Which term describes an area located immediately outside a city or town, typically characterized by lower population density?

• A. Suburban
• B. Rural
• C. Urban
• D. Malnutrition

Answer: (A)

Think about how areas are described by where they sit in relation to a city and how crowded they are. The area right outside a city center, where you still find residential neighborhoods and easy access to city amenities but with fewer tall buildings and lower density than the core, is called a suburb. Suburban areas sit between the dense urban core and the open countryside, balancing proximity to the city with more space and lower population density.

Urban describes the city center itself, with high density and lots of infrastructure; rural refers to countryside farther from cities, with even lower density and more open land; malnutrition is not a geographic term at all. So the term that best fits the description is suburban.