The Nature of the Urban Impact on the Rural Countryside

Since the primary focus of this book is upon the land conversion process at the expanding suburban fringe of the city, it seems desirable to take a brief overall look at the nature of the urban impact upon the rural countryside. Such impact may be general or indirect, on one hand, or more direct but geographically more limited, on the other. The former is all-pervasive, at least in the United States, while the latter is limited to certain areas of land. Admittedly, direct impact shades into indirect, but considerable differences characterize their purer or simpler forms.