Suburb

Nassau County on Long Island, New York (above) is emblematic of the continuous sprawl making up the inner suburbs of New York City, in contrast with Monroe Township, New Jersey (below), characteristic of an outer suburb, or exurb, of New York City, with a lower population density.
Weilerswist, a suburb of Cologne, Germany
Männistö, a suburban neighborhood in Kuopio, Finland
Saaristokaupunki (Archipelago city), a new suburban area in Kuopio, Finland
RAJUK Uttara Apartment complex at Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, Bangladesh
The Swedish suburbs of Husby, Kista, and Akalla are built according to the typical city planning of the Million Programme

A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area which has a higher or lower population density and sometimes less detached housing.[1][2][3] In many metropolitan areas suburbs rise in population during the day and are where most jobs are located; being major commercial and job hubs,[4][5] many suburbs also exist as separate residential communities within commuting distance of a larger city (cf. "commuter town"). Suburbs can have their own political or legal jurisdiction, especially in the United States, but this is not always the case, especially in the United Kingdom, where most suburbs are located within the administrative boundaries of cities.[6] In most English-speaking countries, suburban areas are defined in contrast to central city or inner city areas, but in Australian English and South African English, suburb has become largely synonymous with what is called a "neighborhood" in the U.S., but it is used in contrast with inner city areas.[7]

In the United States, suburbs and cities experienced a phenomenon known as white flight, which has led to some suburbs having more population and higher incomes surrounding them than the nearby inner city.[8][9][10][11][12]

In some areas, such as India, China, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and parts of the United States, new suburbs are routinely annexed by adjacent cities due to urban sprawl. In others, such as Morocco, France, and much of the United States, many suburbs remain separate municipalities or are governed locally as part of a larger metropolitan area such as a county, district or borough. In the United States, regions beyond the suburbs are known as "exurban areas" or exurbs; exurbs have less population density than suburbs, but still more than rural areas. Suburbs and exurbs are sometimes linked to the nearby city economically, particularly by commuters.

Suburbs first emerged on a large scale in the 19th and 20th centuries as a result of improved rail and road transport, which led to an increase in commuting.[13] In general, they are less densely populated than inner city neighborhoods within the same metropolitan area, and most residents routinely commute to city centers or business districts via private vehicles or public transits; however, there are many exceptions, including industrial suburbs, planned communities, and satellite cities. Suburbs tend to proliferate around cities that have an abundance of adjacent flat land.[14]

  1. ^ "DP04 Housing Characteristics". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Definition of SUBURB". www.merriam-webster.com. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ^ "What Is a Suburb? | Planopedia". www.planetizen.com. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  4. ^ "suburbs continue to dominate jobs and job growth".
  5. ^ "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report".
  6. ^ Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 640. ISBN 9780415252256.
  7. ^ Jain, Shri V. K. (30 April 2021). Applied Ecology and Sustainable Environment. BFC Publications. ISBN 978-93-90880-19-5.
  8. ^ "A forgotten history of how the US Government Segregated America". NPR. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Demographics for 5 mile radius around Kansas City mo". demographics by radius. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Demographics for a 5 mile radius around Overland Park Kansas". demograpbics by radius. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Demographics for a 5 mile radius around Detroit". demographics by radius. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Demographics for 5 mile radius around Southfield, Michigan". demographics by radius. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  13. ^ Hollow, Matthew (2011). "Suburban Ideals on England's Interwar Council Estates". Journal of the Garden History Society. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  14. ^ The Fractured Metropolis: Improving the New City, Restoring the Old City, Reshaping the Region[permanent dead link] by Jonathan Barnett, via Google Books.