What Is the Rural-Urban Fringe?
The rural-urban fringe is the zone where a metropolitan region meets the countryside. This is the land of sprawl and the outermost reaches of municipal services. There are unique hazards associated with living in the rural-urban fringe, including wildfires, predators (like coyote & bears) and vehicle-animal collisions. As development takes over the hinterlands of a city, valuable agricultural lands and open space are lost.
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Rural
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Farms are common in many rural areas. Rural areas are defined are working landscapes with low population density. These regions may be dominated by agriculture or extractive industries (forestry, mining and energy production). Rural areas are open spaces, which provide important ecosystem services.
Urban
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These houses are near the rural-urban fringe. Urban areas have higher density of residents then rural areas and include suburbs and central cities. The U.S. Census Bureau defines urbanized areas as having "a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile and surrounding census blocks that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile." Urbanized areas tend to have infrastructure such as municipal sewers and water that are not available in rural areas. About 70 percent of the population of the United States lives in urban areas as of 2010.
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the Rural-Urban Interface
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Large houses on large lots are typical of pre-2008 development. Since World War Two, most of the housing and urban growth in the United States has occurred outside cities on rural land where land was cheaper. As land is developed for urban uses, large tracts required by agriculture, mining and forestry are fragmented. In wilderness areas, wildlife habitat is fragmented, which increases human-wildlife conflicts or reduces the available habitat. Many rural land-uses are not compatible with residential areas, and the new residents often complain about the odors and noises of the working landscape.
Sprawl
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A sprawling development reduces the available open space and increases traffic congestion. Sprawl is defined as low-density single-use development that requires a car for mobility. By locating housing far away from jobs and commercial districts, traffic congestion and resource consumption is increased. Typical sub-divisions that feature cul-de-sacs and loops inhibit pedestrian connections to nearby amenities. Large parking lots, the lack of sidewalks and large distances between places increase the reliance on automobiles in sprawling suburbs. While land and houses are cheaper in outlying regions, transportation costs and utilities are much higher than in more centralized areas.
Hazards
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Wildfires are often suppressed when there are nearby houses, increasing the chance for a catastrophic fire. Wildfires and human-animal conflicts are typical hazards in the rural-urban fringe. Around Los Angeles, mountain lions and bears are common adjacent to the San Bernardino and Santa Monica Mountains. In Miami-Dade, alligators are common adjacent to the Everglades. In the Mid-Atlantic, black bears and deer populations are increasing in the suburban areas. Predators often eat pets such as cats and dogs, and occasionally attack people. Deer and other large herbivores can damage gardens and cause many vehicle crashes. Wildfires are common in wilderness and rural areas. When houses are built adjacent to fire-prone landscapes, they are at increased risk of burning down. Avalanches and landslides are common in mountainous regions in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit rural landscape image by Sophia Hendrick from Fotolia.com On the Farm image by mhiser from Fotolia.com city 2 image by Cesar Andrade from Fotolia.com single family houses image by MAXFX from Fotolia.com Red painted house image by TekinT from Fotolia.com Forest fire image by Sergey Yakovenko from Fotolia.com
