What is Suburb?
[[Image:Cincinnati-suburbs-tract-housing.jpg|thumb|250px|Housing subdivision near [[Union, Kentucky]], a suburb of [[Cincinnati, Ohio]].]] A '''suburb''' is an area of a [[town]] or [[city]], a little away from the [[downtown]] (city center), where there are fewer big [[building]]s and mainly [[house]]s, [[school]]s and [[shop]]s. Such places are called suburban areas or suburban districts. Sometimes, the suburbs cover a very large area. The suburbs are part of the [[metropolitan area]] and may be legally part of the main city. Since the [[Industrial revolution]], [[urbanization]] has spread very quickly and far. Transport in the form of [[tram]]s, [[bus]]es, [[trains]] and [[car]]s allows [[commuting]] from distant homes to work in the inner city. This led to the growth of suburbs as [[residential]] areas. Housing commonly includes [[Detached house]]s and [[semi-detached]] [[house]]s and [[apartment|flats]]. Houses are built farther apart than in the inner city and there is often space for [[garden]]s and [[park]]s. As cities grow outwards, they begin to take over the surrounding countryside. Authorities have created [[green belt]]s on the [[undeveloped land]] around a city to prevent [[urban sprawl]] and to prevent the towns and cities merging into one. They also encourage development within the town, and protect the countryside. The need for new houses, particularly large detached and semi-detached houses in pleasant surroundings, means that some areas of green belt land have been built on and others are threatened. That's because it is cheaper to build on empty land than to redevelop brownfield sites in older parts of the town or city. == Related pages == * [[Suburbanisation]] - how suburbs are created {{geo-stub}} [[Category:Suburbs| ]] [[Category:Types of settlements]]