Around here, it's not primarily space that drives the suburbs, it's that the only decent schools are out in there, and not even the ones near the city, but the

Around here, it's not primarily space that drives the suburbs, it's that the only decent schools are out in there, and not even the ones near the city, but the ones just before the belt of non-developed land that separates the city from the exurb commuter towns farther out. There are a handful of OK elementary schools closer in, but they all feed to terrible high schools. The result is that the people who live close to the city are 1) young and childless (-free, whatever), 2) old and retired, 3) too poor to leave, or 4) rich enough to have gardeners and send their kids to private schools and pay a premium for a nice house closer to the city. This leaves out parents with two OK or one good income, who move to the distant 'burbs or commuter towns even if they'd rather live closer, because they can't afford private school.