Thursday, April 24, 2008

Rural-Urban Fringe

The Rural-Urban fringe is the name given to the land at the edge of an urban area, where there is often a huge mixture of land uses.

Often science parks, business parks and industrial estates locate in the rural-urban fringe as the land is cheaper, there is room for expansion and they are closer to transport links to allow export and import of goods.

Motorways and by-passes, such as the M25 and the Newbury by-pass have been built on the rural-urban fringe, much to the disgust of environmental groups who feel that the area should be kept as green as possible.

Recreational land-uses such as golf courses and leisure parks have been established in the rural-urban fringe.

Housing has also encroached into the rural-urban fringe, and small villages have grown as more people move out of the cities and commute to work.

Out-of-town shopping centres also find that the space available, good transport connections and cheap land encourage them to establish in the rural-urban fringe.

Farming still occurs in the rural-urban fringe, although the farmers often come under great pressure to sell their land for development. A farmer will make far more money from a sale if there is already planning permission for building to occur on the land.

source:http://www.s-cool.co.uk

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