Exploring Peri-urbanisation and Agricultural Systems in the Melbourne Region

Processes of peri-urbanisation emerge from a range of drivers that differ according to socio-economic and geographic settings. Using the Melbourne outer peri-urban region, this paper explores these processes using a set of indicator variables for four identified modes of peri-urbanisation: exurbanisation, hidden urbanisation, retiree mobility, and displaced suburbia. This paper considers the relationships between these modes and their locational distribution. It then considers the potential influence of these processes on the characteristics of farming systems in the subject region through regression models. Significant relationships are evident in several instances, specifically the differences that emerge between retiree mobility and exurbanisation or displaced suburbia (processes linked to urban proximity). These latter processes also appear to influence features of local agricultural systems, including farm scale and type. © 2013 The Author. Geographical Research