Urban and Suburban Lifestyles More Similar Than Thought, Study Says

The differences in the ways people who live in the city spend their time versus the way people who live in suburbs spend their time are few and small.

1 minute read

November 5, 2019, 9:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Times Square New York

Khurram / Unsplash

A new study authored by Eric Morris, associate professor of City and regional Planning at Clemson University, debunks some of the stereotypes about the differences between suburban and urban lifestyles.

An article by Richard Florida shares news of the new study, boosting the signal about the lifestyle similarities found in the two kinds of built environments.

Morris used data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics to analyze and compare the lifestyles of urbanites and suburbanites, producing findings that challenge the common stereotypes.

"First and foremost, it turns out there is very little difference in how urbanites and suburbanites who are demographically similar spend their time," explains Florida. "Both the composition of their activities and the amount of time they devote to them are remarkably similar."

More details of the study's findings can be found at the source article. The one key exception in lifestyle differences: time spent traveling, which includes commuting.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019 in CityLab

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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