Sie sind auf Seite 1von 4

APRIL 2007

Online
Geo file 547

Tom Miller

A decision making exercise about the


rural-urban fringe
What is the rural-urban fringe? most developed regions of the world. inner city redevelopment plan, but
There is no clear dividing line between compensated for the loss of greenbelt by
‘The interface between town and country, what we call urban and what can be designating land beyond the edge of the
typically in Europe, where urban areas are classified as true countryside. Many new built-up area as future greenbelt.
intensively managed to prevent urban sprawl
rural dwellers have their own transport
and protect agricultural land. The urban fringe
will be characterised by certain land uses
and are prepared to travel to use urban Ipswich, Suffolk
which have either purposely moved away from shops and services; indeed, rural areas
the urban area, or require much larger tracts of often depend on adjacent towns and Ipswich, a town of 117 000 people in
land. …Despite these ‘urban’ uses the fringe cities for food supplies, middle and high East Anglia (Figure 2), well connected to
remains largely open with the majority of the order shops and services, e.g. secondary London and the Midlands by major
land agricultural, woodland or other rural use. schools and healthcare. Many are dual carriageways (A12 and A14
However the quality of the countryside around prepared to commute to an urban-based respectively), is a relatively thriving
urban areas tends to be low.’ job and the public transport network has manufacturing and service centre. By
en.wikipedia.org 2006 been designed to facilitate this. The 2021 a population of 145 000 is predicted
effects of distance have therefore been (Figure 3), so not only will Ipswich need
Some say it is the epitome of modern decreased due to improved mobility. new homes due to the national increase
society: a heartless, uncared-for
wasteland that exemplifies the very This then begs the question, whether it
worst of the developed world’s consumer is desirable that towns and cities spread Figure 2: Location of Ipswich
culture. Others, that is an essential part further into their rural fringe to provide
of the popularity of suburban living and new housing (4 million new homes
the consequent improvement in people’s required in the UK 1996–2006, for
quality of life. Wherever the truth lies, example, and since increased in the
one thing is clear; there is no more South East) plus the services these new
pressured or controversial environment dwellings will require. What will the
in Britain today than the rural-urban impacts be on both rural and urban
fringe. zones?
Suffolk
Ipswich
As a transitional zone, it is not always In many urban regions such
clear where the urban area ends and the development is limited by the legal
rural begins. Beyond the city limits imposition of a greenbelt, although it is Felixstowe
there is always an urban influence on the hardly unknown for greenbelt land to be
population of surrounding rural areas. built upon! Birmingham City Council,
The idea of a rural-urban continuum for example, utilized part of its greenbelt
(Figure 1) is found in European to the west of the city, around the M5, to
countries, Japan and North America, the create extra housing necessitated by its

Figure 1: the rural-urban continuum


GeoFile Series 25 Issue 3
Fig 547_01 B
C Mac/eps/illustrator 11 s/s
NELSON THORNES PUBLISHING A
Artist: David Russell Illustration
F B
rural-urban fringe

E D A D E
Gradient
C
rural elements (functional
landscape) increase with F
urban elements (functional
distance from the CBD
landscape) decrease with
distance from the CBD

A B C D E F
urban centre suburban urban shadow peripheral highly remote
(absolute urbanity) agricultural (absolute rurality)

Adapted from Figure 17.1, p. 516 David Waugh (2000) Geography: An Integrated Approach, 3rd edn.

Geofile Online © Nelson Thornes 2007


April 2007 no.547 A decision making exercise about the rural-urban fringe

in the number of households (due to Figure 4: Ipswich – population and employment structures, compared with those of
divorce, increase in single person the UK
households etc), new residents are
expected. Analyse the resources below in order to understand Ipswich’s economy.

Ipswich rose to modern-day prosperity Why is the percentage employed in education higher in Ipswich than
nationally? Why is the percentage employed in distribution higher? What
through agriculture-based industry, grounds are there to suggest that Ipswich has a sustainable economy?
notably engineering. As this faded due
to foreign competition and aggressive Resource 1: Ipswich’s population structure compared to UK average
take-overs, service-based employment
opportunities in insurance and
technology have come to the fore.
Ipswich is of note for having the highest
concentration of small businesses per Ipswich UK
head and it is the fifth largest port in the Age
UK. The town is also a national centre
for printing. 65+

Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk 50–64


and a major commercial centre in the
East of England region. It is a regional 35–49
centre for administration, financial
20–34
services, hi-tech industries and a hub for
transport and distribution. As befits the
0–19
fastest growing urban area in East
Anglia, Ipswich has a hotly debated
25 20 15 10 5 0 5 10 15 20 25
rural-urban fringe. Not only is it under
pressure from public and private % of population
housing demands and the service
industries vying to access this potential
custom but it has political pressures too.
Ipswich is reaching the limits of its GeoFile Series 25 Issue 3
boundaries, and the neighbouring local Resource 2: Employment structures forMac/eps/illustrator
Fig 547_02 Ipswich and the11UKs/saverage
authorities are unhappy at what they see NELSON THORNES PUBLISHING
as the rampant expansion of populations Artist: David Russell Illustration
Ipswich National
that have ties to another community and
therefore little commitment to theirs.

Figure 3: Ipswich as an urban centre

The current population of Ipswich


Borough is about 117,000. An extra
12,500 dwellings are planned for the
town by 2021 and by then Suffolk Key
County Council estimates that the Public administration and education Transport and communications
population of the town will have risen Distribution, hotels and catering Other services
to around 145,000. Banking, finance and business services Construction
The Government has recently Manufacturing industries Primary industries
published a major report entitled: The
State of the English Cities. This report
identifies Ipswich as one of the 56
biggest towns and cities in England. In
fact we are the 45th largest. In the East Resource 3: An analysis of company structure in Ipswich
of England, Ipswich is the 4th largest GeoFile Series 25 Issue 3
urban area and the Borough of Fig 547_03 Mac/eps/illustrator 11 s/s
Ipswich has the 7th highest house Company size Number %
NELSON THORNES PUBLISHING
building target out of the 48 authorities Micro 1-4 employees Artist: David Russell
2,784 Illustration
61.4
in the East of England.
… Ipswich is a key urban centre and Small 5-24 employees 1,264 27.9
one that is anticipated to grow quickly. Medium 25-199 employees 442 9.7
In fact, Ipswich is already growing Large >200 employees 45 1
quickly as can be seen from the
number of houses built each year from
1996.

From www.ipswich.gov.uk/ and its bid to become an


authority free of the control of Suffolk County Council.

Geofile Online © Nelson Thornes 2007


April 2007 no.547 A decision making exercise about the rural-urban fringe

figure 5: Potential rural-urban fringe development sites

Ipswich
town centre

Hotel
complex
Light
industrial
units

Midlands
Proposed
site
Residential
area
Park
and ride

A14
Retail
park

A12 A14/A12

London
Felixstowe

GeoFile Series 25 Issue 3


Fig 547_04 Mac/eps/illustrator 11 s/s
NELSON THORNES PUBLISHING
Artist: David Russell Illustration

Geofile Online © Nelson Thornes 2007


April 2007 no.547 A decision making exercise about the rural-urban fringe

Figure 6: Local opinions

For such an unassuming site, community leaders are engaged in a surprisingly


fierce debate.

‘If the growth of Ipswich is to continue it will need state-of-the-art facilities, particularly in education where
other areas have a greater tradition and a greater flexibility to meet the needs of an increasingly global job
market.’
Local headteacher speaking on behalf of the 14-19 college bid consortium

‘The Haven Gateway will provide 23,000 new jobs in this area by 2016. These workers will stimulate the
demand for 29,600 houses with a target of 40% of them being affordable homes.’
George Courtauld, Chairman of the Haven Gateway.
(The Haven Gateway is the umbrella title of the ports of Felixstowe, Harwich, Ipswich and Mistley.)

‘While there remains a ceiling on the building of new houses in our area there will remain a ceiling on
growth too. I worry most about those at the beginning of the property ladder who are struggling to get on.
Without new build to soak up the pressure prices can only continue to soar.’
Daniel Elliston, MD of Elliston, Steady and Hawes Ltd, a large local building company.

‘It might look like a wasteland to the untrained eye but we see areas such as this site as valuable buffering
zones between town and country. Without these green spaces where will sprawl stop?’
Mike Wood, chair of Suffolk Wildlife Trust

‘At what point will a job provided by the council’s willingness to exploit every last drop of space be too
expensive on every basis except money?’
A Lune-Mwen, local Green Party spokesman

‘What sort of welcome to our town does this patch of scrub represent? If Ipswich truly is a place for up and
coming businesses then our major routeway in from London needs to show our drive, imagination and
determination to succeed. A few butterflies won’t do that for us!’
Jeremy Pembroke, leader of Suffolk County Council

The Decision Making Exercise


In this decision making Geofile you will 4. Consider the arguments in favour 7. DECIDE! State your chosen land
be expected to gather information about of development of the site identified use for the proposed site in the rural-
the town and its circumstances plus the in Figure 5. Consider the current urban fringe of Ipswich and argue in
opinions of existing inhabitants and land use (photographs Figure 5) and favour of your decision. To help you
then decide whether the planned local opinion (Figure 6). Your own do this you may also criticise the
developments are appropriate. Your own opinions are valid too, so express other proposed uses.
ideas are welcomed as part of your them.
assessment.
5. There are three different bids to
1. Describe the characteristics of use the site under discussion. The
Ipswich as a medium sized town proposed uses are:
using material from the text, Figures • a business park for small
3, 4 and 5, and include an element of businesses
comparison with the UK in general. • private detached housing
• a 14–19 college for the local area
2. Which aspects of your description (this would serve the town itself
would make you want to move to as well as its hinterland).
Ipswich? For each potential use, discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of
3. Explain the pressures on the development. Refer to the resources
rural-urban fringe of Ipswich from given wherever possible.
the point of view of
environmentalists. Figures 5 and 6 6. Do you have any other
will help you, but it would also be suggestions for the use of this plot of
valuable to consult a medium scale land? Is it a viable candidate for
map of the area, such as a road atlas, conservation/preservation?
to help you assess the area. This site
is on the WNW side of the town.

Geofile Online © Nelson Thornes 2007

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen