Issues affecting the rural-urban fringe

Overview

Rural-urban fringe, urban sprawl and green belt and how is it intended to work.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is the rural-urban fringe?

   Model answer

   The zone of transition at the edge of a town or city, between the continuously built-up urban area and the open countryside beyond. It is characterised by a mixture of urban and rural land uses side by side, rapid land-use change, land held speculatively awaiting development, and competition between developers, farmers, residents and conservation interests.

2. 2

   Why does so much development pressure concentrate on the rural-urban fringe?

   Model answer

   Because land there is cheaper than in the city while still being close to urban markets and labour; large flat undeveloped sites are available for the space-hungry uses that cannot fit inside the city, such as retail parks, distribution depots and business parks; access is good where ring roads and motorway junctions are located; there is room for car parking; and households want larger houses with gardens in a semi-rural setting within commuting distance of the city.

3. 3

   What kinds of land use are typically found in the rural-urban fringe?

   Model answer

   New private housing estates; out-of-town retail parks and superstores; business and science parks; warehousing and distribution depots; park-and-ride sites; hospitals and other large institutions; sewage works, landfill sites and other utilities the city needs but does not want centrally; golf courses, playing fields and country parks; garden centres and horse liveries; and, still, working farmland and woodland between all of these.

4. 4

   What conflicts arise in the rural-urban fringe?

   Model answer

   Farmers lose land to development and suffer trespass, litter, dog worrying of livestock and vandalism, while uncertainty over future sale discourages long-term investment in the land. Existing rural residents object to loss of views, noise, light pollution and traffic. Commuters generate congestion on rural roads not built for the volume. Conservation bodies object to loss of habitat and open space. Developers and landowners stand to gain very large sums from planning permission and press for release of land.

5. 5

   What environmental problems does fringe development cause?

   Model answer

   Loss of farmland, hedgerows, woodland and wetland habitats and the fragmentation of what remains; loss of open space and the visual amenity of the countryside; an increase in impermeable surfaces such as roofs, roads and car parks, which raises surface run-off and flood risk downstream; more traffic and therefore more air and noise pollution; light pollution affecting nocturnal wildlife; and pressure on water supply and drainage infrastructure.

6. 6

   What is urban sprawl, and how does it relate to the fringe?

   Model answer

   Urban sprawl is the uncontrolled outward spread of the built-up area into surrounding countryside at low density. It is the process that pushes the rural-urban fringe further out over time: as each new outer edge is built on, the fringe migrates outwards into what was previously open countryside, consuming farmland and open space and lengthening commuting journeys.

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