Fringe Belts

Abstract

This chapter is principally concerned with Jeremy Whitehand’s contribution to the study of urban fringe belts. However, this consideration will initially be set in a broader context relating to the general field of urban morphology as an object of study. This is because the development of urban morphology as an academic endeavour, and along with it, the study of fringe belts, has not been a straightforward linear progression. Indeed, there have been periods when, in the Anglophone world at least, the subject appeared to be on the verge of extinction. The fact that this has not occurred is in no small measure due to the efforts of JWR Whitehand. The essay will then proceed to an assessment of the major contributions made by Whitehand in the general area of fringe-belt studies. We shall then conclude with a personal assessment of Whitehand’s overall influence and academic characteristics, derived mainly, although not exclusively, from his contributions to that specific branch of urban morphology.