Strategic environmental planning and management for the peri-urban interface

Although there is no consensus on the definition of the peri-urban interface, there is growing recognition among development professionals and institutions that rural and urban features tend increasingly to co-exist within cities and beyond their limits. There is also recognition that the urban–rural dichotomy that is deeply ingrained in planning systems is inadequate for dealing with processes of environmental and developmental change in the peri-urban context.

This project explores the environmental planning and management of the peri-urban interface, finding that it cannot simply be based on the extrapolation of planning approaches and tools applied in rural and urban areas. Instead, it needs to be based on the construction of an approach that responds to the specific environment, social, economic and institutional aspects of the peri-urban interface. The project also outlines approaches to environmental planning and management in the peri-urban interface, examining its specificity in terms of both the challenges faced and possible approaches for implementation.

Funded by DFID, this three-year research project investigated the environmental problems and opportunities emerging in the peri-urban interface of Manizales (Colombia), Kumasi (Ghana) and Hubli-Dharward (India) and produced policy and planning guidelines to promote sustainable environmental planning and management (EPM) with specific focus on improving the livelihoods and of the poorest.

To learn more about this project, please contact: For more information, please contact  Adriana Allen or read Strategic environmental planning and management for the peri-urban interface.