Peri-urban Green Infrastructure. The overview of recent European studies

Due to the on-going urban expansion in Europe, the preservation of green infrastructure between urban-‘peri-urban’-rural areas becomes a very important task. Land-use changes are having considerable effects on ecosystem services and human well-being, and as a result, landscapes and ecosystems are under pressure (Lafortezza, Davies, Sanesi, Konijnendijk, 2013).
The paper aims to contribute to the development of a comprehensive approach when working on the GI regeneration in peri-urban areas. The paper is based on the literature review and explores the existing knowledge about urban-‘peri-urban’-rural relations in general and on peri-urban green infrastructure in Europe in particular. The paper provides an overview of recent studies and gives some suggestions for further research.
As a consequence of the review, author concludes that in order to guarantee a better function of ecosystem services and a liveability of peri-urban environment planners and decision makers should understand features of peri-urban green infrastructures. Therefore, a deeper research has to be done to study the challenges and dynamics of green infrastructure in peri-urban areas.