Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This qualitative data collection is part of the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme.

The project considered working on "fringe areas" in terms of its disciplinary and geographical focus, considering synergies between natural and social science approaches in rural-urban fringe (RUF) areas. The RUF, the space where countryside meets town, is amongst society's most valued and pressured places, yet in policy and decision-making it remains largely forgotten, lacking sufficient understanding and evidence for integrated management. This research looked at existing research and data, carried out primary research and co-produced material to encourage more positive, inclusive and proactive agendas for managing the RUF.

The research team consisted of academics, policy advisors and practitioners working collectively across professional, disciplinary, scalar and sectoral boundaries. Our assessment tool was a framework uniquely fusing ideas within the Ecosystem Approach (EA) and Spatial Planning (SP) to provide an improved lens within which to view the RUF. Three cross-cutting themes emerged from the fusion of SP and EA ideas; Time, Connections and Values. These concepts were unpacked within eight themed workshops (data: workshop reports) and two RUF site-based visioning exercises (data: transcripts of both visioning exercises) which formed the primary data for the project. In addition, outputs are available, including project newsletters, press releases, short professional articles, policy brief videos, and several academic journal articles are in progress or already submitted for review.

Further information for this study may be found through the ESRC Research Catalogue webpage: Managing Environmental Change at the Fringe: Reconnecting Science and Policy with the Rural-Urban Fringe.