Exurb
An exurb is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area of a metropolitan area, which has an economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It shapes an interface between urban and rural landscapes holding an urban nature for its functional, economic and social interaction with the urban center, due to its dominant residential character.[1] Confusingly, the term "exurb" was used starting in the 1950s as a synonym for a commuter town, as the word exurb (a portmanteau of "extra & urban") was coined by Auguste Comte Spectorsky, in his 1955 book The Exurbanites, to describe the ring of prosperous communities beyond the suburbs that are commuter towns for an urban area.[2] However, especially since a landmark report by the Brookings Institution in 2006, the term is generally used for areas beyond suburbs and specifically less densely built than the suburbs to which the exurbs' residents commute.[3]
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Definition
According to the Brookings Institution (2006), to qualify as exurban, a census tract must meet all three of the criteria described below.[3]
- Economic connection to a large metropolis.
- Low housing density: bottom third of census tracts with regard to housing density. In 2000, this was a minimum of 2.6 acres (11,000 m2) per resident.
- Population growth exceeding the average for its metropolitan area.
Exurban areas incorporate a mix of rural development (e.g., farms and open space) and in places, suburban-style development (e.g., tracts of single-family homes, though usually on large lots). In long-settled areas, such as the U.S. Northeast megalopolis, exurban areas incorporate pre-existing towns, villages and smaller cities, as well as strips of older single-family homes built along pre-existing roads that connected the older population centers of what was once a rural area.
Exurban counties in the United States
In a 2006, the Brookings Institution identified the following counties and parishes as exurban:[4]
- Bibb County, AL
- Blount County, AL
- Chilton County, AL
- Shelby County, AL
- St. Clair County, AL
- Faulkner County, AR
- Grant County, AR
- Hot Spring County, AR
- Lonoke County, AR
- Perry County, AR
- Calaveras County, CA
- Clear Creek County, CO
- Elbert County, CO
- Gilpin County, CO
- Teller County, CO
- Hernando County, FL
- Lake County, FL
- Osceola County, FL
- Barrow County, GA
- Bartow County, GA
- Butts County, GA
- Coweta County, GA
- Dawson County, GA
- Jackson County, GA
- Jasper County, GA
- Lumpkin County, GA
- Newton County, GA
- Pickens County, GA
- Walton County, GA
- Mills County, IA
- DeKalb County, IL
- Grundy County, IL
- Monroe County, IL
- Dearborn County, IN
- Franklin County, IN
- Jasper County, IN
- Newton County, IN
- LaPorte County, IN
- Porter County, IN
- Butler County, KS
- Kingman County, KS
- Miami County, KS
- Bracken County, KY
- Gallatin County, KY
- Grant County, KY
- Pendleton County, KY
- East Feliciana Parish, LA
- Livingston Parish, LA
- Plaquemines Parish, LA
- St. Tammany Parish, LA
- West Baton Rouge Parish, LA
- West Feliciana Parish, LA
- Calvert County, MD
- Carroll County, MD
- Cecil County, MD
- Charles County, MD
- Frederick County, MD
- Queen Anne's County, Maryland
- Pine County, MN
- Scott County, MN
- Sherburne County, MN
- Wright County, MN
- Franklin County, MO
- Jefferson County, MO
- Lincoln County, MO
- Montgomery County, MO
- Ste. Genevieve County, MO
- Warren County, MO
- Washington County, MO
- Anson County, NC
- Currituck County, NC
- Franklin County, NC
- Gates County, NC
- Iredell County, NC
- Johnston County, NC
- Cass County, NE
- Washington County, NE
- Strafford County, NH
- Sussex County, NJ
- Warren County, NJ
- Torrance County, NM
- Valencia County, NM
- Nye County, NV
- Dutchess County, NY
- Orange County, NY
- Orleans County, NY
- Brown County, OH
- Clinton County, OH
- Geauga County, OH
- Madison County, OH
- Medina County, OH
- Morrow County, OH
- Perry County, OH
- Pickaway County, OH
- Union County, OH
- Creek County, OK
- Grady County, OK
- Lincoln County, OK
- Logan County, OK
- McClain County, OK
- Okmulgee County, OK
- Osage County, OK
- Pawnee County, OK
- Rogers County, OK
- Wagoner County, OK
- Yamhill County, OR
- Monroe County, PA
- Pike County, PA
- Wayne County, PA
- Washington County, RI
- Berkeley County, SC
- Calhoun County, SC
- Fairfield County, SC
- Kershaw County, SC
- Lexington County, SC
- Newberry County, SC
- Saluda County, SC
- York County, SC
- Blount County, TN
- Cannon County, TN
- Cheatham County, TN
- Dickson County, TN
- Hickman County, TN
- Jefferson County, TN
- Loudon County, TN
- Roane County, TN
- Robertson County, TN
- Rutherford County, TN
- Sevier County, TN
- Trousdale County, TN
- Union County, TN
- Wilson County, TN
- Atascosa County, TX
- Bandera County, TX
- Bastrop County, TX
- Blanco County, TX
- Burnet County, TX
- Caldwell County, TX
- Comal County, TX
- Ellis County, TX
- Guadalupe County, TX
- Hays County, TX
- Henderson County, TX
- Hood County, TX
- Hunt County, TX
- Johnson County, TX
- Kaufman County, TX
- Kendall County, TX
- Medina County, TX
- Parker County, TX
- Rains County, TX
- Van Zandt County, TX
- Wilson County, TX
- Wise County, TX
- Summit County, UT
- Tooele County, UT
- Amelia County, VA
- Caroline County, VA
- Charles City County, VA
- Culpeper County, VA
- Cumberland County, VA
- Fauquier County, VA
- Gloucester County, VA
- Goochland County, VA
- Hanover County, VA
- Isle of Wight County, VA
- King George County, VA
- King William County, VA
- Louisa County, VA
- Middlesex County, VA
- New Kent County, VA
- Orange County, VA
- Powhatan County, VA
- Spotsylvania County, VA
- Stafford County, VA
- Suffolk, Virginia
- Surry County, VA
- Sussex County, VA
- Warren County, VA
- Island County, WA
- Kenosha County, WI
- Polk County, WI
- St. Croix County, WI
- Jefferson County, WV
References
- Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 254.
- Spectorsky, Auguste C. (1955). The Exurbanites. Lippincott, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. OCLC 476943.
- Berube, Alan (2006). Finding Exurbia: America's Fast-Growing Communities at the Metropolitan Fringe (PDF). Brookings Institution. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- https://www.brookings.edu/research/finding-exurbia-americas-fast-growing-communities-at-the-metropolitan-fringe/