The Problem with Central City-Suburb Comparisons

Abstract

The classic central city-suburb comparisons within metropolitan areas is rendered problematic by the widely varying proportions of metropolitan populations included within the boundaries of the central cities. A consistent definition of the older, inner portions of urban areas and the newer, outer portions, the urban core and suburban periphery, is presented. That division is compared to the central city-suburb distinction for large urban areas. The percentage of the urban area population in the central city versus the urban core varies a great deal for some urban areas. Rates of population growth and population density differ between urban cores and central cities and between suburban peripheries and suburbs outside central cities. Relationships of incomes and levels of racial and ethnic diversity between the inner and outer areas likewise differ when using the alternative divisions of the urban areas.