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My parents lived in Frederick in the early 70s (I was in college at the time). Even then, many of our neighbors commuted to the DC area, if not right into DC, for work.
Commuting from place to place is part and parcel of urban living. If you live within commutin distance of a large city, you are living in a suburb, IMO.
PittNurse: That was 35 years ago. And it was even less of a suburb then.
According to your definition, Colo. Springs is a suburb of Denver.
There is a distinct difference between suburbs, and cities. Frederick is a city. Check their website!
Oh, and while you're on the topic, how would you classify Martinsburg? Or maybe even Harper's Ferry? What industries would support those towns if a large percentage of residents weren't commuting to DC?
(Not attacking--please don't read this that way. I am genuinely intrigued to hear what you are going to say.)
It has been a while since I lived in Frederick (really only visited for lengthly periods as I was in college), but the area from Germantown to Frederick was hardly wilderness even in 1969, when my parents first moved there.
The suburb of Denver that I live in, Louisville, is a city. It is an old coal mining town. The suburb to the east, Lafayette, is a city. Ditto. To the southeast, Broomfield, a city. Westminster, a city. Northglenn, Thornton, both cities. Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Littleton, Aurora, all cities. The political structure of a community is not what determines whether it is a suburb or not.
Colorado Springs is ~ 75 miles from Denver. Also has about 300,000 people. Only a hardy few commute from COS to Denver and vv. Per Mapquest, Frederick is 49 miles from DC.
According to your definition, Colo. Springs is a suburb of Denver.
I think Colorado Springs coul exist without Denver. But how about Oceanside, CA? Or Laguna Beach? Or the very independent and self-supporting city of Santa Monica? I would call those suburbs--but I am open to hearing different opinions.
Oh, and while you're on the topic, how would you classify Martinsburg? Or maybe even Harper's Ferry? What industries would support those towns if a large percentage of residents weren't commuting to DC?
(Not attacking--please don't read this that way. I am genuinely intrigued to hear what you are going to say.)
I would classify them both as towns.
Normie - I don't think a place is a suburb based on the number of workers commuting to a nearby work area. I would define those places more along the lines of bedroom communities.
Maybe we just have a different definition of "suburb." I see them primarily as residential areas within, or immediately outside, of an urban area.
Arghh! I have to sign off now--and I'll be travelling for the next two days. Please don't think I'm abandoning this thread--I'll check in as soon as I can. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say while I'm making my way back home.
I think Colorado Springs coul exist without Denver. But how about Oceanside, CA? Or Laguna Beach? Or the very independent and self-supporting city of Santa Monica? I would call those suburbs--but I am open to hearing different opinions.
I think so, too. There is lots of employment in COS. In addition, to drive from COS to Denver, even to the farthest southern suburbs such as the City of Castle Rock, requires going over Monument Hill, which is not for the faint of heart in the winter. That's why most people don't do it.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 12-29-2007 at 08:49 PM..
Reason: add winter
Suburbs are commonly defined as residential areas on the outskirts of a city or large town.[1] Most modern suburbs are commuter towns with many single-family homes. Many suburbs have some degree of political autonomy and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods. Mechanical transport, including automobiles, enabled the 20th century growth of suburbs, which tend to proliferate near cities with an abundance of adjacent flat land.[2]
[edit] Definitions
The word is derived from the Old French "subb urbe" and ultimately from the Latin "suburbium", formed from "sub", meaning "under", and "urbs", meaning "city", therefore suburbis would mean under the city. Important people tended to live on hills near centers of commercial and political activity, while the lower classes often lived in marginal areas. "Under" in later usage sometimes referred variously to lesser wealth, political power, population, or population density. The first recorded usage, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, comes from Wycliffe in 1380, where the form "subarbis" is used.
In the United States, Canada and most of Western Europe the word "suburb" usually refers to a separate municipality, borough or unincorporated area outside a central town or city.
Note their definiton is much different than some proposed here tonight, and allows for suburbs to also be cities in their own right.
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And it was even less of a suburb then. 
