Errata slip inserted. Bibliography: leaves 282-298. Aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the nature of current patterns of population change in the peri-urban region; conceptualized as a set of overlapping zones of net growth representing the product of four demographic processes (suburbanisation, counterurbanisation, population retention, centripetal migration). Considers three key aspects of peri-urban growth dynamics in the context of Adelaide's peri-urban region.