Central Cities and Suburbs as Distinct Place Types: Myth or Fact?

Central cities and suburbs are generally considered distinct place types even though the question of what makes them different has received scant empirical attention. Stepwise discriminant analysis is used to examine hypothesized dimensions of difference between central cities and suburbs. Results indicate that these two place types are empirically distinguishable using demographic, structural, and economic variables, but that only one variable, the proportion of black and hispanic residents, consistently enters into the discriminate functions that characterize city/suburban differences. When Frostbelt and Sunbelt urban areas are considered separately, the functions incorporate different variable sets. Implications of these findings for the central city-suburban dichotomy and other current issues in suburban studies are discussed.