ABSTRACT
A survey by the American Institute of Architects indicated that the most profound impact on the built environment in the twenty-first century will come from the urbanization of the suburbs. The classic models of urban structure, such as the ring, sector, and multiple nuclei conceptualizations, emphasize the primary role of the central business district (CBD) as the commercial center of the city. The automobile and associated highway-based transportation improvements following World War II dramatically changed accessibility patterns within US metropolitan areas. Indeed, commercial activity intensified in suburban areas as developers seized the opportunity to take advantage of the transportation accessibility offered by key intersections of radial arteries and circumferential highways. The office has become the factory of the information age and the primary anchor of the suburban downtown. In thinking through the process of change that has restructured metropolitan form in the forty-five years since World War II, the authors developed a five-stage descriptive model of suburban economic-spatial development.
