Massive suburbanization is a global phenomenon, making suburbia the true twenty-first-century city. Suburbanization has been linked to long-term social, political, economic, and technological processes in cities and beyond. But suburbs can be dated from ancient times. This article examines the evolution of suburbs in an historical perspective. It focuses on the modern period, starting with the early nineteenth-century industrial city and continuing the story through the great expansion of the post-World War II era up to the present day. The first section discusses changing interpretations and...

Massive suburbanization is a global phenomenon, making suburbia the true twenty-first-century city. Suburbanization has been linked to long-term social, political, economic, and technological processes in cities and beyond. But suburbs can be dated from ancient times. This article examines the evolution of suburbs in an historical perspective. It focuses on the modern period, starting with the early nineteenth-century industrial city and continuing the story through the great expansion of the post-World War II era up to the present day. The first section discusses changing interpretations and theories about suburbs, both unplanned and planned. A typology of suburbs is then presented with examples from different continents, followed by an explanatory framework to help understand the massive and complex development of suburbs. A comparative approach helps to understand both the specificity and the pervasiveness of suburbs in the modern and contemporary era.