Difference between "urban", "suburban", and "rural"

annasdad
Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:59:32 +0000

When looking at the environment for a college, there are really fourth and fifth categories, I think, although they are not an official classification - small city and midsize city.

I would describe a midsize city as a place where you can find anything you need from a shopping standpoint, where there’s a decent public transportation system, and where the city is considered a mecca for nearby rural areas - but where you will not find the cultural and entertainment opportunities that a truly large city would provide (except those that are sponsored by and part of the university).

As an example of a midsize city, Urbana-Champaign. It’s not rural - it’s the center of a SMSA of over 200,000. But it’s not really “urban” when compared to Chicago or St. Louis or Indianapolis. And it’s not a suburb of anywhere.

A small city would be similar, but would lack the public transportation system and be a satellite (although too far removed to be a “suburb”) of a bigger place. For example, Beloit, which is to some extent a satellite of Rockford, Ill., or Galesburg, which is a satellite of the Quad Cities. These places are qualitatively different from true small towns - think Grinnell, or Gettysburg, or Mt. Vernon (Iowa), or Hillsdale - which are what I would call “truly rural.”