Esther Wiebel

Peri-urban Development in Recife, Brazil: Lessons Learnt from a Geographic Field Study Esther Wiebel

Over the next few decades, global population growth will lead to an extensive urban growth in the developing and newly industrializing countries. The size of urban areas globally is expected to triple. Previously rural or natural land will become urban at unprecedented pace. Social, economic and natural structures of these areas will change fundamentally. What happens in these peri-urban areas? What new opportunities, but also what new challenges arise from the changes? What can be done to further a positive and sustainable development of peri-urban areas? This book explores the structures and dynamics of the peri-urban development processes in Recife/Brazil, and lays groundwork for developing strategies and instruments for the planning and management of peri-urban transformation processes. Based on extensive interviews with local inhabitants and experts, it offers rare insights into the spatial, economic, ecological and social structures of peri-urban areas in Recife and the livelihood of its inhabitants. The concluding typology offers a framework for analysing and comparing peri-urban settlement types and identifies specific development issues and opportunities for each type.