Urban/rural fringe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The urban rural fringe, also known as the outskirts or the urban hinterland, can be described as the "landscape interface between town and country" [1], or alternatively as the transition zone where urban and rural uses mix and often clash.
Its definition shifts depending on the global location, but typically in Europe where urban areas are intensively managed to prevent urban sprawl and protect agricultural land the urban fringe will be characterised by certain land uses which have either purposely moved away from the urban area, or require much larger tracts of land. As examples;
- roads, especially motorways and bypasses,
- waste transfer stations, recycling facilities and landfill sites,
- park and ride sites,
- airports,
- large hospitals,
- power, water and sewerage facilities.
Despite these 'urban' uses the fringe remains largely open with the majority of the land agricultural, woodland or other rural use. However the quality of the countryside around urban areas tends to be low with severence between areas of open land and badly maintained woodlands and hedgerows.
[edit] See also
- Boomburbs
- Commuter town
- Edge city
- List of bedroom communities
- Microdistrict
- Prime farmland
- Suburb
- Urban sprawl
