Cities, Suburbs, and Metropolitan Areas

A metropolitan area is the central city and its suburbs combined, and thus it refers to the entire urbanized region. As American cities grew, they also expanded beyond the city limits and absorbed neighboring communities. During the twentieth century, government policy and corporations provided the framework leading to jobs and people leaving the central city for the suburbs. The consequences of the rise of suburbs includes the restructuring of downtown areas as retail relocated, the increased emphasis on office space in central business districts, and increasingly polarized regions. Central cities grew poorer as many middle-class families left for the suburbs, and a disproportionate number of those left behind were African-Americans and recent immigrants. Many inner-city neighborhoods fell victim to urban decay—the neglect of demolition of a neighborhood’s infrastructure.