The continuum of urbanity: a synthetic concept for research on urban-rural mixtures

npj Urban Sustainability 2026 Open access

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Authors: Steward T. A. Pickett, Weiqi Zhou, Daniel L. Childers, J. Morgan Grove, Winslow D. Hansen, Dexter H. Locke, Christopher Boone, Karen C. Seto, Dawa Zhaxi, Shannon LaDeau, Leonard Nevarez, R. Freudenberg
+5 more Christopher T. Solomon, Elizabeth M. Cook, Russell Urban-Mead, D Maddox, Adam Bosch
DOI: 10.1038/s42949-026-00347-8
Cited by: 5
References: 63

Abstract

This perspective presents a new framework to improve ecological contributions to understanding how urban, rural, and wild attributes can co-occur and mix within specific locations, producing configurations that cannot be understood through binary contrasts. We focus on mixed conditions and the processes that sustain dynamic mosaics of mixed urban-rural sites. This framework complements others that avoid the urban-rural binary, and supports integrated social and ecological research across landscapes of mixture.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Land Use and Ecosystem Services Urban Green Space and Health Urban Planning and Landscape Design

Publication details

Journal / source
npj Urban Sustainability
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
6
Issue
1
Publication date
29 January 2026
Language
EN