The dynamics of peri-urbanization

Abstract

The peri-urban (sometimes also called the urban fringe) may be the dominant urban form and spatial planning challenge of the twenty-first century. In older industrial or post-industrial countries the peri-urban is a zone of social and economic change and spatial restructuring, while in newer industrializing countries, and most of the developing world, the peri-urban is often a zone of chaotic urbanization leading to sprawl. In both cases the peri-urban can be seen as not just a fringe in-between city and countryside, a zone of transition, rather it is a new kind of multi-functional territory. While it resists simple definitions, there are common features wherever such areas are found, such as a relatively low population density by urban standards, scattered settlements, high dependence on transport for commuting, fragmented communities and lack of spatial governance. Many global challenges arise from the ways that cities grow and change, especially the emerging mega-cities in developing countries where massive social and environmental problems can be found in their peri-urban hinterlands.