Geography: three ways we talk about people leaving cities

Urban Dynamics is the study of how cities and communities change, and what that means on a broader scale.

Here are three ways to talk about humans moving out of these major population centres – where they go, why and what that means.

Suburbanisation is when people expand outward from a city centre

Well, not just people, but it starts with them. They want bigger backyards and houses that don’t cost as much as they do near the CBD, so they shift to the suburbs. Jobs and facilities (like shopping malls, say) follow the people, and you end up with urban sprawl… This can mean the city expands so much that it “takes over” surrounding villages or towns.

Exurbanisation is when people move further out from the city

Before we had trains and other ways to commute, it was very difficult to move beyond the perimeter of the city and maintain your life. These days, where people have cars and there are more public transport options, they can move to semi-rural areas but keep up their city life by commuting. They can also work from home instead in some cases, thanks to technology. So they’re not living in the city, but they’re still connected to it.

Counterurbanisation is when people leave cities entirely

This is the big one – when you hear older people talking about a “sea change” or a “tree change”, this is what they mean. They’re moving from the city to a rural area and living a totally different life. The result of this is smaller, more numerous regional centres with facilities to meet the new demand – facilities that would’ve otherwise been in the cities these people are leaving.