Is There An Accepted Definition Of "suburban" Versus "rural"?

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Sort of a conflict IN MY MARKET. Many properties are zoned rural residential but are actually suburban to the metro area. In those cases I like to look at the usage. Is it mostly residential or is it something else such as a farm or ranch. Are services such as water and sewer public or private?

 

[David Beavan]

We run into this in Wisconsin. Few urban areas many small communities - Suburbs(used to call them bedroom communities) and rural subdivisions scattered about.
I mark suburban on page 1 and use the term rural subdivisions throughout my report. I now add the following in my neighborhood comments:

The location is determined to be suburban because it is a cluster of detached single unit dwellings ie: a subdivision. However the residences are served by private wells and septic systems. The term rural is used to indicate that the dwellings are served by private wells and septic systems and not by municipal water and sewer systems. Hence, the term rural subdivision which differentiates the area from a village or small city that is proximate to a larger city (i.e.:Suburb/Suburban) where residences are served by municipal water and sewer.

 

[Deleted member 128537]

Personally they should get rid of the entire rural, urban, suburban crap. That's why we now have aerial maps etc. And it's also why we define the neighborhood and the amount built up. I just mark everything rural or urban in my county. No suburbs in my county IMHO.

 

[bnmappraisal]

mark everything rural or urban in my county. No suburbs in my county IMHO.

You've got to love locational differences! My county is urban or suburban ... no rural in my county IMHO

 

[Deleted member 128537]

You've got to love locational differences! My county is urban or suburban ... no rural in my county IMHO

Yes indeed the good old USA; land of infinite variety. In my county largest "urban" area is 9500 people. Then a bunch of small rural villages, 300 miles of lakeshore on Lake Michigan and Green Bay, and all kinds of homes on acreages, recreational condos, condotels, yadyadyada. It a conglomerated mess of different types of properties. And there is the 25 square mile Island that takes me 4 hours to just do one inspection (I charge high for those!)

 

[Peter LeQuire]

The cfpb determines what is rural.

Go to their website:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rural-or-underserved-tool/

Type in the address.
Use their results to back up your designation of rural or suburban.

.

But is this not to determine eligibility for certain programs?

The Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal is one source that would provide a defensible description. As does Real Estate Appraisal Terminology (which also includes definitions for "rurban", and "rural-urban fringe" as well as "suburban".

CFPB classifies my address as being "rural": we live 2 miles from a high school with a 1,500 student enrollment; 7 miles from a 300+ bed hospital; and 9 miles from Super Kroger and a WalMart. Its an area of scattered subdivisions of conforming building sites, 7 miles from the CBD of a town of 28,000. Rural we're not - "rurban" probably comes closest to describing it, but there ain't a check box for that: I'd consider "suburban" the most appropriate of the available responses because essential services are relatively close by.

 

[Deleted member 128537]

OK. I typed in an address in the city of Sturgeon Bay, WI (population 9500) into the web site that Marion provided. Comes up "rural or underserved." So that means in the city of Sturgeon Bay I technically should be stating "rural?" Doesn't quite fit.

 

[Deleted member 128537]

This is what the Census Bureau has on THEIR web site:

The Census Bureau’s urban-rural classification is fundamentally a delineation of geographical areas, identifying both individual urban areas and the rural areas of the nation. The Census Bureau’s urban areas represent densely developed territory, and encompass residential, commercial, and other non-residential urban land uses. The Census Bureau delineates urban areas after each decennial census by applying specified criteria to decennial census and other data.

The Census Bureau identifies two types of urban areas:

• Urbanized Areas (UAs) of 50,000 or more people;
• Urban Clusters (UCs) of at least 2,500 and less than 50,000 people.

“Rural” encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area.

So we should technically have "urban cluster" on our forms!!!! Sounds like a "candy bar."

 

[Peter LeQuire]

The GSE forms aren't reports to the Census Bureau or to the CFPB - they offer only three choices, not two. The CB defines "rural" as "not urban" - "not urban" is not the same as "suburban".

In my county, I generally check "suburban" and explain what about the area surrounding the subject makes it non rural - proximity to services and linkages, density of development and all the rest.

 

[Deleted member 128537]

The GSE forms aren't reports to the Census Bureau or to the CFPB - they offer only three choices, not two. The CB defines "rural" as "not urban" - "not urban" is not the same as "suburban".

In my county, I generally check "suburban" and explain what about the area surrounding the subject makes it non rural - proximity to services and linkages, density of development and all the rest.

The point is the "definitions" are quite subjective, and how we describe our communities is not as defined as we think.