The word periphery is formed by the Greek prefix peri, which means around, by the word phero which is equivalent to carry and finally by the suffix ia, which expresses action. The prefix peri is also found in terms such as pericardium or perimeter.
The idea of periphery is normally used in relation to cities. Thus, we speak of neighborhoods, roads or residential areas that are far from the urban core, that is, in the suburbs or the periphery.
The surroundings of the city
The concept of city has been changing over time. Medieval cities were surrounded by walls and over the years most of them were demolished for two main reasons: the growth of the city itself and as a public health measure.
The city as we currently understand it presents in general lines two differentiated zones: an urban center linked to the historical origin of the city and the peripheral zone that expands the original urban space. There is no single model of periphery. In fact, there are two opposing modalities: 1) residential areas where a wealthy upper-middle class lives and 2) the suburbs, which is associated with the humble class and even with social marginality.
Most cities have an industrial zone around them. These areas are known as industrial estates. Commercial firms usually have their warehouses and distribution centers in these areas, since the city center does not have the necessary urban characteristics to meet their needs.
From an architectural, urban and human point of view, the periphery of cities presents a series of characteristics: functional housing in large blocks of buildings, coexistence problems, shanty towns, agricultural areas, large highways or poor communication with the center of the city. city. In many places there has been talk of the need to revitalize the problems on the periphery of large cities.
other meanings
If we talk about a specific topic, we find the essential aspect of the matter and the secondary, which in figurative language can be called peripheral. In this way, the peripheral is everything that is not fundamental to something. In this sense, it should be remembered that in computer language we speak of peripherals, that is, those devices that are connected to a central unit (there are input and output peripherals).
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