On the edge of a large city: the spatial and social issues of urban sprawl

Abstract

The article analyses the phenomena associated with urban sprawl in the international context, revealing the inner social inequalities in developed Western European urban regions, their modern manifestations and the social problems of higher and middle class people and the social problems of outskirt areas populated by people in a disadvantageous social situation. Next, it also presents the urban sprawl processes in the case of the Budapest region, based on the results of two significant empirical surveys. The findings verified some current regional inequalities between the city and the suburban areas, the  dichotomies of developed and underdeveloped suburbs. According to these, the population of developed suburban areas has higher income and better education, while people living in less developed suburban areas are less educated and have lower or medium income. The relationship between the city and the neighbouring settlements of different developmental levels, the local conflicts related to urban sprawl, the contradictions caused by suburbanisation, the processes responsible for the established relationships are also presented.