Exurban and Suburban Households: A Departure from Traditional Location Theory? 249 Journal of Housing Research • Volume 8, Issue 2 249 © Fannie Mae Foundation 1997. All Rights Reserved. Exurban and Suburban Households: A Departure from Traditional Location Theory? Arthur C. Nelson and Thomas W. Sanchez* Abstract Modern social, cultural, economic, and technological forces permit households to settle farther from the urban core than they did in the past. Suburbanization abets the “overflow” from central cities, but is “exurbanization” simply an overflow from suburbs? If it is not, exurbanization may represent a marked departure from previously accepted urban growth theory. We test the proposition that exurbanites are different from suburbanites in household characteristics, occu- pation of household heads, accessibility to employment, residence characteristics, and geographic clustering based on those factors. Using a variety of nonparametric and cluster analysis techniques, we find that exurbanites and suburbanites may be more similar than previously thought. The rise of polycentric urban areas seems to have pushed the suburban fringe farther out. Rethinking of conventional urban form theory is needed only insofar as it considers the effect of polycentric landscapes but not the underlying motivations of households maximizing their space and location utility. Keywords: household location, exurbanization, location theory Introduction Until World War II, the United States was a nation with discernible cities, small towns, farms, and wilderness composed of desert, forest, and rangeland. By 2000, much of the rural landscape within 100 miles of city centers or their edge cities will have been converted into the “exurban” landscape first characterized by Auguste Spectorsky in 1955. Exurbia extends beyond the built-up urban and contiguously developed suburban areas but not into the true hinterlands beyond commuting range of city centers or their edge cities. The literature suggests that exurbanites are different from suburbanites in being more affluent, family oriented, flexible with their work times and places, and desirous of the classically Jeffersonian gentleman-farmer lifestyle (but without the slaves). The rise of exurbia—whether it is a unique urban form or an extension of suburbia—has implica- tions for environmental management, agriculture and forestry, infrastructure and public services, economic activity, and governance policies. Only through an understanding of the magnitude of the differences (if any) between exurbanites and suburbanites can public policies be shaped to address the challenges continued exurbanization may bring. Are exurbanites as different from suburbanites as wolves are from sheep, or are they merely part of the same flock searching for the same greener pastures that lured people * Arthur C. Nelson is Professor of City Planning and Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Thomas W. Sanchez is Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University.