Towards a better understanding of land conversion at the urban-rural interface: planning intentions and the effectiveness of growth management

The conversion of open space to built land is a key feature of urban-rural transformations. In many countries, urban sprawl represents the dominant mode of urban growth. Against this background, urban growth management plays a crucial role in mediating between diverse spatial requirements and curbing sprawl-like land-use patterns, but its effectiveness is not fully understood. Relatively few studies have systematically addressed the goals of growth-management approaches, their implementation pathways and spatial outcomes. Most available work has been carried out as single case studies which hampers solid understanding. In this paper, we first outline the challenge in understanding the role of growth management approaches in land conversions. Then we propose research to focus on: a) comprehending the intended outcomes of growth management, and b) the effectiveness of growth management. We argue that future research in this regard will enable researchers to establish causal links between growth management and land conversions.