Identification of the spatial extent of the peri-urban area: The case of three cities in Poland

Abstract The work detailed here seeks to recognise features by which areas that can be deemed peri-urban differ from both city and countryside, to the extent that a separate specific identity for them can be discerned. The recognised features made it possible to identify the extent of the peri-urban area. The wealth of relevant literature is first considered, and this is seen to relate to the spatial side and to definition on the one hand, and to ongoing socio-economic processes on the other. Several Polish cities are then selected as the authors seek to discuss indicators useful in determining the spatial scope of the said peri-urban zones. The work proceeds on the assumption that these represent a real component of an urban-rural continuum characterised by reduced diversity and intensity of social and economic phenomena with steadily-increasing distance from the limits of a city in the direction of “traditional” rural areas.