Peri-urbanization is related to dispersed and dispersive urban growth processes that create hybrid landscapes of fragmented and mixed urban and rural characteristics.

The expression comes from the French word périurbanisation ("periurban" meaning "around urban"), which is used by INSEE[1]​ (the French statistics agency) to describe spaces, between city and countryside, that are formed by the fragmented urbanization of former rural areas on the urban fringe"), both in a qualitative (e.g. diffusion of urban lifestyle) and quantitative (e.g. new residential areas) sense. It is frequently seen as a result of the postmodernity. In science, the term was initially used in France and Switzerland.

Peri-urban areas (also called rural space, peripheries or hinterland) are defined by the structure resulting from the peri-urbanization process. It can be described as the landscape interface between city and countryside,[2]​ or also as the rural-urban transition zone where urban and rural uses and functions mix and often clash.[3]​ It can therefore be seen as a new type of landscape in its own right, forged from an interaction of the urban and the urban. rural land use").

Its definition changes depending on the global location, but typically in Europe where suburban areas are intensively managed to prevent "urban sprawl" and protect agricultural land, the urban periphery will be characterized by certain land uses that have been deliberately moved away from the urban area, or require much larger tracts of land. As examples:

Despite these urban uses, the periphery remains largely open with most of the land for agricultural, forestry or other rural uses. However, the quality of country life around urban areas tends to be low, with separation between areas of open land and poorly maintained woodland and hedgerows with dispersed urban facilities.

Apart from the structural definition that dominates the English-speaking literature, the concept is sometimes used to fill the gap between suburbanization") and exurbanization") and is therefore further related to the movement of people in space. In this case, however, peri-urbanization is considered as the expansion of functional urban-rural links, such as commuting.