The mode of production has evolved due to Western central liberalization, globalization, and capital accumulation, leading to a shift in urban sprawl. This has led to the emergence of urban peripheries, transitional zones where urban and rural activities merge. In Turkey, urban sprawl, decentralization, and fragmentation processes increase urban pressure on peripheral areas, eroding ties to the countryside. This study focuses on the demarcation of Izmir's peripheral areas, which are frequently subject to shifts in administrative boundaries due to legislative policies and socioeconomic changes. The study uses a quantitative methodology that integrates multi-criteria decision analysis with geographic information systems, utilizing Landsat satellite images and government data sources. The method employs a weighted overlay technique in GIS software, allocating weights to predefined criteria based on urban or rural indices. These criteria include land use, changes in land use based on spatial sprawl over 36 years (1986-2022), population size, density, and growth over the same period (1986-2022), slope in terms of suitability for settlement, change in land surface temperature, distance to the city center (30-50 km), and proximity to major transportation networks. The findings indicate that the province of Izmir is surrounded by a heterogeneous distribution of areas with varying degrees of urban and rural features, demarcated as inner and outer peripheries. The areas caught in the transition from rural to urban cannot fully urbanize, nor can they retain their rural characteristics. Therefore, special management and intervention are needed for peripheral areas because of the unique features that distinguish them from urban and rural areas.