urban, urb-, -urban, -urbia

1. The gradual fusion or combination of urban areas together into what some city planners call one vast megalopolis.
2. A predominantly urban region which includes adjacent towns and suburbs; a metropolitan area.
3. A large urban area created when neighboring towns spread into and merge with each other.

Relating to the residential area or community beyond a city's suburbs.

People who live beyond the "normal" suburban areas.

Earliest citation: "To prevent runaway growth and conserve local resources, penturbanites demand judicious county planning. Penturban land is still available at bargain prices, so middle-income families can often afford to live on two-acre to five-acre sites.

To the caring conserver, the old buildings in penturban towns are neither unattractive nor useless, but rich in nostalgia and generally less expensive than new construction.

Jack Lessinger, a retired University of Washington professor, introduced the term penturbia to readers of the Atlantic Monthly.

Penturbia was the fifth great region of colonization in the United States. This followed the movement into the central and southern colonies, then into the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys, then to the great industrial cities, and next into the suburbs of America.

Penturbia was beyond the normal commuting range of big U.S. cities. It included areas replete with farms, forests, lakes, and rivers. In penturbia, there were plenty of opportunities for fishing and golf.

1. A district lying immediately outside a city or town; especially, a smaller residential community.
2. Usually a residential region around a major city; the environs.

1. A residential district located on the outskirts of a city.
2. Suburbs collectively, or the people who live in them.