# Suburbs on steroids



## JARdan (Aug 21, 2004)

North America's largest suburb is Mississauga, Ontario at about 700 000 people.


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## edsg25 (Jul 30, 2004)

ROCguy said:


> ^^ San Jose is more of it's own city than a suburb of SF... lol... it's 200,000 more than SF.


If not San Jose, then definitely Palo Alto. Berkeley, too, for that matter.


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## redstone (Nov 15, 2003)

Singapore's Novena suburb. From a sleepy, lowrise housing area less than 10 years ago, it is now a suburb with skyscrapers popping out everywhere. 


Very cool and modern styled residential towers apparently are all the rage there.









In 1970s:









In 2004:


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## Azn_chi_boi (Mar 11, 2005)

Evanston, Il isn't on steroids, its eating fruits... due to healthy suburb especially in its downtown.


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## ROCguy (Aug 15, 2005)

JARdan said:


> North America's largest suburb is Mississauga, Ontario at about 700 000 people.


That's like Hempstead, New York on Long Island.... it's the largest township in America with over 725,000 people.... larger than Boston, Washington, Milwaukee, Seattle, and about the same size as San Francisco.


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## Evangelion (May 11, 2005)

Azn_chi_boi said:


> Evanston, Il isn't on steroids, its eating fruits... due to healthy suburb especially in its downtown.


i meant it as a good thing....... i thought we're basically talking about burbs that are well known for one reason or another?


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## brooklynprospect (Apr 27, 2005)

ROCguy said:


> ^^ San Jose is more of it's own city than a suburb of SF... lol... it's 200,000 more than SF.


I also got the impression that San Jose and Silicon Valley, while suburban in layout, are in no way suburbs of SF in the sense of being bedroom communities economically dependent on the big city. If anything, it's SF city that's economically dependent on the awesome concentration of corporate power, talent and innovation incongruously located in boring-looking suburbs like Palo Alto, Sunnyvale or San Jose.


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## brooklynprospect (Apr 27, 2005)

Perhaps the best example of a suburb usurping a traditional city's role isn't even in America, but in South Africa. From what I understand, downtown Johannesburg has gone from being a 1st-world mini Manhattan located in Africa to a dangerous, decayed shell of its former self (not withstanding a very minor recent revival). At the same time, an upscale suburb called Sandton has completely taken over as South Africa's premier business center.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

ROCguy said:


> ^^ San Jose is more of it's own city than a suburb of SF... lol... it's 200,000 more than SF.


How so? It's suburbia, but simply happens to be a very large area all under one government. Any city could have a San Jose outside it -- all it would take is combining a few suburban municipalities into one.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

brooklynprospect said:


> I also got the impression that San Jose and Silicon Valley, while suburban in layout, are in no way suburbs of SF in the sense of being bedroom communities economically dependent on the big city. If anything, it's SF city that's economically dependent on the awesome concentration of corporate power, talent and innovation incongruously located in boring-looking suburbs like Palo Alto, Sunnyvale or San Jose.


If jobs/housing balance is what makes a "city" vs. a suburb, then a lot of places would have to switch titles. 

Regardless of where municipal boundaries happen to be drawn and how many suburban office parks are included, a huge swath of suburbia is still suburbia.


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## techniques1200s (Mar 11, 2005)

san jose may be a city, and a bigger one than SF at that, but if you've ever been there you would know what one means when they say its a suburb (which it _is_, hehe). Its a cool place, but its sprawled out, the downtown isn't lively, and at night it's all but dead. Its tallest building is 285 feet, due to the airport's proximity to downtown. In 1950 it had 90,000 people. It just doesnt have a big city feel.

san jose:


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## edsg25 (Jul 30, 2004)

Azn_chi_boi said:


> Evanston, Il isn't on steroids, its eating fruits... due to healthy suburb especially in its downtown.


there are some steroids. taking a major college town on the lake and having it take advantage of its proximity to Chicago with TOD's has turned Evanston into a vastly different community. All those downtown high rises and the ones that line Chicago Avenue to the south show a city showing new muscle.


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## edsg25 (Jul 30, 2004)

brooklynprospect said:


> I also got the impression that San Jose and Silicon Valley, while suburban in layout, are in no way suburbs of SF in the sense of being bedroom communities economically dependent on the big city. If anything, it's SF city that's economically dependent on the awesome concentration of corporate power, talent and innovation incongruously located in boring-looking suburbs like Palo Alto, Sunnyvale or San Jose.


I have to agree with you that the South Bay is far enough from SF to have development considered to be non-suburban. San Jose was never an SF suburb; however, close by places like Palo Alto were. I disagree about the boring assessment. Silicon Valley didn't spring up out of nowhere. It's where it is because its development was spurred by something that made Palo Alto far more than a typical, boring suburb for years: obviously I'm talking about Stanford.


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## rocky (Apr 20, 2005)

marne la vallée, suburb of paris, is a multi centered city of about 300 000 people and growing. it has a TGV train station and a disneyland park. it is not yet a true center but its coming, as businesses are creating.


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## ReddAlert (Nov 4, 2004)

somebody comes in here and says Milwaukee is a suburb of Chicago and Ill slap them.


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## dave8721 (Aug 5, 2004)

dave8721 said:


> Would Miami Beach count as a suburb? It has been standing on its own as a retail and entertainment center and outshining its parent city for a long time.
> Coral Gables has been standing toe to toe with its parent city (Miami) for the last few years as well when it comes to business and office construction.
> 
> One reason why Miami is (unfortunately) the most decentralized office market in the U.S. is that ALL of its suburbs are on steroids. From the office towers popping up all over Coral Gables, Blue Lagoon, and the office parks of Doral to the residential and office towers of Kendall to the highrise forests of Aventura and Sunny Isles. I mean how many "suburbs" have 10+ 500 foot buildings has Sunny Isles soon will have?


Here are some pics of Miami's suburb on steroids: Aventura/Sunny Isles -They are two separate cities but they form one continuous skyline. Emporis lists their totals as 106 completed, 17 U/C, 21 approved/proposed which is laughably low if you have seen what in actually in the area. Not bad for a suburb. This area is about 12 miles north of Downtown Miami.
A pic looking north from Downtown at Aventura(left) and Sunny Isles(right)









Pics from around the forums:
























Verticle Suburb:
















































Williams Island -home to Sammy Sosa, Lil Kim among others..


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

brooklynprospect said:


> Perhaps the best example of a suburb usurping a traditional city's role isn't even in America, but in South Africa. From what I understand, downtown Johannesburg has gone from being a 1st-world mini Manhattan located in Africa to a dangerous, decayed shell of its former self (not withstanding a very minor recent revival). At the same time, an upscale suburb called Sandton has completely taken over as South Africa's premier business center.



This is what the Western media says, the reality is something quite different. 
While it's true that many businesses and people left the Johannesburg CBD in the 1990s, they didn't all go to Sandton. Wealthy whites went North to Sandton, and some businesses (like the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) moved with them. But the "flight' from the inner city has gone in all directions - east, west, north and south - pushing the population and businesses all over the place. Johannesburg has spread to encompass almost the entire province of Gauteng from the Vaal Triangle to the southern limits of Pretoria.


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## Jaye101 (Feb 16, 2005)

O god.... Mississauga is on STEROIDS!


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## white (Sep 17, 2005)

You could say that one of Vancouvers suburbs, Burnaby is on steroids. There are lots of highrise buildings plus quite a few UC/approved/proposed. Burnaby is an important business hub of the region and has an elevated light rail line (skytrain) as you can see in both pics. The highrise clusters tend to pop up around the skytrain stations and this is where most new developments are taking place.

Looking west from the Burnaby/Coquitlam border









Looking south from Metrotown. (Burnbaby area) Just north of the fraser river is New West Minster south of river is Suurey


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## ROCguy (Aug 15, 2005)

ReddAlert said:


> somebody comes in here and says Milwaukee is a suburb of Chicago and Ill slap them.


Milwaukee is a suburb of Chicago.... and Minneapolis!!!!!!! lol.. you know I'm JK.


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## TexasBoi (Jan 7, 2004)

edsg25 said:


> I didn't realize that got settled....Irving is definitely out, then?


Unfortunately, construction begins in 2006 and finishes in 2009.


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## worldwide (May 3, 2005)

surrey bc is 500 000 and it has lots of space to grow. theres also lots of high rise development


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

the suburbs of Paris has 8 millions inhabitants
Parisian suburbs is more modern that Paris.

they are individual house, residencial tower, many office building, many freeways ,skyscraper , monuments


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## goonsta (Sep 11, 2002)

I'm thinking along the lines of a place originally meant to be suburban, but is now loaded with dense multifamily housing, putting strain on infrastructure and creating traffic reminiscent of the inner city. A number of LA and Toronto suburbs would qualify. For Chicago, the suburbs along Milwaukee Avenue qualify, especially Niles with its Highrises and ethnic markets.


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## edsg25 (Jul 30, 2004)

goonsta said:


> I'm thinking along the lines of a place originally meant to be suburban, but is now loaded with dense multifamily housing, putting strain on infrastructure and creating traffic reminiscent of the inner city. A number of LA and Toronto suburbs would qualify. For Chicago, the suburbs along Milwaukee Avenue qualify, especially Niles with its Highrises and ethnic markets.


your post points up how the English language is failing us. At one point, "suburban" really did mean a place with lower density than the city, a transition from urban to rural. That's when suburbs were really suburbs.

Today the word just doesn't convey the right meaning anymore. Suburbs are often as urban as the cities that spawned them. Sometimes more so. I'm sure, Goonsta, you'd agree with me that in Chicago, suburban Evanston and Oak Park are more urban than Chicago neighborhoods like Sauganash, Forest Glen, Beverley.

No question a new word (or words) is needed to convey the idea that once was "suburban".


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## Jaye101 (Feb 16, 2005)

^^ Uhhh, Dude, they already have one.. Exurb.


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## Jaye101 (Feb 16, 2005)

In North America, suburbs traditionally were residential areas with single-family homes located near shopping areas and schools, with good access to trains, freeways or other transport systems. Now, partly due to increased populations in many greater metropolitan areas, suburbs can be densely populated and contain apartment buildings and townhouses, as well as office complexes, light manufacturing facilities, and shopping centers or malls. It is not unusual for suburbs to house several hundred thousand people. In fact, many American and Canadian suburbs are now larger than other urban population centers. For example, Mesa, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona), is larger than St. Louis, Missouri; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew at a much faster rate than even Phoenix between 1990 and 2000. Another example is Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (a suburb of Toronto, Ontario), Mississauga is the largest suburban municipality in all of North America, with a population of 636,801 and a population density of 2125.1/km². Mississauga is larger than the U.S. cities of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Boston, Massachusetts; Washington DC; Nashville, Tennessee; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; New Orleans, Louisiana; Las Vegas, Nevada; Cleveland, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; Sacramento, California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Miami, Florida etc. Mississauga also has a higher population than the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia. The five largest suburbs in North America, in order, are Mississauga, Ontario; Mesa, Arizona; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Surrey, British Columbia; and Laval, Quebec.


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## Azn_chi_boi (Mar 11, 2005)

What about Long Beach, Ca (LA Metro) which as over 440,000 people?


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## Jaye101 (Feb 16, 2005)

Azn_chi_boi said:


> What about Long Beach, Ca (LA Metro) which as over 440,000 people?


No idea, I copied and pasted.


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## ROCguy (Aug 15, 2005)

^^ And again, this one.... No, there is not an extra digit in that Population. This is the most populated township in the US.... more populus than 6 states!!!!http://epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=60103


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## Third of a kind (Jun 20, 2004)

ROCguy said:


> ^^ And again, this one.... No, there is not an extra digit in that Population. This is the most populated township in the US.... more populus than 6 states!!!!http://epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=60103


It is..but there are so many different entities that exist within it...like garden city..and such...its weird to believe its a town....though I wouldn't say hempstead is on steroids at all...but I think that N6 is sometimes..(a little inside joke for anyone who takes that route)


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## TalB (Jun 8, 2005)

Jersey City tends to be on steroids especially after the Goldman Sachs Tower was built.


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## rocky (Apr 20, 2005)

TalB said:


> Jersey City tends to be on steroids especially after the Goldman Sachs Tower was built.



good one. i forgott la defense too. its so developped that we often forgott its a suburb and assimilate it with paris.


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## NovaWolverine (Dec 28, 2004)

Arlington, VA has the Pentagon, Reagan Natl. Airport, and Arlington Natl. Cemetary.


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## ROCguy (Aug 15, 2005)

^^ But Arlington is really more of it's own city than a suburb of DC


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## reluminate (Aug 3, 2004)

JayeTheOnly said:


> ^^ Uhhh, Dude, they already have one.. Exurb.


^^^ Uhhh, Dude, you're wrong.

An Exurb is a sub-suburb. They're usually a newer development beyond established suburbs, in former rural areas. While suburbs usually have downtowns, town centers, or malls, Exurbs usually have big-box stores like Wal-mart as the primary shopping areas.


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## doady (May 23, 2004)

edit


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## LosAngelesSportsFan (Oct 20, 2004)

Azn_chi_boi said:


> What about Long Beach, Ca (LA Metro) which as over 440,000 people?



actually its 497,000 now.


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## PotatoGuy (May 10, 2005)

does Long Beach count as a suburb?


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## ROCguy (Aug 15, 2005)

Long beach is about as much of a suburb as Newark NJ is. lol


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## PotatoGuy (May 10, 2005)

lol, ok


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## Azn_chi_boi (Mar 11, 2005)

So is Long Beach the largest suburb in US, because about 500,000 is a huge number!?


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## TalB (Jun 8, 2005)

Many of the suburbs around Tel Aviv tend to have skylines, though they are mostly residential.


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## samsonyuen (Sep 23, 2003)

I don't think Long Beach really counts. It's like Newark, or Baltimore (!) being counted as suburbs.


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