suburbanization

Article summary

pattern in the United States (Colorado Springs, Colorado), showing a mix of residential streets and cul-de-sacs intersected by a four-lane road. Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses away from city centers, low-density, peripheral urban areas grow. Proponents of curbing suburbanization argue that sprawl leads to urban decay and a concentration of lower-income residents in the inner city, in addition to environmental harm. Suburbanization can be a progressive process in which growing populations, technological innovations, and economic changes drive settlement outward, following the concentric zone model. Suburban growth takes many forms globally including planned satellite towns in Europe, rail-oriented suburbs in East Asia, Canadian high-rises, and the expansion of informal peri-urban areas in the Global South. Patterns of global suburban sprawl have emerged from a combination of demographic trends and economic development and have produced diverse social, economic, and environmental outcomes.

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