Abstract (EN)

Peri-urbanization, defined here as discontinuous suburbanization producing a mix of rural and urban space, is usually studied as a controversial social, urban planning or policy issue rather than a sociological question in its own right. And the phenomenon is often apprehended by way of either excessively general or excessively local approaches. We begin this article by discussing peri-urban space in France in statistical terms; we then apply an original analytic framework to examine the question at several combined scales. Drawing on French population censuses from 1968 to 2011, we measure changes in the quantity of peri-urban development in France, showing that the notion of a “peri-urban explosion” is not applicable to the situation. Studying the socio-demographic characteristics of this “third type” of space brings to light both its diversity and its coherence in relation to cities and their suburbs in France. It would be reductive to define the “peri-urban” either as the preferred space of the middle class or a zone of social banishment for the underprivileged; it should instead be understood as connected to and integrated into existing urban systems.