In New Zealand, as in other industrialized western countries, important changes in community values are taking place. There is increasing interest in the quality of life. The expansion of cities which took place post World War II often resulted in a deterioration of urban living conditions. As people became dissatisfied with .life in the city they became more aware of their rural surroundings. Increasing incomes allowed some to move out into rural areas. This urban-rural drift, especially noticeable at the perimeters of large urban centres, brought with it competition for land, and conflict; the basic conflict being one where on the one hand there is the desire of some people wanting to live and work (on a full or part-time basis) in the rural area on a piece of land they can call their own, while on the other hand, there is the desire of others to keep the rural area in full-time, larger scale farms so as to protect the land for agricultural production. This area of conflict has now been part of the rural scene for a decade and a half. The time has come to look at the evidence and ask if the conflict is a real one. Or whether it is possible to satisfy the desires of these two groups of people simultaneously? To answer this question it is necessary to study what the impact has been of those rural subdivisions that were allowed to go ahead. This discussion paper provides this material, or evidence, and it is left to the reader to draw his own conclusions. It is hoped that this discussion paper will lead to a greater understanding of the nature and impact of small rural subdivisions. As a further consequence, it is hoped that this greater understanding may contribute to better rural planning so as to increase society's welfare as a whole.