Paper Title
The Relationship Between Urban Rural And Sustainable Urban Development Strategies And Policies: Case Study European Countries

Abstract
An important driving force behind urban expansion is the growth of the urban population. But for Europe, this is not a sufficient explanation. The major trend is that European cities have become much less compact. Since the mid-1950s European cities have expanded on average by 78%, whereas the population has grown by only 33%. In the PLUREL project - an integrated project within the EU�s 6th Research Framework Program - more than 100 researchers from 15 countries analyzed the impacts of urban land consumption at a pan-European level and, through six European and one Chinese case studies, identified how land use conflicts and the pressure towards peri- urban areas can be strategically managed in different development and regulatory contexts. To summarize, the following strategies were identified as important steps towards more sustainable urban-rural futures: better coordination of transport, land use and open space planning; urban containment and densification � development of a green compact city; preservation of blue and green infrastructure; and preservation of agricultural land and the promotion of local production. The need also remains to strengthen governance at the regional level while at the pan-European level there is clearly a need for more policy and planning attention to be given to urban-rural linkage. Keywords- urban sprawl, urban development management, regional planning, compact land, urban management, green land.