Rural-urban Fringe: The Concept and History

Rural-Urban fringe is an important concept in settlement geography. The rural-urban fringe is the boundary zone outside the urban area proper where rural and urban land uses intermix. It is the area where the city meets the countryside. It is an area of transition from agricultural and other rural land uses to urban use. Located well within the urban sphere of influence the fringe is characterized by a wide variety of land use including dormitory settlements housing middle-income commuters who work in the central urban area. Over time the characteristics of the fringe change from largely rural to largely urban. Suburbanization takes place at the municipal boundary of rural-urban fringe.

Rural-Urban Fringe concept is about Land Use and Societ while the Concept of Umland is about services.

History of rural-urban fringe development:

There was widespread inner-city development immediately post WW2. But this did not create enough housing units for all those who needed them.
Others were built on the edge of towns and cities.
Most of the residential growth is outwards into the suburbs. Population density is lower than that in the inner city, and the houses are usually larger as the land is cheaper.
As residential use started spreading to the suburbs, transportation networks developed, increasing the connectivity of the suburbs to the inner city.
From the 1970s, out-of-town shopping centers took advantage of lower land prices and more space.
After that many companies moved their offices and factories to the edge of the urban area for similar reasons, where they could take advantage of better transport links as well.
From the late 1970s, many cities have lost population to counter-urbanization – people leaving the cities for a variety of reasons.
- People want a better quality of life in a quieter, cleaner rural surrounding
- More people are willing and able to travel further to work
- Relocation of businesses to places with better transport links and cheaper building costs
- Flexible working and new technology have increased part-time home working.
- Retired people leave the city where they once worked.
This has led to the smaller towns and villages in areas with excellent communication links to expand – a lot of ‘in-filling’ has taken place. In-filling is building in gaps within the village or town boundary (known as the village/town envelope).

Factors for Increasing demand for land in the rural-urban fringe :

The land is cheaper – as the accessibility of the RUF is lower than that of the inner-city areas and most of the people have to travel to the inner city for work, fewer people are willing to live in the RUF. Thus the land prices are lower.
There is less traffic congestion and pollution – as the area is a new development in the outskirts, and the population living in the area is lesser than the inner city, the traffic congestion and pollution levels are lesser.
There is easier access and better road infrastructure – as it is a newer development with a lot of space available.
There is a more pleasant environment with more open space – the amount of open space decreases with time as the extent of development increases, and so does the friendly environment.

Beneficial development in the rural-urban fringe area:

The rural-urban fringe is characterized by a mixture of land uses, most of which require large areas of land.

Housing developments as urban sprawl continue
Science and business parks
Hypermarkets and superstores
Retail parks and out of town shopping centers
Office developments
Hotels and conference centers
Airport expansion

Housing developments

Housing demand is proliferating. Some of the reasons for this are:

a growing population
more elderly and retired people
more divorced and single people
increasing numbers of immigrants
more people buying second (holiday) homes

Problems caused by developing the rural-urban fringe:

Large areas of the countryside may be lost
Buildings may be out of character with existing rural buildings. Thus the loss of aesthetic sense
Villages may become suburbanized
Traffic is likely to increase (both cars and lorries)
there may be an increase in pollution (noise and air)

Issues in Urban-rural fringe

Uses	Positive Aspects	Negative Aspects
Agriculture	Many well-managed farms and smallholdings	Farms often suffer litter, trespass, and vandalism; some land is derelict in the hope of planning permission
Development	Some well-cited, carefully landscaped developments such as business and science parks	Some developments, such as out of town shopping areas cause heavy traffic flow and pollution. Unregulated businesses such as scrap metal and caravan storage. Airport expansion
Urban Services	Some, such as reservoirs or cemeteries, may be attractive.	Mineral workings, sewage works, landfill sites, etc. can be unattractive and polluting
Transport	New cycleways and footpaths can improve assess to the countryside	Motorways destroy the countryside and promote new development, particularly near junctions.
Recreation and sport	country parks, sports fields, and golf courses can lead to conservation.	Some activities such as stock car racing and scrambling to erode ecosystems and create localized litter and pollution
Landscape and nature conservation	Many SSSI (sites of special scientific interest) and AONB (Areas of natural beauty)	Much degraded land, eg. land ruined by fly-tipping; many SSSIs under threat