which one? rural (non-urban), ex-urban, suburban, urban (middle-class, apartments)
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Rural (non-urban): pretty much I'd place towns with population density 1000 and under in this category. no costcos, no malls, etc... 0-49,999 population typically ex: Paso Robles, Ca; King City, Ca; Shandon, Ca
ex-urban: 1000-4000 population density. some have malls,& some have costcos. none have Macy's. Usually 30 minutes to an hour of an urban city. ex: San Luis Obispo, Ca; Lompoc, Ca; Chico,CA
suburban: 1000-4000 population density. some have malls. some have macy's and costco, but usually suburbs won't have both. lots of tracts homes, and usually within 10-20 minutes of an urban city.
ex: Arroyo Grande, Ca; Mesa, Ca; Clovis, CA
urban: 4000 + population density. 50,000 population+ Usually has a mall, Macy's, and Costco. Buildings that get higher than 50ft. lots of shopping centers, apartments, and office buildings.
ex: Fresno, Ca; Los Angeles, Ca; San Francisco, Ca; Santa Maria, Ca
I grew up in an urban city in southern california that started to get run down, so my dad moved us to a rural town in the central coast. In a year I'm going to college in a suburb, and from there I haven't decided yet. I like suburbs alot, but I was thinking if I should try out a ex-urb.
I'm not sure I would use the same definitions you used. For one I think rural areas are totally capable of having malls, "costcos," etc. Exurban areas are the outer fringe of a metro, and 1,000-4,000 ppsm seems appropriate for those areas. Think commercial highway surrounded by stick-and-lollipop streets and large-lot housing with "bonus rooms" above a 2-3 car garage. I don't know anything about the towns you listed, but I picture something like this when I think "exurban":
Suburban can be far more dense than 4,000 ppsm. I suppose it could start as low as 2,000 ppsm and go up through 8,000 ppsm. I've lived in a couple of suburban towns that were in the 6,000-8,000 ppsm range. They were quintessential American suburbs. Manicured lawns, sidewalks, parks, schools, bagel shops, etc. in walking distance. Something like this:
And, of course, urban:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/PaulusHook.JPG (broken link)
I used to live in the suburbs and i liked it alot there but now i live in the city and i love it here too. as a kid it was nice going to a safe school and having lots of room to play without the danger of traffic and crime. but now that i'm an adult i can't think of any better place to be then in the city. i'm sure when i get older and start a family i will move back to the suburbs. the only way i'll stay in the city is if i'm making enough to send my kids to private school
I'm not sure I would use the same definitions you used. For one I think rural areas are totally capable of having malls, "costcos," etc. Exurban areas are the outer fringe of a metro, and 1,000-4,000 ppsm seems appropriate for those areas. Think commercial highway surrounded by stick-and-lollipop streets and large-lot housing with "bonus rooms" above a 2-3 car garage. I don't know anything about the towns you listed, but I picture something like this when I think "exurban":
Suburban can be far more dense than 4,000 ppsm. I suppose it could start as low as 2,000 ppsm and go up through 8,000 ppsm. I've lived in a couple of suburban towns that were in the 6,000-8,000 ppsm range. They were quintessential American suburbs. Manicured lawns, sidewalks, parks, schools, bagel shops, etc. in walking distance. Something like this:
And, of course, urban:
rural home
rural beach town (with only development along beach)
ex-urban downtown and home
http://www.realestatecentralcoast.com/newsite/images/slo_downtown_L.jpg (broken link)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/SanLuisObispoCalifCityView600.jpg (broken link)
http://www.rhporterco.com/prodimg/247BranchSt.jpg (broken link)
suburban
http://www.edainc.com/Images/imgProjResRoyalOaksAG.jpg (broken link)http://www.ctchousing.com/images/pictures/1011_orc1.jpg (broken link)
and of course urban
Well, I think rural communities are for people escaping the city life, elderly, and for families that don't want their kids in the city surrouding. Sadly, I fell in that category.
Suburban communities are for ppl that work in the city, but live in the better communities around the city. i would say mostly everyone that lives in suburbs are wealthy families.
Ex-urban communities are large suburbs, or secondary urban areas that lie on the fringe of a metro area. Usually near the rural areas. Usually, ex-urban is for ppl to escape the city and be more affordible than the suburbs. elderly, college students, and middle-class families live here.
And then there's urban. Where all the amneties are. It's where everyone works. non-families, college students, and not-middle class families live here.
If I don't have kids, then I will take a small urban city. If I have kids, then I'd live in a suburb. I like Santa Maria, CA (urban) and Arroyo Grande (suburban).
Apparently east coast and west coast differs in urbanization.
west coast urbanization: home (rural) + home= homes (suburban) + downtown core=urban
the downtown core being wherever the most built out area is.
usually there is the downtown core, then suburban looking homes, and then the agriculture land
just homes and then agriculture land is suburban
just agricultural land is rural
this is rural, suburban, and urban for the santa maria metro area.
rural-Los Olivos, Ca (5,000 population)
suburban-Orcutt, Ca (35,000 population)
suburban-Guadalupe, Ca (8,000 population)
urban-Santa Maria, Ca (91,000 population)
Last edited by the city; 10-08-2008 at 12:40 AM..
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