L'agriculture face à la croissance métropolitaine : le cas des exploitations fruitières de Groslay et Deuil-Ia-Barre dans la grande banlieue nord de Paris

Rural space in metropolitan regions : two intensive fruitgrowing communes near Paris The topic of this study is concerned with the effe.ct of urban development upon selected aspects of farm structure. Agriculturally, Deuil la Barre and Groslay are intensive fruitgrowing communes, but at the same time, have been undergoing piecemeal urban development for several decades, a phenomenon which has increased in the area and its environs since the mid 50's. Firstly, a brief description of the pertinent characteristics of the region and its history is given. Then, largely from information gleaned from a questionnaire survey in 1967/68, the major changes in agricultural structure in the post-war period are identified and discussed in the light of the forces of urbanisation present in this period. The accent is placed on changes in farm size and changes in the locational structure of new orchard land. Hypotheses are developed which link the urban development factor to the profitability of agricultural investment, and thereby to the locational structure of new orchards. The hypotheses are tested, and generally supported, by detaVed analysis using standard statistical techniques appropriate to two-dimensional distributions. Finally some comments are made on the redevance of the findings of this analysis to the planning of rural space in metropolitan regions.