When City and Country Collide

As traditional and rural industries like farming and forestry give way to residential and commercial development, the rural-urban fringe is taking the place of the middle landscape that the suburbs once occupied. This text examines the implications for accommodating population and economic growth. As traditional rural industries like frarming, forestry and mining give way to residential and commercial development, the land at the edges of the developed areas - the rural-urban fringe - is becoming the middle landscape between the city and the countryside that the suburbs once were. To date, this rural-urban fringe has been largely ignored in national policy debates. This book highlights the importance and relevance of population and economic growth, environmental quality and competitiveness in the global economy - and examines the implications for accommodating population and economic growth at a regional and not merely local level. The text is intended as a resource for planners, policy-makers and all those looking to the future of fringe areas.