Periphery is the area surrounding a certain center.
The first thing to do, before entering fully into what would be the establishment of the meaning of the term periphery , is to determine its etymological origin. Thus we can say that it emanates from the Greek “peripheria”, composed of the following parts:
• The prefix “peri-“, which can be translated as “around”.
• The verbal form “phero”, which is synonymous with carrying.
• The suffix “-ia”, which is equivalent to “action” or “quality”.
What is the periphery
The concept refers to that which surrounds a certain center , such as a certain area, a contour or a perimeter .
For example: "My girlfriend lives in the periphery: every day I travel two hours by train to see her" , "The president does not listen to those who are on the periphery: he only communicates with those who form the smallest nucleus of the government" , “The man recommended that Mariana not walk alone on the outskirts of the neighborhood.”
The periphery is usually connected to the center by different means of transportation.
Urban organization
The most frequent use of the notion is linked to geography and urban organization. It is understood, as we already indicated, that the periphery is the region that is around a certain center . Thus, a neighborhood or a city always has a periphery in its surroundings: “That bar is on the outskirts of San Jorge,” “I don't think you can walk to the hospital: it is on the outskirts, about five kilometers away.” .
Currently, residential areas, among other spaces, are beginning to be located on the periphery of any city. These are places with large houses, usually of a certain luxury, where the owners find the tranquility they desire as well as greater security. And in many cases they usually have strict surveillance measures.
The periphery, on the other hand, can also be symbolic. Take the case of a municipal government: it could be said that the mayor and the ministers make up the core of power , while the secretaries and other officials are on the periphery. Therefore, decision-making takes place within the core, not in peripheral areas.
Periphery in astronomy, art and geometry
Within the field of astronomy, the term in question is also used. In its case it is used to form the periphery term of the solar system. We can say that this is the limit of the aforementioned system, that place where the attraction of the Sun stands out for being quite weak.
In the field of art, it must be stated, in the same way, that there is a painting that is titled with the term that we are now analyzing. This is “Periphery”, a painting by the Frenchman Georges Pierre Seurat, founder of Neo-Impressionism, which shows the outskirts of the city as an abandoned, decadent place absolutely “swallowed” by factories. This work was made in 1881 and is currently exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art of Troyes.
For geometry , the periphery is the circumference of a figure made up of curves. The longest segment that crosses the center and links two points of said circumference is known as the diameter .