A modern, suburban area that acts as a central business district, since it contains lots of office buildings & jobs, malls & shopping centers, cultural and entertainment offerings, and major transportation corridors. The term was coined by Joel Garreau in his 1990 book of the same name.
Edge city examples include Schaumburg IL, Buckhead GA, Tysons Corner VA, Bloomington MN, Arlington TX, Plano TX, The Woodlands TX, Southfield MI, Bridgewater NJ, Rye-Purchase NY, Framingham MA, Bellevue WA, Silicon Valley CA, Aurora CO, Anaheim CA, Ontario CA, Glendale AZ, King of Prussia PA, Maryland Heights MO, Gaithersburg MD, etc.
by acb February 21, 2007
Get the edge city mug.A sparsely populated area, that is currently making the transition from rural to suburban, located usually on the fringes of a metropolitan area. Often times, it may be populated by wealthy estates, hobby farms, as well as existing rural towns, and usually with larger, more-mainstream suburban development on the brink of happening.
That exurb is growing so fast that the town can barely keep up the services to allow it to function.
by acb December 25, 2005
Get the exurb mug.An outdoor mall, usually featuring very upscale and pricey fashion stores, specialty stores, restaurants, and other trendy places. Can range in size from 10 to 100+ stores. Usually features nice architecture, brick walkways, chic lighting, and water features. Highly popular in upscale suburban/urbane areas in the Sunbelt and increasingly in the Midwest.
Hey, i'm going to check out that new lifestyle center they just built off the highway. They've got an Abercrombie & Fitch and everything!
by acb November 15, 2005
Get the lifestyle center mug.A rapidly-growing unique town on the fringes of suburbia NW of Chicago. Also the posterchild for suburban and exurban sprawl in the midwest. Famous for its small town charm, cows, outlet mall, gazebo, dairy mart, high school mascot controversey, and the largest age 55+ golf course community in the Midwest. Went from a population of 5,000 in 2000 to an estimated 20,000 in 2005.
by acb November 16, 2005
Get the Huntley mug.Northern Illinois University, the 2nd largest institution of higher education in the state of Illinois.
by acb November 16, 2005
Get the NIU mug.A sarcastic spin on the common phrase. It is what you tell someone when they get in your way or are making you unhappy. It was originated by Bon Jovi in 2005, and coincides with the red, box-shaped, smirk...a spin on the popular yellow smiley face.
by acb November 15, 2005
Get the Have a Nice Day mug.The term to describe unplanned and rampant suburban and urban growth because of the way it eats up the landscape and "sprawls" out the extent of a metropolitan area. Typical things associated with sprawl are megastores, identical housing, large yards, and 8-lane roads.
by acb December 25, 2005
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