As you can see, and contrary to widespread perceptions, there is no significant augmentation of the urban areas' population in Georgia in the last two decades or so.

Below are Google Maps images of two rural communities (A and B) in Georgia. Please click the image to enlarge it.

A few days after the beginning of the August 2008 war with Russia, I found myself on an epic journey through Kvemo Kartli and the volcanic plateau of Samtkhe-Javakheti to Turkey.

We may recall that the Lazika city project has been proposed by the Saakashvili administration to accelerate the process of urbanization. A new city was suggested as a means of absorbing surplus rural population and thus paving the way for land consolidation and greater productivity in agriculture.

The objective of the project was to review social and economic platforms of Georgian political parties in key reform areas during the 2012 parliamentary election campaign. This project, involving a coalition of Georgian think tanks and NGOs, sought to review political party platforms in key reform areas such as employment, rural development, and education during the 2012 parliamentary election campaign