Social Perception of the Peri-urban Interface
Can we bring forward the Peri-urban Identity through the study of its social characteristics/perception?
Introduction
One can define the Peri-urban space as an interface representing a continuum, a distance between urban and rural that is not necessarily contained or restrained, but fluid and fluctuation with pockets of more or less urban spaces in-between. Therefore, it creates socially differentiated landscapes, resulting in a constant change of land-use, all because various social relations influence it.
The suggestion that the peri-urban represents an emerging, unique and different space, means that change within the peri-urban area is challenging, and posing questions for the legal developments and existing planning tools, challenging what society sees as the Identity of space and bringing forward something different in the form of a new market.
Highlighting, emphasising the dual nature of the peri-urban interface, by bringing forward its Identity through the study of its social characteristics and implications is the aim of this essay. Through .rar, the implementation of new social relations and technics such as short supply chains that can reinforce the Identity of the Peri-urban interface and create collaborative settings for societies from both urban and rural backgrounds.
01| What is the social perception of the urban forest ?
It is essential to understand how the community views the peri-urban space and its use, values, management and appearance.
Through various interviews with friends and neighbours, and the analysis of other data methods, the essay aims to draw out what is being said in and around the peri-urban interface and capture the various ways it is depicted in terms of spatial language and landscape, in the hope that it will aid in exposing ways of reinforcing an enriching such spatial consolidation of architectural and natural contexts. When talking about both their lived experience, and of their friends/family, and their relationship with the peri-urban space, it allows for the exploration of the meaning to such space for communities, and how it speaks to them, and subsequently what that means for the peri-urban identity.
In general, when thinking of the peri-urban, given the traditional rural nature of the space, it is expected the assumption that there is a more singular voice when interacting with its community. However, after interviews and research, the general perception is much more complicated, as it is composed of many agents. Such complexity emerges from multi-functionality of the peri-urban, the various attributes and the different ways its inhabitants value it. As much as all voices are heard, there is without a doubt a discrepancy in whose voice has more strength, leading many times to suppress others that might have something important to say or one being listened to at the expense of others. This can appear as a harsh dissonance across the peri-urban discourses, each presenting different readings of the space when it comes to life and relationships.
Curiously, peri-urban communities argue that the former reading of the peri-urban as the old urban-rural divide might no longer exist on the ground. Yet, concurrently today many people no longer tolerate or prefer the agricultural uses that were at some point accepted as a part of many backyards. The overall idea of the peri-urban has advanced to a type of settlement form in its own right; it showcases a challenge to those who persist in clasping onto that traditional relationship of the rural and urban. One cannot argue that these two spaces are mutually exclusive, mostly because of the multifunctional benefits that the country can supply the city with, in terms of food, water supply, recreation and landscape services for example.
All in all, it is explicitly clear to people that this space does not suggest a town space nor a country space, it is directly pushing for the consideration of third space and communities are starting to realise so, albeit the conflict is still there. In addition to conflict, it rises confusion as to what is its purpose, when considering the peri-urban as the middle ground between the two.
“…the action is in the periphery, the area that joins urban and rural space. This is where the resources are, population, economic activity and natural envy.”
03| Tension between the engagement between the two different typologies, rural and urban, in a peri urban context
It is more than expected to still presence conflict, discourse and disharmony amongst and within peri-urban areas.
One can start with how urbanisation is still considered one of the main drivers of the negative change within the peri-urban landscape, disturbing its sweet balance and dual quality. As much as rural production can majorly help in terms of economic development, it can have a detrimental impact on biodiversity/nature and the quality of water and land resources.
On another scale, the effect of territorial conflicts on the mental health and well-being of both entities, whether one is originally from a rural or urban area, is relevant.
Peri-urban settlers often create unrealistic and farfetched expectations of what life in a peri-urban area truly is. This is also based on the confused understanding of its identity, as mentioned before. A participant has described the residential amenity’s expectation as a “false expectation, as there are rural areas”. This kind of expectations probably forms the most significant tension amongst the social environment in peri-urban spaces. Many settlers bring with them the same set of expectations they had in their former urban residencies, which tinges their opinion on the purpose and use of peri-urban space. This adds to the scrutiny under which peri-urban areas are under, new settlers are driving out the benefits firstly introduced by rural spaces. Such conflict means that enterprises are being moved out of the peri-urban as they grew, even if they may have rural zones. The concern over aspects of rural orientated business such as smell, noise or dust acts as the impetus for conflict that was then planning still struggles to deal with.
Therefore, what is also relevant is the competition that arises for different types of resources inputs that every kind of land uses to succeed, whilst also creating conflict in cultural and institutional relations, involving various sectors of bureaucracy, politics and policymaking.
Research also suggests that this conflict can then extend geographically, amongst the different uses existing at specific areas of the fringe. This mainly results from instated policies that were poorly thought-out or entirely missing to consider the multiple attributes the peri-urban has appropriately.
04| What are the different possibilities for engagement with both sides, simultaneously and non simultaneously ?
How these engagements can be considered into designing a community involvement with natural environments in a non idealised manner?
To design this involvement between communities originally from rural or urban contexts, it is fundamental to identify what is it the people seek from these places, from peri urban spaces.
Is the aim to reconnect town and country?
Are they trying obliterate conflict in order to create a more singular dominant use?
It is imperative to say that this essay aims to really project the idea that communities should most definitely accept that rural and urban space are two disparate space, each with their own historical, cultural, spatial and social identities, however alongside these now blossoms a new typology, with its own complex different identity, but that also forms the connective tissue between the others.
By recognising the peri-urban, the community can ignite the consciousness of what these areas have to offer both urban and rural spaces, in their interventions they can unite the three main challenges: population, landscape and food production.
A key way to reinforce the peri-urban identity can be through the implementation of more short supply chains and promoting its embedment into other jurisdictions so that it provides opportunities for new collaborations within the peri-urban community. This encourages people formally from rural and urban areas, to come together and find a common goal that benefits both, creating a healthier, more authentic social peri-urban relationship.
04.1| Understanding of the non heterogeneous perception/use of nature and designing it into community peri-urban identity
To understand that there isn’t a heterogeneous perception of nature is essential; individual cultural and social backgrounds have a particular perception of nature, meaning many of these. The social perception of nature has so many components that depend on culture, financial models, socio-economic backgrounds, and this means that there is the possibility of the social networks in peri-urban areas being limited by the lack of familiarity and cultural sameness, within these heterogeneous and growing peri-urban areas. These limitations can include language barriers, cultural differences, access to work, negative statistics that emerge from the formation of informal settlements.
This implication arises from this one category of peri-urban that is composed of areas proximate to the city that have been settled through immigration. As they derive from a variety of geographic source points rather than a single one, these areas are characterised by more significant ethnic heterogeneity and a greater variety of beliefs about customary institutions and habits.
It is imperative to acknowledge that the heterogeneity of the cultures of origin means that any collective organisation should be discussed amongst them rather than along, customary lines. It won’t be by merely adhering to a tradition of any type that will settle any conflicts that might appear from the differences between the traditions.
This can means that perhaps in order to have a more socially diverse community, where everyone’s reading of nature and their traditions, there should be an increased use of transcultural methods of problem/conflict solving and community building that transcend traditions.
By providing information about the ways of this new culture that arises from a peri-urban environment, it influences the community to form enclaves. Through the concepts of Kinship or Ethnicity, they can reproduce new adapted traditional institutions, creating a more stable peri-urban community.
04.2| The Idea of Wellbeing — the coming together of all sides in a more aware community
Wellbeing is also one of the elements that come up polarised when it comes to which typologies mostly influence it. When it comes to urbanisation, human health and wellbeing are becoming more related to the quality of the urban lifestyle. The urban environment can usually be associated with low physical activity or increased mental stress. When looking at nature-related solutions, taking advantage of the available ecosystem services can provide promising steps towards addressing these health challenges.
The interchange between environment-related health and other factors, such as their general lifestyle, social and technological factors, is complex, but quite under-researched. This shows that there isn’t much information on causal connections and feedback loops between health, peri-urban settings and environmental policies.
The concept of ‘community well-being’ though provides a useful framework to examine the relationship between individuals’ wellbeing and the physical environment and spatial conditions in which they live.
A systems approach, which reflects the complex and dynamic interactions between various aspects of peri-urban environment and human wellbeing, both within and beyond, is essential to actively understand and analyse the communities wellbeing, including the feedback and the actions taken. One example of a well-defined system approach is by approaching peri-urban spaces as a coupled social-ecological system, where health can be an indicator of the system’s performance. This approach can aid in scientific understanding of these interactions and well-being activities and review policies and types of interventions that can be designed to tackle wellbeing issues.
04.3| Engagements that do not promote Gentrification
Many outer factors can contribute to the gentrification in rapidly peri urbanised interfaces. From the type of government to the environmental aims of a city/country, these dynamics can mediate the interaction between capital movement and the spatial reorganisation of social classes. In the context of peri urbanisation, gentrification needs to be looked at less in terms of succession of class-based neighbourhoods but more in terms of competing for cross-class coalitions that emerge at a local/regional level.
Conclusion
The social perception of the peri-urban is inconsistent; it varies in terms of conflict; it is not always recognised for the emerging space.
However, through the close study of the different components within peri-urban societies such as well-being, socio-economy, production and community behaviour, we can implement simple tactics to bring the quality of peri-urbanism to the forefront, and emphasise the emergence of this third unique typology. Being that it is emerging, it gives space for the creating or reforming new/existing policies that generate new and close-knit relationships within the different entities. The idea of the peri-urban and its identity gives way to open, diverse and progressive communities that are socially sustainable in their relationships with urban and rural communities.