Peri-urban interfaces and peri-urbanization

Initially, this chapter reviews evolving conceptualisations of rural–urban interface zones since the mid-1990s. In many ways, these urban dynamics reflect the broader political economies and ecologies of the territories in which they occur. This includes legal and governance features such as land tenure systems, governance institutions and capacities, and their appropriateness to present-day circumstances. City size and function are other key characteristics influencing rate, scale and nature of peri-urbanisation.

Although peri-urbanisation is widely regarded as a unique feature of the present era of globalised capitalism, recent archaeological research using sophisticated new technologies has revealed that equivalent processes occurred in many pre-colonial indigenous urban cultures. This evidence provides valuable insights into how such large and sophisticated urban agglomerations understood and promoted sustainability and resilience in the face of fluctuating environmental conditions and conflicts, as illustrated with examples from different contexts. These lessons are highly relevant to current urban sustainability challenges.