The study of urban periphery has become an emerging theme in urban and regional research in recent decades. Peri-urban development often refers to the space where city meets the countryside and is also often referred to as urban–rural interface, peri-urban area, edge city, and even suburbs. It is hard to exactly identify the urban periphery since it lacks a clear theoretical definition and material boundary. Some regard it as the space between urban and rural, while some consider it as a dynamic process of the transformation from rural to urban. The ambiguity of peri-urban area has led to neglect and ignorance in both urban and rural studies for a long period, but nowadays an increasing number of scholars have begun to realize that the peri-urban area has its unique characteristics, needs, and problems, which may induce great challenges and opportunities to regional development and governance. Peri-urban development is not limited to individual countries or regions; rather, it is pervasive all over the world, not only in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America but also in developed nations in Europe, North America, and Australia. Nor is peri-urban development an isolated process. It is a broad issue related to a wide range of topics including economic growth, land use transformation, public service provision, ecological conservation, urban planning, social equity, and so on. It shows strong diversity and heterogeneity in driving forces, process, and effects, which highly depend on specific contexts and reflect a complex nature and endless possibilities. Both the similarity and variation in peri-urban development in different parts of the world requires careful attention and thorough examination.
CONTEMPORARY MATALE CITY: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT