Suburbanisation

Many residents of towns and cities no longer live within central urban area, instead commuting in or taking advantage of technological advances to work from home
This process is most common in MEDCs - US believed to be first country where more people live in suburbs than central cities or rural areas
Can be linked to different push factors, including:
- Congestion/popn. density of city centres
- Pollution
- General perception of a lower quality of life in city centres
Can also be linked to different pull factors, including:
- More open space
- Lower price of land and housing
- Increasing job opportunities in suburban areas
- General perception of better education opportunities

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What has helped suburbanisation?
- Improvements in transport infrastructure, e.g railways and bus routes - mass transit systems such as London Underground have been crucial
- Developments in communication technology such as broadband, e-mail and home video conferencing have enabled people to work from home
Effect of this has been that some people/small businesses have seen financial advantages to locating further from city centre
This has led to growth of 'edge cities' - clusters of office buildings surrounding suburban business districts and shopping areas
Negative effects of suburbanisation include:
- Increased urban sprawl - leads to decay of the inner city
- High concentration of low income residents in inner city areas
- Growth of commuting leads to increase in car use and therefore pollution
However, many urban areas in the UK have adopted green belt policies
These limit growth in fringe of city
This, in turn, encourages more growth in the urban core

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