What would you consider suburbs and exurbs in Houston

[EasilyAmused]

Houston is a weird animal. It's totally suburban in nature, outside of Downtown and Midtown. BUT, Lumping West U and The Woodlands/Sugarland/Katy into the same category is absurd. It's like calling Napa Valley a suburb of San Fransico. While in most major cities,what would be considered the burbs would be an around and hour drive in but only 15 max miles away, and probably within the same city and county...Houston's not like that. A good freeway system has enabled people to build way out there 30-50 miles and be within an Hour+/- commute.

With a city that covers THIS MUCH area (600 square MILES in the CITY alone), there has to be a point where the burbs become the exurbs.

Just for sake of clarification, I've started calling the suburban areas that are IN Houston and IN Harris County "Super Neighborhoods." However, they would be what are truly the suburbs. They aren't "master planned," yet the have their own naturally occurring gathering and shopping spots for each area. There're full of family homes with yards and parks and neighborhood schools. Suburbia.

The exurbs,IMHO, are those areas that aren't in Harris County and aren't even in Houston. They are the ring OUTSIDE the suburbs by definition; outside Houston, outside Harris County. They are usually Master Planned. And being a native Houstonian, this mass clumping of planned places to live outside City and County Limits is a relatively new phenomenon.Also, I love using the term because those that don't live in Houston City Limits (and are so proud of that fact) get so offended by the word "exurb" for some odd reason. I know, I'm a pill If I use "satellite burb," they are perfectly happy. Same animal different coat. And those posters know who YOU are.

Houston is dynamically different than other major cities. Everyone can have a patch of grass a 1/2 mile from downtown to 50 miles from downtown.And that's a grand thing.

[AK123]

This topic has been brought up here before
http://www.city-data.com/forum/houst...ing-exurb.html

Since different people seem to have their own definitions, I think it does cause some confusion. But, I think the consensus from talking to numerous people (and having worked in a field where I was involved in relocating new employees) would be that places such as Kingwood, Spring/Cypress, much of Katy (like Cinco Ranch), Sugar Land, Pearland, and Clear Lake are all suburbs. I never hear anyone refer to them as exurbs in common conversation, except the few posters on city-data, like someone else mentioned. If someone wants to do that as a form of taunting or what not, whatever, but I think it's both immature and unproductive in addition to confusing to newcomers.

As far as using Harris County as a reference - I think that's difficult because when you look at downtown Houston's placement in Harris County on a map, it is toward the bottom. So Brazoria and Fort Bend Counties are much closer to downtown than Montgomery County is.

That all being said, it's also a changing phenomenon. As more development takes place in some areas and they become more organized, the lines blur some. On HAIF, this is their description of the Heights:
Once Houston's first exurb, linked only by electric trolley. Now one of the few places to see Houston as it was 100 years ago.

[ssgmun5000]

To be honest I never heard of the word exurb(and mcmansion) until joining this site. It is interesting though how people have a different definition of it. For my generation suburbs are what lies beyond the beltway. With the construction of the grand parkway and the sprawling that goes with it I am sure the lines are going to be blurred again.