Change in peri-urban Australia: implications for land use policies

Peri-urban areas have commonly been defined in relation to a nearby metropolitan area on their inner boundary, a rural area on their outer boundary, or as the land in between. Peri-urban areas usually are not homogenous but are dynamic areas and the focus of significant non-metropolitan growth, both in Australia and internationally. A functional analysis requires an examination of the reciprocal relations of interacting systems as well as the characteristics, extent and impacts of cities and rural areas on peri-urban areas. Typologies of peri-urban development must address this heterogeneity. An examination of two Australian peri-urban case study areas applies an enhanced typology and reveals a disorderly pattern of existing subdivision with little discernible pattern and reflecting historical subdivision approvals.