The Rural-Urban Fringe

The growth of cities has caused URBAN SPRAWL outwards into the countryside,
engulfing small villages, farms and woodland.

Land is in demand for housing, industrial estates, business parks, out-of-town shopping
centres, bypasses, airports, recreational amenities and public utilities such as
waterworks and sewage works.

Planning authorities are actively involved in trying to control the growth of urban areas.

There are many conflicts and issues surrounding the rural-urban fringe.

MOTORWAYS AND BYPASSES

In the 1980s car ownership and road building were encouraged. This has resulting in
huge pressure on the existing road network, congested city centres and villages
damaged by the weight and noise of traffic.

The solution in the 1980s and 1990s was to build more roads, but many of the schemes
attracted considerable opposition from local people and conservation groups.

By the late 1990s public opinion and government policy had changed. Increasingly
schemes planned to reduce the amount of traffic by improving public transport,
charging tolls on motorways, putting up the cost of fuel and car parking in town centres
and encouraged more environmentally friendly forms of transport.

Many new road schemes scheduled for the late 1990s or the early 200s have been
scrapped.

COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

Developers like out of town locations on Greenfield sites because they are cheaper and
easier to build on than brownfield sites within the built up area.

Greenfield sites are equally attractive to companies locating shopping centres and
business parks because they offer:

Cheap land and lower rates than in urban locations.

Plenty of space for large one storey buildings and car parks.

Open space – easy to landscape and surrounded by pleasant countryside.

A cleaner, less congested environment.

Easier access to motorways and deliveries and worker access.

CONSERVATION AND GREEN BELTS

Green belts are areas of land intended to be left open and protected from
development. They have several aims:
To check the sprawl of large urban areas and prevent neighbouring towns from
merging.

To safeguard surrounding countryside from encroachment and destruction.

To assist in urban regeneration by encouraging reuse of derelict and other urban land
(i.e. BROWNFIELD SITES).
From 1946 onwards, Green belts were established around all major
conurbations and big cities.

as well as several smaller towns, often historical

ones with plenty to protect, such as Chester and
Durham.

Development within them is only permitted in

exceptional circumstances.

IN general the policy has worked well.

Only 3% of the new dwellings built between

1997 and 2000 were in green belts. However,
pressures are increasing all the time.

It would not have been possible to build the M25

around London without consuming some of the
green belt.

Every time a green belt is under threat, local people and members of
conservation groups protest, demanding that controls on development are
strictly enforced.

Councils are encouraged to redevelop brownfield sites to meet the rising

demands for housing from population growth and a persistent increase in
demand for one-adult homes.

PRESSURES AMD ISSUES

The pressure from developers and builders on planners and local

authorities to allow more growth in the rural-urban fringe can only
increase. The rural-urban fringe is a very attractive location, both for new
housing and a range of commercial activities. Many of the benefits of living
and working in the countryside can be enjoyed at the same time as those
derived from being close to urban services and communications.

Plenty of farmers are willing to sell land. The price of land for building can
be 10 times higher than for farming; some farmers next to urban areas
suffer problems from vandalism, sheep-worrying by dogs, theft and crop
trampling. Many types of farming are less profitable than they used to be.
The drive towards more intensive farming has been reversed;
overproduction of farm produce led to the EU policy of ‘set-aside’, where
farmers are paid not to farm their land.
Questions

1. What is URBAN SPRAWL?

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What was the 1980s solution to congestion?

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What was the policy by the late 1990s?

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Why is Greenfield sites popular?

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What is a green belt?

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Urbanization

URBANIZATION is urban growth, which leads to an increase in the

percentage of people living in urban areas.

URBAN GROWTH IN MEDCs

Towns and cities in MEDCs grew rapidly during the industrial

revolution. In Britain this was mainly in the 19th century. At the time
there was an Agricultural Revolution. New farm machinery meant less
labour was needed on farms, so people moved to towns where there
were plenty of new jobs available in new factories, mines and
shipyards.

Urbanization was happening. Although growth was quite rapid, about

10% per annum, there were enough jobs for people , and mine and
factory owners built houses for their workers.

Towns and cities continued to grow in to the 20th century as a result

of push and pull factors, causing urban depopulation, particularly from
remote areas. As a result, almost 90% of the UK population is now
classified as urban; it is almost as urbanized as it can be. If anything,
in the UK and in some other MEDCs, notably the USA, the movement
is the other way. Big cities in particular are witnessing a loss of
population as wealthy commuters and retired people are moving out
into the country to live in villages and small market towns.

URBAN GROWTH IN LEDCs

Phenomenal rates of urban growth continue to be recorded in LEDCs,

for which three main causes can be identified:

1. Rural to urban migration, a result of both push and pull factors

2. High rates of natural increase among the youthful population of
these cities.
3. The concentration of industry and all other modern economic
activities making the cities a natural magnet for young people
looking for work.

Persistent urban growth in LEDCs has led to a change in the

ditribution of the world’s largest cities.

By 2000 there were 18 megacities (cities of 10 or more million

inhabitants). 12 of which were in Asia.

ADVANTAGES FROM URBANIZATION

Although the disadvantages and problems from urban growth in

LEDCs are more serious and receive most attention, there are
benefits.

For the economy:

• Big cities, attract investment from overseas companies,

encouraging modernization.
• More value is added by processing and manufacturing than
exporting raw materials.

For people’s incomes:

• The variety of employment opportunities increases and people

have more chance of regular paid work.
• Even self help work in the informal sector often brings in more
 money than farming.
• There are more commercial opportunities for farmers to sell
produce in city markets.

For people’s quality of life:

• Essential services such as safe water supply, sanitation and

electricity are more likely to be available than in rural areas.
• Often secondary education is only available in cities, opening up
more chances of acquiring skills.

Opportunities for improvement:

• Improvements in shanty towns can be seen as a step on the

ladder for future generations.
• Even jobs in the informal sector may enable skills to be acquired,
leading to better pay in the future.
• Possibilities exist that are not present in the countryside, even if
many will not be able to benefit from them.

Big cities are dynamic places in LEDCs, whereas the pace of change is
slow in the countryside. Walk around some areas, especially in capital
cities, and it is impossible to believe that you are in a poor country.

Questions

The graph below shows past and projected urban population data. Present and
expected future urban growth is overwhelmingly concentrated in LEDCs. What
significant change occurred between 1970 and 1980?
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How did urban growth happen in MEDCs in the 19th Century?

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What are 3 causes for growth in LEDCs?

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Name some advantages of urbanization?

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