ABSTRACT
The value of peri-urban land hinges on its connectivity, i.e. road networks and transport services. The peri-urban zone near a primary road attracts multinational companies because of the lower land and labor costs and the efficient links to transport hubs. Transformations occur in different parts of the zone at different times and at different speeds, driven by urban population growth, increasing wealth, declining transport costs and global economic integration. The growth of the urban middle class and the break-up of extended-family households into nuclear-family and single-person households are transforming cities in Southeast Asia. Urban areas increasingly encircle rural areas rather than rural areas surrounding a city. As the urban population and the economy grow, demand for land rises, forcing farmers to consider their future. Amitabh Kundu contends that the peri-urban population may be less aware of the environmental hazards of industrialization or less effective in blocking the arrival of polluting industries than the urban population.
