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Article: Suburbanization
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
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SUBURBANIZATION
SUBURBANIZATION
describes the general trend of city dwellers to move from the city into residential areas in ever-growing concentric circles away from the city's core. The trend began briefly in the nineteenth century and then exploded after World War II (1939
–
1945). Suburbs
developed their own shopping and service districts and bred their own distinct lifestyles.
Historians and sociologists have long had difficulty defining the start of suburbanization. Researchers have noted that even before the American Revolution (1775
–
1783), land speculators were offering land outside of cities like Boston and New York for development as residential areas. The ...