The political element in suburbia: a key influence on the urban geography of the United States.

The term suburb has a more specific connotation in the US than in many other countries because it refers to a separate administrative unit. Most US metropolitan areas comprise a ring of independent suburbs surrounding the central city. These suburbs have control over land use zoning within their territories and are fiscally independent of the central cities; many of them also contain separate, independent school districts. The manipulation and use of this local government system is important in creating the social geography of the country's metropolitan areas. -Author