Rural-Urban Fringe – A zone of transition between the built-up area and the countryside, where there is often competition for land use

It is a zone of mixed land uses, from out-of-town shopping centres and golf courses to farmland and motorways.

Rural means relating to the countryside.

Urban means relating to the city.

To remember the meaning of the term Rural-urban Fringe, use the following mnemonic:

When you get your fringe cut it's only the front outside edge that gets removed.

So, rural-urban fringe is the countryside-city edge, the place where the edge of the city meets the edge of the countryside and where each competes for space.

There is growing interest in how the full environmental and social potential of rural-urban fringes can be unlocked.

A number of organisations have made proposals for maintaining and developing these areas sustainably so that they become assets rather than poorly planned urban sprawl.

Urban sprawl is the unrestricted growth of housing and commercial development which results in increased road traffic.