497

.
Rural-urban fringe has mixed characteristics
of both rural and urban.
Some of the definitions are as follows .

1. "Rural-urban fringe is an area with

distinctive characteristics
which is only partly assimilated into the urba
n complex. which
is still partly rural."- H. Carter.
2. Where the urban influences are essentia
0

lly mingled with rural

forces often without striking a proper adjustm
ent as in the case
of unplanned growth designates the nature
of the rural-urban
fringe."-R . l . Sin gh
J . The urban fringe fonn the active exp
0

anding sector of the

compact economic city and it lies at the peri
phery of urban
areas."-Andrews
.
"Fringe Settlement as a two directional mo
vement reiterates
that new residents converge upon the fringe
both from urban
places and rural areas."-R ode hav er
s. "In the fringe area there is a mingling of people of some
whom work in and are oriented towards agricul of
ture while at the
same time the remainder pursue urban oc¢
upations and an
urban way of life ."-D ew ey
6. Rural-urban fringe is really an extensio
n of the city itself.
present and potential and since the city or citie
s of a metropolitan
area and the suburban or fringe areas are a
unit economically
and sociologically the entire area should
be thought of an
planted as a uni t."- -G.S. Wehrwein
7. "The fringe is the zone between the
country and the city ."
-R .R. Ma yer and J.A . Bee gle
8. "Rural-urban fringe is that area adjo
ining the inner fringe
out wa rd from the eco nom ic city in wh
ich the re is an
intenningling of characteristics of agriculture
and urban land
use s." -R.B. Andrew

I "The urban fringe is defined as the land surroun

· which is not considered as a part of it but who
directly by the tow n." -le wis Keeble
ding the town
se use is infh,\enced
/4. "The urban fringe is a mixture of land use
J and classified it into a series of belts surroun
s-r ura l and urban
ding the city by the
analysis of land-use characteristics. Such area
is full of serious .
and com ple x pro ble ms and needs pro
per pla nni ng for
solution ."-S oft er
 498 Urban Geography : A Tat-Boole
11. "Rural-urban fringe is the rural land with urban phenomenon.
The rural land is forced into urban uses prematurely and is
almost frozen rarely being restored to . agricultural uses..,
-R.L. Singh
12. "Rural-urban fringe is really an extension of the city itself,
actual and potential, and since it is an area where most of the
land uses are in flux.,,_R. L. Singh
13~ "Urban fringe is a zone of cultural development that has taken
place outsicle the political boundaries of central cities and
extends to the areas of [Link] activities."-F. Arplce
14. "The fringe is the extension of housing estates of buildings
along the main arterial roads, and by the location of new
factories, golf courses, water-works, ceneteries ... and the
like. '-R.E. Dickinson
9

I 5. "The rural-urban fringe is an area of transition between well-

recogn tzed urban land-use and the area devoted to
agriculture."-G.S. Wehrwein
16. "The rural-urban fringe is a 'suburb which begin where the
continuous build-up town ends. First, there is the built-up area
of hQuses with small gardens, fonning dormitory communities
from which more than half the active populations work in the
town."-Garnier and Chabot
17. "The space into which the town extends as the process of
dispersion creates the concepts of rural-urban fringe. The
centrifugal forces impel functions to migrate from the central
zone of a city towards its periphery."-Hira/a/ Yad(N
Characteristics and Problems

~ -is gu ite i11Jpa~I t~at rural-wban fringe i!.a trans itiona I zone between
~ ban ~d rural areas. The urban fringe suffers from thepro61ems of
urban expansion where the extension of buildings on road side, the
establisJuneJlt of..Jiew- iodustri,u ·ind several u~ban functions __!110
characteristics features develop. Sometimes even the cremation ground,
b~laces, dump of urban refuse, park, garden1 water wor_ks and golf-
course mid their place amidst airicultural fields on ·the fringe area.
A siiaay of American cit$' gives us an idea that a motorway has
helped much in fringe development in comparison with railways. This
area also favours the construction of human settlements and the
establishment of factories at slow pace. In this zone a fast change ofland
use pattern could be seen which is a sort of premature urban development.
 1,an frlng, 499
...Jl'(J,.u, .
f('" - f the fringe area hav~ to manage drink Ing water, latrine,,
fle5idd't ~gas on self-fielpoas1s. Generally. the municipal authorities
5

1cetrieilYth~~•outside the municipal limits. Here the plan of industrfaf

C ~ r IS 111- If -
~ ~ be managed we on the open land. The fringe area
cS1ab115,hdl11redas workshop for the construction of new bulfcfinp, pray
Is coos1butchefkhona,
e ---
petroIdepot, cremation
. ground. aerodrome, 5ewage -
n,ia-s. d0 m,p _pl.Pees o!-vrban refuge besides brewery lndustrie, which
i;fa'e~nt. 1bad smell. For--,-- this fact, O.S. Wehrwein has considered it u an
- --
s~,oT'lfres~ 1111u future ~ev~IQpment .QL~rban setifement.) ·
are~ r-ey has studied the characteristics and problems of Fffnt
. ~f Michigan State of U.S.A. and he has drawn the following
, 1tY O .-
cortclUSiOI\S :
(a) ~ e '!Uhdraw the land from A&ricvlwral pmduc!!_on;
(b) A lot of differences arc found in the distribution of efoi,, and
industries cro~ ~e_here and there; '
(c) One has to pay a heavy taxes in order to manage urban amenities
in the fringe area; -
(d) Due to construction of houses the price of the land shoots up
very
high which f~ours withdrawal ofthe land frQm agricu liure;
and
(e) One could observe a shift change in the characteristics of
~ -
1 1960 Golledge has shown the characteristics of Sydney city's
TUI' .urban fringe which are as follows : •

It is a zone of fast changing ownership_ofthe land;

]Jle plot of the land is of smalI si?&;
A zone of intensive agricultural operation;
Population is dynamic 6uf pie density is IQ.w;
The expansion of resident' es took place fast;
Municipal raci 1t1es are almost non-existent; and
11ie house rent [Link] very high.
-
In 1965, R.E. Pahj_has shown the characteristics of rural•urban_
fringe_~ s :
(a) ~re.galion__o~nd buildings;
(b) ~ective imm•igration bycl ic o le;
(c) ti!._acommu g e <?:_ workersofindustriesan~ ercial

----
centres ofihe city: and
500 Urban Geography : A Text-8004:
(d) ltj_s 8 meeting point of geographical and ~ial forces for

--
human ~cuoatwn. -
Pryor ( t 968) has considered the Ian~ closer to the city as social and
economic unit of the town. The tax for this rural sector comes from rural
areas and facilities of electricity, gas, drinking water and transport and
communication have been availed by the urban areas. From the point of
land utilization and demographic characteristics the rural-urban fringe
availed facilities of both the world. The other characteristics of rural-
urban fringe are as follows:

Yi The urban facilities are always inadequate by any means.

(b) Toe zonal arrangement i~6finterlinked. -
(c) 'J!e areal extent coyers the land ~ven beyond the city boun<far:t
(d) There is always chance of the increase of population density.

e residents of rural-urban frin e are wholly dependent upon

urban;_.:::..==-:
area .;::;.;__=-i
or employ ment, retail -
busine ss atom~ with the
,-;.;;;.,~ ·
iiinsport and mass communicatiJlJl. - -- .
.
, ------~
·
Sudesh Nangia (1976) while studying the rural-urban fringe of
Delhi Metropolitan region highlighted the following characteristics and
problems:

_)a')
Rural-urban fringe is full of huts, slums and squatter settlements
and the construction of buildings going on unawaited without
any proper plan;
~ A mixed fonn of land-use is found here;
(c) It is difficult to continue agricultural land-use on a permanent
_/ basis; .
~ ) The area suffers from urban facilities; ,
(e) It is difficult to provide facilities at this place due to dispersed
location of settlements and huge costs involved; and ·
(f) In rural-urban fringe the living conditions of both rural and
urban areas are found.

M .M.P. Sinha (1980) has highlighted the rural-urban fringe of

Patna in detail. fie concluded tnat rural-urban fringe has varying width
found as a narrow zone at the rear end of the urban centre. It has been
found that the rural sceoario dominates the scene towards ·villages and

-
urban. scenario dominates the scene towards urban area.
 .Vrba" Frlnge
~ rthe 0evelopment or Rural-Urban Frln1e
c••-'o ~~
. the ex ansion of urban c~re a~s dynamic character in the
l~ ev~ ~ i~ the west«;!!! woifd the e,cJ?_an5•on of
~ ce alo!!S the transport routes. In 1978 K.N. Gopi has
f r i o g e ~s of Urban Fringe Development : A Model Centre,
~ · · ·es urban frin e of the wc5t and the east
~ h:O~ of the availabili of race-c urse, industries, sewerage pfant
tn te the open §Pace and land reserves.
alons!:------
;rypes and Demarcation
/ ll\e boundary ofru~l-urban fringe changes continuously along with the
✓- · ~urban hmtts. lt may 6e otthe two types : .
e~
rimary Urban Fringe: This area is found towards the urban
centre. It has [Link]~ dif(e~s by different authors.
~ ~ -

Author Term
Andrews Urban Fringe ✓
ieinemann Outlying Adjacent Zone
M)ires and Beegle True Frin~e
Whitehard Inner Fringe Belt
M.M.P. Sinha s..ub-urban Fringe.
~1 ~ b-urb~ Zone/R_;_ ~r_ban
__Z_one

ef> Secondary Urban Frin e: This area is found a r ~ a r y

/!J an fringe. It rs known as rural fringe, suburban mne, partial
ur
[Link]~ rurban fringe and outer frmge. - --
In 1942 Richard Andrews has classified fringe as :

(a) u~ fringe-closer to the town; and

(b) rural-urban f r i n ~ village.

In 1967
Middli , Wh'iteland · has classified
- .
frmge as : Inner fringe zone
- e Frmee mne and Outer Ecio&e zone L
F
In 1968 R
.
may be the deli
,-

'd mi'talion
cons1 ered :
·
. . .

--
• .J. Pryor has classified fringe as : Urban Fringe and Rural

of rural-urban fringe the following measures

 Urban Geography .
. A Text-BooL
changes in the land use; it

cltanges in the buiii=u'p area:

occupational structure;
.!10use types;
distri!'ution of industrial and non-agricultural ...
~ , f . I . - activities·
11m11 o essenlla services; and · ,
distribution of educational institutions.

. ~ .M,.P. Sinha (1978) has considered the following fact

dehm 1tat10n of rural-urban fringe :

~ Time ~en in journey to work;

~ Urban habit; · ·
----
s for the

~ a n d value;
;,. blic utili services·
mmigrant populatio~;
~on-agricultural activities;
~opulation density;
, / ' Primary activities;
,>Biult-up area;
nge-sex ratio;
~ Ll~y rate; and
~Agricultural activities.

REFERENCES

Andrews, R.8., "Elements in Urban Fringe Pattern." 11,e Journal of land and Public
UtilityEconom/cs, Vol. 18, 1942,pp. 167-83.
Martin. W.T., ..The Rural-Urban Fringe: A Study of Adjustment to Residence Location,"
University of Oregon, Studies in Sociology, Vol. I. 1953, p. 3.
Mishra, B.P., 1be Concept of Rural-Urban Fringe," Recent Trt!nds [Link]<:t!pls In
Geography, (Edt. R.B. Mandal and V.N.P. Sinha); Vol. Ill, Concept Publishing
Company, New Delhi, 1980, pp. 143-56.
Morril, R.L., ..Expansion of the Urban Fringe : A Simulation Experiment." Paper of
Regional Scknce A8sociatlon, Vol. 15, 1965, pp. 185-99.
Pryor, R.J., ..Definition of the Rural-UrbM Fringe," Social Forces, Vol. 47, 1968,
pp. 202-15.
Singh, R.L., ..The Rural-Urban Fringe Studies," Thi! Geographer, Vol. 14, Aligarh,
1967, pp. 9-21. ·
Singh, R.R., Jaunpur and Ju Rural-Urban Fringe : A Study In SelllemenJ Geography,
B.H.U.,. 1973, pp. 150-60. · /
Srivasta¥a, 8 . and Ramc:hlndran, R.. '"The Rural-Urban Fringe," The Indian Gf!ographica
Journal, Vol. XLIX, 1974, pp. 1-9.