Suburbs or Outskirts ?

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Hello dear friends



I checked all my dictionaries to find out the difference between Outskirts and Suburbs; yet I came to nothing :roll:



Well, I've two definitions, could you please match them with the exact words " Suburbs or Outskirts " and what's the difference between them in plain English?



1-The area of a town outside the centre



2-The furthest part from the centre, on the edge of the town/ city



Thanks in advance



;-)
 

5jj

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Hello dear friends

I checked all my dictionaries to find out the difference between Outskirts and Suburbs; yet I came to nothing :roll:

Well, I've two definitions, could you please match them with the exact words " Suburbs or Outskirts " and what's the difference between them in plain English?

1-The area of a town outside the centre
2-The furthest part from the centre, on the edge of the town/ city


For me there is no real difference. However, only cities can have suburbs.
I could say, 'on the outskirts of the village' but not 'in the suburbs'.
 

Ouisch

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In AmE, a "suburb" is generally defined as a residential community that lies within commuting distance of a city.

For example, I grew up in Warren, Michigan, which is considered to be a suburb of Detroit . Warren has over 100,000 residents, and is considered a city but it is also a suburb, due to its proximity to Detroit. At one time, one major difference between a "city" (town center) and a "suburb" was that the city had a major downtown or city center area, with shops and restaurants and limited (usually paid) parking available. The shops downtown were grouped together so that a person could park in a paid area and easily walk to several different stores to buy everything from clothes to hardware to groceries. The shops in the suburbs, however, were malls or shopping centers, which were situated on large plots of land with free parking lots located right on the property.

In AmE, "outskirts" refers to the very outer edge of a city or suburb, which is often a rural area.
 
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