Editing Exurb (section)

===United States===
{{see also|List of exurbs in the United States}}
Since the ''Finding Exurbia'' report by the [[Brookings Institution]] in 2006, the term is generally used{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} for areas beyond suburbs and specifically less densely built and populated than the suburbs to which the exurbs' residents commute.<ref name=b2006>{{cite news |url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/finding-exurbia-americas-fast-growing-communities-at-the-metropolitan-fringe/ |title=Finding Exurbia: America's Fast-Growing Communities at the Metropolitan Fringe |first1=Alan |last1=Berube |first2=Audrey |last2=Singer |first3=Jill H. |last3=Wilson |first4=William H. |last4=Frey |work=Living Cities Census Series |date=October 2006 |publisher=The Brookings Institution |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=2020-08-03 |quote=We first identify exurbs using census tracts—small areas with an average of 4,000 people—and then aggregate these areas to the county level for further analysis.}}</ref> To qualify as exurban, a [[census tract]] must meet three criteria:<ref name=b2006/>
# Economic connection to a large metropolis. 
# Low housing density: bottom third of census tracts with regard to housing density. In 2000, this was a minimum of {{convert|2.6|acre|ha|lk=out|abbr=off}} per resident.
# Population growth exceeding the average for its central [[metropolitan area]].
These are based on published datasets. Alternative approaches include working with [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]] LandScan data and [[GIS]].<ref>{{citation|last=Taylor|first=Laura|date=2011|title=No boundaries: exurbia and the study of contemporary urban dispersion|journal=[[GeoJournal]]|volume=76|number=4|pages=323–339|doi=10.1007/s10708-009-9300-y|s2cid=128461360}}</ref>

Exurban areas incorporate a mix of rural development (e.g., farms and open space) and in places, suburban-style development (e.g., tracts of single-family homes, though usually on large lots). In long-settled areas, such as the U.S. [[Northeast megalopolis]], exurban areas incorporate pre-existing towns, villages and smaller cities, as well as strips of older single-family homes built along pre-existing roads that connected the older population centers of what was once a rural area.
The Brookings Institution listed exurban counties, defined as having at least 20% of their residents in exurban [[Census tract]]s.<ref name=b2006/>