Boomburb

A boomburb is a large, rapidly-growing city that remains essentially suburban in character, even as it reaches populations more typical of urban core cities. It describes a relatively recent phenomenon in a United States context. The neologism was principally promoted by American Robert E. Lang of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech.

Aerial view of Chandler, Arizona, a city described as a boomburb

Definition

Boomburbs are defined as incorporated places in the top 50 Metropolitan areas in the United States of more than 100,000 residents, but that are not the core cities in their metropolitan areas and have maintained double-digit rates of population growth (10% or more) over consecutive censuses between 1970 and 2000.

As of the 2000 Census, the United States contained 54 boomburbs, which accounted for about half of the 1990s growth in cities with between 100,000 and 500,000 residents.

List of boomburbs

Robert E. Lang of Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech listed 54 boomburbs. Further examples not on Robert E. Lang's original list are marked with an asterisk.

• Arizona
  • Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Mesa, Peoria, Scottsdale, Tempe
• California
  • Anaheim, Chula Vista, Corona, Costa Mesa, Daly City, Escondido, Fontana, Fremont, Fullerton, Irvine, Lancaster, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, Ontario, Orange, Oxnard, Palmdale, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Santa Clarita, Santa Rosa, Simi Valley, Sunnyvale, Temecula*, Thousand Oaks
• Colorado
  • Aurora, Arvada*, Lakewood, Thornton*, Westminster
• Florida
  • Clearwater, Coral Springs, Davie*, Hialeah, Miramar*, Pembroke Pines, Pompano Beach*
• Kansas
  • Olathe*, Overland Park*
• Illinois
  • Aurora*, Elgin*, Joliet*, Naperville, Schaumburg*
• Michigan
  • Warren*, Sterling Heights*, Livonia*
• Nevada
  • Henderson, North Las Vegas
• Oregon
  • Hillsboro*, Gresham*
• Texas
  • Allen*, Arlington, Carrollton, Frisco*, Garland, Grand Prairie, Irving, McKinney*, Mesquite, Pasadena*, Pearland*, Plano, Richardson*, Round Rock*, Sugar Land*
• Utah
  • West Jordan*, West Valley City
• Washington
  • Bellevue, Everett*, Kent*, Renton*, Vancouver*
• Other States
  • Meridian, Idaho*; Cary, North Carolina*; Rio Rancho, New Mexico*; Chesapeake, Virginia

The boomburbs listed above are based on the populations of cities determined by and definitions of metropolitan areas used in the 2000 Census. Boomburbs have occurred mostly in the Southwest, with nearly half developing in areas of central and southern California.

See also

• Edge city

References

• Lang, Robert E. and Jennifer B. LeFurgy (2007). Boomburbs: The Rise of America's Accidental Cities. Brookings Institution Press.
• Lang, Robert and Patrick Simmons (2001). "Boomburbs: The Emergence of Large, Fast-Growing Suburban Cities in the United States." Fannie Mae Foundation, Census Note 06.
• Lang, Robert (2003). "Are the Boomburbs Still Booming?" Fannie Mae Foundation, Census Note 15.
• Knox, Paul and Linda McCarthy (2005). Urbanization: An Introduction to Urban Geography. Pearson/Prentice Hall. Second Edition. pp. 163, 164, 560.
• Hayden, Dolores (2004). A Field Guide to Sprawl. W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 26–27, 118.

External links

• Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech
• "Is Anaheim the New Brooklyn?" by Robert E. Lang and Jennifer LeFurgy, Planetizen