Peri-Urban Case Study

2.5.2 Land use dynamics in peri-urban areas
Bryant et al. (1982) in an attempt to show why there is an uneven land use development in peri-urban areas, noted that urban development may not occur around all urban centres in all directions, due to variations in societal response to changes within the surrounding areas of a particular city. This makes the peri-urban areas a disjointed (irregular) spatial occurrence in metropolitan regions. According to the PLUREL Project (2006), the problem of this uncontrolled urban sprawl can be seen as a market failure. The general public would be better off as a whole by coordinating development, but often lacks the capacity to do so. Actually, there is often fragmentation between government units, and a ‘governance
It is clear that lessons are to be learnt from the successes and failures of initiatives. But notions of Sustainability are generally missing from peri-urban debates, and in linking with policy and practice, ‘pro-poor’ initiatives are rarely coupled with ‘pro environment’ initiatives. Because of the unclear regulatory status of the peri-urban, its dynamic nature of flows and its heterogeneous and rapidly changing composition is vital to introduce notions of sustainability – which seek to address normative concerns of social justice and to ensure environmental continuity. The peri-urban is frequently negatively juxtaposed to both the urban and rural, which receive far more attention from policy makers and development agencies, rather than being considered in terms of its potential to enhance rural-urban synergies and build sustainability (Marshall et al., 2009). It is thus necessary to challenge these understandings of the peri-urban through attention to sustaining aspirations to progressive improvements in human wellbeing and environmental integrity. There is thus a need to build upon and complement previous and ongoing research that seeks to understand the dynamism of the peri-urban interface and its relationships with the wider landscape. However, it is also essential to integrate this with an understanding of the framings, power relations and governance structures; while exploring the dynamic inter linkages between different ‘systems’; and to show how these processes collectively determine particular technological interventions and management outcomes for the peri-urban. It follows then that dialogue around these issues can be promoted between diverse actors involved in different aspects of peri-urban management, and in so doing, opportunities for stakeholders