The changing urban fringe of Falkirk

The recognition of urban fringe belts as distinctive regions within urban areas is a comparatively recent development in British urban studies. Fringe belts have been defined as . . . . regions that derive their unity, not from homogeneity of form, but from certain common factors that influenced their original location. Their unity is derived from the fact that their component parts are derived from morphological elements which had their original location near the fringe of the built-up area. Their formation takes place During the periods of relative stagnation which punctuate the growth of any urban area...!. It follows therefore that the cycles of expansion experienced by an urban area have considerable morphological significance.