The cost of living in exurbia is significantly lower than that in urban areas. Exurban school districts often spend more per capita on their students than do those in urban areas. Rates of attendance at houses of worship are much higher in exurban areas than in urban ones. Many people who live in exurbia moved there from urban areas.
Life in an urban center, with daily experiences of subways, crowded sidewalks and dense living, provides countless opportunities for social contact and connection. Exurban life, by contrast, exists in the openness of freeways and one-acre lots, exhibiting little that would suggest social commonality. Yet studies show that people who live in exurbia consistently rate their feeling of connectedness to their community as strong whereas urban dwellers more frequently express feelings of isolation.
Which of the following, if true, contributes most to an explanation of the difference in the reported feelings of connectedness between urban and exurban dwellers?