What term describes a large clustering of service facilities and residential areas near highway intersections that provides a sense of place?

• A. Edge city
• B. Suburb
• C. Megalopolis
• D. Rural town

Answer: (A)

This item is about edge cities—the large, self-contained nodes that spring up on the suburban fringe where major highways intersect. They aren’t just suburbs with houses; they cluster a mix of offices, shopping, hotels, and housing in one sprawling area around highway interchanges. This concentration creates a distinct place with its own identity and daily rhythm, because people can live, work, and shop there without returning to the traditional downtown.

That makes it the best fit. Suburbs are typically residential outlying areas, even if they have some shops or workplaces, but they don’t usually develop into these sizable, multi-use centers with a strong sense of place. A megacity or megacity region refers to an enormous urban area that stretches well beyond a single node, and a rural town implies a smaller, less dense community in a countryside setting. Edge cities, by contrast, are large-scale, highway-centered clusters that function almost like independent mini-cities.