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===Appropriate technology and development===
Schumacher's initial concept of intermediate technology was created as a critique of the currently prevailing development strategies which focused on maximizing aggregate economic growth through increases to overall measurements of a country's economy, such as [[gross domestic product]] (GDP).<ref name=jackson /> Developed countries became aware of the situation of developing countries during and in the years following [[World War II]]. Based on the continuing rise in income levels in Western countries since the Industrial Revolution, developed countries embarked on a campaign of massive transfers of capital and technology to developing countries in order to force a rapid industrialization intended to result in an economic "take-off" in the developing countries.<ref name=jackson /><ref>
However, by the late 1960s it was becoming clear this development method had not worked as expected and a growing number of development experts and national policy makers were recognizing it as a potential cause of increasing poverty and income inequality in developing countries.<ref name=jequier>{{cite book|last=Jequier|first=Nicolas|title=Appropriate Technology: Problems and Promises|year=1976|publisher=[[OECD]] |___location=Paris|pages=16}}</ref> In many countries, this influx of technology had increased the overall economic capacity of the country. However, it had created a dual or two-tiered economy with pronounced division between the classes. The foreign technology imports were only benefiting a small minority of urban elites. This was also increasing urbanization with the rural poor moving to urban cities in hope of more financial opportunities. The increased strain on urban infrastructures and public services led to "increasing squalor, severe impacts on public health and distortions in the social structure."<ref name=evans />
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