Abstract
The rate of urban growth at the expense of agricultural land should not be exaggerated. Between 1960 and 1965 it amounted to about 44,000 acres a year in Great Britain. This scale of loss is a third less than the peak attained in pre-war years and, although there have been considerable annual fluctuations in the post-war period, no sustained increase in the rate of transfer has been evident. Notable contrasts in urban growth exist between and within different regions of the country, the highest land demands being concentrated along a belt running from Lancashire to London. From 1960 and 2000 it is estimated that the total urban area of England and Wales will extend by a further 1,600,000-1,700,000 acres, but it will then still only cover 15-16 per cent. of the whole land surface. A comparison is made with the United States where about 1,000,000 acres annually are being transferred into urban use.

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