Rural–urban fringe

A city does not end at a perfectly sharp boundary. Its rural–urban fringe is a transition zone where housing, roads and businesses meet farmland and other rural land uses. Urban sprawl occurs when the built-up area spreads outwards into this surrounding countryside.

The rural–urban fringe is the transition zone between the built-up city and surrounding countryside. When housing and other development spread outward into this zone, the result is urban sprawl.