Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Exurbia is a form of residential development that straddles an often ill-defined zone between densely packed suburbs and rural and small town locations. Although its boundaries are usually indistinct, exurban development begins somewhere beyond the sprawling suburbs and lies outside easy commuting distance to the central city. At its far reaches, exurbia does not so much end as it blends into the surrounding agricultural countryside. Residents of exurbia occupy an uneasy middle ground between the perceived ills of the city and adjoining suburbs and rural places where it is believed that people live in harmony with the bucolic rural landscape ( Marx 1964 ). At the core of the debate over exurbanization is the question of whether exurbia represents a “clean break” in prevailing patterns of suburban development or if it is simply another form of suburban sprawl ( Nelson & Sanchez 1999 ). Proponents of the “clean break” hypothesis argue that exurbia represents a new settlement form populated by a distinctive group of residents who seek out particularly rural environments. The residential choices of exurbanites are driven by an anti-urban bias which leads them to seek out idealized rural and small town locations ( Nelson 1992 ). Here, the argument is that exurbia and exurbanites are somehow unique and their choice to live in exurbia is reflective of a different set of values than ... log in or subscribe to read full text