic crises, the departement had to consider rebuildind and modernization while taking cost effectiverness into account Urban explosion confirmed the gap between the home and the working-place, while the increasing extension of commuting raised the problem of mobility. Former networks failed to meet the claims of users (about confort, transportation and communication), which resulted in a synthesis of technical systems based on vapour, electricity end the telephone. The modern system including speed advocated the flexibility of cars as compard to trains.The networks which had designed urban modernity required areras located next to former energy sources (water, coal) which had limited capacities of extension. Those stemming from twentieth- century sciences and technologies (electricity and nuclear power) compelled to find significant storing areas which could not be provided by overcrowed fluvial valleys. Moving up towards hills and plateaus made such an evolution possible, and to some extent relrased it from the management of the departement because of the scale of their outlets (Saclay, Fontenay aux Roses, Orsay).Space and time were going to be transformed by communication and information to become part of a more national (even international) scale, as was proved by the 1964 décision of dividing the departement into three new areas, Yvelines, Essonne end Val d4oise, through new energies and scientific knowledge.

Les villes intermédiaires apparaissent d'un intérêtmajeur, à partir des années 1970, dans les paysdéveloppés, compte tenu du rôle qu'elles doiventassurer dans la structuration globale des systèmesurbains et permettre un développement plusharmonieux du territoire. «Elles sont sensées devenirle relais dans la redistribution de la croissance entreles métropoles et grandes villes d'une part, et lesbourgs et petites villes de l'autre». La questionémerge ainsi, dans des discours aussi divers que ceuxdes aménageurs, des architectes ou des chercheurs ensciences-sociales.Au niveau de l'ensemble Maghreb-Moyen-Orient, cesvilles sont peu représentées dans la hiérarchie urbaineglobale et se trouvent souvent à la tête des systèmesrégionaux un peu déséquilibrés où la primauté estdonnée à l'échelon national. En revanche, à partir deannées 1980, on a assisté à un changement destendances ; le ralentissement de la croissance desmétropoles et grandes villes et l'envolée des villes demoindre taille, en particulier les villes intermédiaires.Cela est du essentiellement au rôle central de l'Étatdans la simulation de leur dynamiquedémographique, par une politique volontariste dedéveloppement axée selon les cas soit surl'industrialisation, le tourisme mais aussi lapromotion administrative.Elles jouent ainsi, le rôle de pôle économique,culturel et de services, leur permettant de relayer lesgrandes villes et capitales nationales et régionales, etapparaissent comme des noeuds structurants dedesserte et d'animation des petits centresenvironnants étant peu équipés et souvent éloignésdes grandes métropoles.Cette recherche consiste à une analyse comparativede l'organisation et l'évolution des systèmes urbains,afin d'identifier la place des villes intermédiaires, enAlgérie, Maroc et Tunisie, qui présentent uneévolution contrastée du fait urbain et des dynamiquesd'urbanisation différentes et particulières à chaquepays, notamment en ce qui concerne la strate desvilles intermédiaires, en dépit des configurationsgéographiques, historiques et culturelles qu'ils separtagent. / Abstract :Intermediate cities appear of great interest , from the1970s, in developed countries , given the role theymust ensure the overall structure of urban systemsand allow a more harmonious development of theterritory. « They are supposed to be over in theredistribution of growth between cities and cities onthe one hand, and the villages and small towns of theother». The question thus emerges, in as diverse asthose of planners, architects and social - scienceresearchers speeches.At all Maghreb- Middle East, these cities are poorlyrepresented in the global urban hierarchy and areoften found at the head of a little unbalanced regionalsystems where priority is given to the national level.In contrast, from 1980, there has been a change intrends, the slower growth of cities and large townsand soaring smaller towns , especially intermediatecities. This is due mainly to the central role of thestate in the simulation of their population dynamics,through a proactive development policy as the case ison industrialization, tourism as well as theadministrative promotion.They play well, the role of economic hub, culturaland services, allowing them to carry large cities andnational and regional capitals, and appear asstructuring serving nodes and animation surroundingsmall centers are poorly equipped and often remoteof large cities.This research is a comparative analysis of theorganization and evolution of urban systems in orderto identify the role of intermediate cities in Algeria,Morocco and Tunisia, which have a mixed changingurban and urbanization dynamics different andspecific to each country, particularly with regard tothe stratum of intermediate cities , despite thegeographical, historical and cultural configurationsthat share.

Nos recherches sont basées sur l'étude des villages montagnards de Lattaquié qui étaient, à partir des années 1960, le théâtre d'un mouvement intense d'émigration résultant, d'une part, de la pauvreté des terres agricoles et donc de l'impossibilité de l'exploiter pour satisfaire les besoins vitaux, et d'autre part, du fait que la région de Lattaquié représente la région d'origine du pouvoir politique. L'état Ba'thiste a suivi ses démarches pour intégrer les habitants de Lattaquié, zone minoritaire sur le plan national, au sein des autres régions dont les habitants représentent la majorité ethnique en Syrie.Ces dernières années, suite au développement survenu dans ces villages, beaucoup d'habitants ont quitté les lieux d'accueil pour revenir à leur village natal.Les migrants de retour, après avoir ramené des fonds et s'être adaptés aux particularités d'urbanité, ont transformé les campagnes à tous les niveaux. Ce nouveau type de vie, apporté par les revenants à leurs villages d'origine avec beaucoup de modifications sociales, a conféré une nouvelle forme aux villages de la campagne montagnarde de Lattaquié, différentes de la situation antérieure de ces villages et plus précisément avant l'arrivée du parti Ba'th au pouvoir dans les années 1960.Pour connaître la configuration actuelle de la campagne montagnarde de Lattaquié, il est nécessaire de poser la question suivante:Dans quelle mesure la transformation de la vie sociale dans les villages de montagne de Lattaquié influence-t-elle la configuration architecturale et urbanistique de ces villages? / Our research is based on the study of mountain villages of Latakia who were from the 1960s, the scene of intense emigration movement resulting , on the one hand , poverty of agricultural land and therefore the inability to operate to meet the vital needs , and secondly , because the region of Latakia is the region of origin of political power. The Ba'athist state followed its efforts to integrate people of Latakia , minority area on the national level in other regions whose inhabitants are ethnic majority in Syria.In recent years, following the development occurred in these villages, many people have left the area to return home to their native village.Returnees , after bringing funds and have adapted to the particularities of urbanity , transformed campaigns at all levels .This new type of life , brought by ghosts in their home villages with many social changes , has given a new shape to the mountain villages of the countryside of Lattakia , different from the previous situation of these villages and specifically before arrival of the ruling Baath party in the 1960s .For the current configuration of the mountain countryside of Latakia , it is necessary to ask the following question:To what extent the transformation of social life in the mountain villages of Latakia she influences the architectural and urban configuration of these villages?

Cette thèse cherche à renouveler les cadres d’interprétation sur la conflictualité autour de la ressource en eau au Mexique, en adoptant une approche constructiviste des conflits hydriques. A travers l’analyse détaillée de deux situations de conflit sur l’eau liées à l’urbanisation dans l’Etat du Morelos, et l’étude de la façon dont les groupes mobilisés formulent le problème, nous mettons en évidence que les conflits sur l’eau n’expriment pas uniquement une demande d’accès à l’eau, mais aussi des revendications d’ordre patrimonial : les communautés paysannes se mobilisent pour préserver certains points d’eau, certaines infrastructures (réseaux d’eau, réservoirs), qui ont pour eux une signification particulière. Même si dans le Morelos, les réseaux d’eau sont le support d’une culture hydraulique singulière, le projet patrimonial ne répond pas seulement à la volonté de conserver certaines traces qui se trouvent menacées de disparition et revêt des enjeux politiques et identitaires pour les communautés agraires, qui ont subi de profonds bouleversements à la suite des réformes du statut des terres ejidales. Cependant, la dimension patrimoniale n’est pas prise en compte par les acteurs publics de l’eau, et la conflictualité reste latente. / This dissertation aims at renewing interpretations on water conflicts in Mexico, by adopting a constructivist approach. Through the detailed study of two water conflicts linked to urbanization in the State of Morelos and the analysis of the way the actors formulate the problem, we show that water conflicts don’t only express demands on water access, but also patrimonial claims: peasant communities mobilize because they want to preserve some water points, some hydraulic infrastructure (water networks, water tanks) that have a special meaning for them. Although in Morelos, water networks have given rise to a specific hydraulic culture, the patrimonial project is not only linked to the will of preserving a cultural heritage that may disappear and has a political and identity relevance for peasant communities that have been deeply shaken up by the land reforms of the nineties. Nevertheless, water public actors do not take patrimonial claims into account, and conflicts are latent.

Scholars have frequently considered the analysis of sustainable design and performance of the built fabric over the past two decades with regard to diversity, density and accessibility. They fall short of developing a holistic, systematic and objective assessment system for the analysis of the sustainable urban form. Subsequently, there is still a noticeable gap regarding the relationship between these dimensions and the patterns and the layout of built environments in the Middle East in general and in Iraq in particular. Intense and rapid economic development and urbanisation in Northern Iraq has resulted in expansive urban of built environments to accommodate the ever increasing urban population and level of activity in the city of Erbil. Architectural, planning and urban design trends at the intra-urban and neighbourhood levels indicate a state of disharmony and random physical forms that lack frameworks for understanding sustainable urban form in relation to urban patterns and layout. In this context, Accessibility, Connectivity, Compatibility, Diversity, Nodality, Density, Urban Identity, and Adaptability have been considered as analysis criteria to evaluate the sustainability of spatial patterns of urban form. The thesis aims to explore and examine the relationship between urban patterns and sustainable urban form in Erbil city in the context of sustainability through developing a customised but context-based framework for sustainable urban fabric indicators. To accomplish this, five case studies of residential projects with variable states of occupancy, completion, and social profiling have been chosen to investigate the practice of the sustainable urban form indicators. The research adopted a mixed-methodological approach, which combines quantitative and qualitative surveys of users, planners, and decision makers to enhance an understanding of the local perception of urban sustainability. A random sampling process is applied for the quantitative survey when distributing the questionnaires. The successful sample size, which was analysed, was 252 respondents. Using comparative analysis of sustainable urban form indicators in the recent local residential projects, quantitative findings have noticeably indicated significant variation in the effectiveness of indicators' performance, and consequently support the research assumption with statistical evidence that urban patterns have a significant impact on achieving sustainable urban forms in developing countries. The study concludes that the urban pattern indicator framework offers an efficient and rigorous approach that enables a credible assessment of the design strategies and planning decision-making in residential developments to achieve sustainable urban forms. These findings have evident implications for urban planners and policy makers during the design stage. The study has proposed practical planning and design guidelines which aim to enhance the local built environment.

Le changement démographique de Tunis et du Grand Tunis et le développement de l’habitat spontané ont amené la ville de Tunis à être une métropole internationale, avec une zone médiane s’étalant sur 30 km. Partant d’un régime complexe comportant énormément de contraintes structurelles et procédurales, et considérant les limites des politiques foncières poursuivies, l’accès au sol urbain en Tunisie est de plus en plus dépendant des régulations du marché. Le gouvernement tunisien envisage l’étude d'un futur projet de ville nouvelle dans une localité, appelée Fejja, située à vingt cinq kilomètres de la capitale. Ce projet conciliera une zone industrielle et une zone d'habitat dans une dynamique de développement économique et durable. Cette ville nouvelle sera la première ville nouvelle en Tunisie.L’étalement spatial du grand Tunis résulte de plusieurs facteurs parmi lesquels le facteur foncier est stratégique dans la mesure où les lotisseurs clandestins d’une part, les propriétaires fonciers d’autre part, sont à l’origine du développement d’un marché foncier spécifique car destiné aux populations économiquement modestes. En termes de politique d’habitat, l’Etat étant dans l’incapacité de produire une offre foncière adaptée à cette population, tolère le développement en périphérie de ce type d’habitat.Le présent travail de recherche consiste à analyser les différentes phases du processus d'urbanisation de Tunis, et de déterminer les mécanismes sous-jacents qui sous-tendent ce processus, tels que la densification, la péri-urbanisation et les projets d’aménagement du territoire par le biais de la création d’une ville nouvelle. / A combination of demographic changes and the development of informal settlements in Tunis and its surrounding area mean that the city now constitutes what is an international metropolis, with a median zone extending over 30 km. Given the complexity of the system originally in place, with its many structural and procedural constraints, along with the limitations of land policies which have already been pursued, access to urban land in Tunisia is increasingly dependent on market regulation. The Tunisian government is now studying the proposal of a future project of a new town in a locality called Fejja, located approximately thirty-five kilometers from the capital. The first of its kind in Tunisia, this project aims to reconcile an industrial park with a zone of habitat within the dynamics of an economically sustainable and durable development.The urban sprawl of Grand Tunis is the result of a number of factors; one of which being the illegal developers and the landowners. Those factors are responsible for the development of a land market designed specifically for people with low income. In terms of housing policy, the state has so far proved unsuccessful it its attempts to provide a land offer which is suitably adapted to this community. It has thus decided to tolerate such housing developments which are now common to the outskirts of the city. This work consists in analyzing the different phases of the urbanization process of Tunis, and to determine the underlying mechanisms behind this process, such as densification, peri-urban and regional development projects through the creation of a new town.

Urbanisation and the associated nutrition transition have been linked with the recent rise in osteoporotic fragility fracture incidence in many countries. Predictions indicate that hip fracture incidence will increase 6-fold in Africa and Asia by 2050, partially attributed to demographic transition and population ageing. Differences in areal bone mineral density (aBMD) between rural and urban locations indicate that urban regions of high-income countries (HIC) have lower aBMD and a higher incidence of hip fracture. The few studies conducted in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) provide inconsistent results; in contrast to HIC, most have found higher aBMD in urban populations. To investigate the impact of migrating to an urban environment, detailed studies of bone phenotype and factors affecting bone health have been conducted in two groups of pre-menopausal Gambian women: urban migrant (n=58) and rural (n=81). Both groups spent their formative years in the same rural setting of Kiang West, urban women were known to have migrated to coastal districts, concentrated in Brikama and Kanifing, when aged ≥16 years. Bone phenotype (bone mineral content (BMC); bone area (BA); aBMD, and size-adjusted BMC (adjusted for height, weight and BA) of the whole-body, lumbar spine and hip) was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), with further characterisation by peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). Data were also collected on anthropometry, body composition, food and nutrient intakes, physical activity, socio-demographic characteristics, vitamin D status, and 24hr urinary mineral outputs (Na, K, P, and Ca). Mean age and height of rural and urban migrant groups were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Urban migrant women were significantly heavier (p < 0.01). Significant differences in BMC and aBMD were found between groups at all skeletal sites, with urban women having higher BMC and aBMD; BA was not significantly different. The greatest difference in BMC was found at the lumbar spine (8.5% ± SE 3.0, p < 0.01), a meaningful difference, equivalent to 0.76 of rural SD. T- Scores were also calculated using a young adult (white, female) reference population, mean T- scores were -1.03 and -0.22, for rural and urban groups respectively. After adjusting for size, differences in whole-body and hip BMC were mostly attenuated (p > 0.05), but difference in spine BMC remained significant (6.2% ± SE 2.1, p < 0.01). These results indicate that rural-to-urban migration is associated with higher BMC; BA and height were similar, and difference in body weight could not fully account for higher BMC at the lumbar spine. Calcium intakes were low in both groups, urban migrant 294mg/d (IQR: 235 to 385) and rural 305mg/d (IQR: 222 to 420). Urban women had significantly lower intakes of potassium, magnesium and dietary fibre (p < 0.01), related to lower consumption of fruit, green leafy vegetables and groundnuts. 25-hydroxy vitamin D status was good in both groups, urban migrant 64.0 ± 14.2nmol/L and rural 68.3 ± 15.7nmol/L (M ± SD, p > 0.05). Implications for bone health of the nutrition and demographic transition, principally future fracture risk and other non-communicable diseases require further research in LMICs. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE To my knowledge, this is the first study investigating the impact of rural-to-urban migration on bone health to be conducted in sub Saharan Africa. It is the first study of bone health and determinants of bone health in an urban population in The Gambia.