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

k_amp_s
Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:06:40 +0000

Urban- of city: relating to or belonging to a city
Suburban - relating to suburb: relating to, belonging to, or located in a suburb
Rural - outside city: found in or living in the country



In reality tho, the settings are not always so set in stone based on the technical definitions.

For instance, CMU and Pitt would be considered “urban” since they are in the city of Pittsburgh and Northwestern would be considered “suburban” since it is in Evanston, a suburb of Chicago (tho, one can argue that Evanston is a “small” city of about 80k).

But in reality, the setting for CMU and Pitt is not that diff. for that for NU.

CMU and Pitt are in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh which is a residential area (not unlike Evanston) and is about a 20 min drive from downtown Pittsburgh (which has the skyscrapers, sports stadiums, etc.).