When is a Suburb Not a Suburb?

Joel Kotkin has said there is a war on suburbia. But as Michael Scott writes on New Geography (Kotkin's home base), where does suburbia start and the city end? Where do inner-ring suburbs fit in this model?

1 minute read

August 7, 2010, 11:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


Scott is moving from suburban Sacramento to Denver, and is choosing where to live based partly on his own desire for a more urban life and partly on the needs of perceived safety and good schools for his daughter.

He writes, "Our choice of location within the Denver area seems to support a national trend that was much discussed at the recent Urban Land Institute Summit/ Spring Council Forum in Boston; namely, that the vast majority of population growth in U.S. urban regions will occur not in downtown cores, but in suburbs, and of those, most notably the close-in suburbs exuding an urban feel."

One commenter writes, "I'm not sure why there has to be a "debate" between metro or suburban living. The type of environment people choose to live in is a personal choice."

Friday, August 6, 2010 in New Geography

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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. Mary G., Urban Planner

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.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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