This article reconsiders the suburbs, defined as a residual concept, into a favorable position. Previous studies have discussed the suburbs as an area between urban and rural areas with unique cultures. We have found diverse cultural aspects of the area using the same term with extended applications. The fact that this endless landscape is described as "sloppy suburbs," indicates the ambiguity in the positioning of the suburbs. The end of the suburbs, in which the concept of suburbs can no longer be applied, has been vaguely identified and overlooked. However, if we refer to the discussion on metropolitan areas, we inevitably and implicitly introduce the border of suburbs, defining the objective area of the studies.
Therefore, this article has organized how the edges of metropolitan areas are discussed into three orientations (inward, outward, and vertically layered orientations) by the different attitudes toward them when the edges are taken up as the object of study, such as the term "exurbs." The results illustrate two suggestions. First, there is a different policy from considering the suburbs as an intermediate third term because the suburban fringe is positioned without assuming rural villages as the opposite axis of the urban areas. Second, it is a clue for positively perceiving the suburbs and daring to draw the boundaries of the urban area amid the continuous suburbs. In conclusion, we relocate the edge area as neither the farthest reaches of the suburbs nor the outer fringe of the city but as the forefront to explore its urbanity.
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