Quote:
Originally Posted by Architype
I think a proper definition of a suburb is that it exists in it's present form only because the central city existed first, but I don't think this applies to New Westminster; Vancouver does not exist in it's present form because of New West.
|
Yeah, keyword being "present form".
Otherwise, Ottawa is a suburb of Hull/Gatineau (first example that came to mind).
It's entirely possible that some random town on the west side of the Hudson River (present day NJ) was founded by the Dutch first and continuously occupied to this day; this wouldn't make NYC a suburb of this municipality as of right now in 2020.
Longueuil could very well have been founded before Montreal. Lévis could very well have been founded before Quebec City. etc.
Age doesn't have anything to do with which place is nowadays the central city / anchor of the metro area.
Even population - though that metric would have a better claim - doesn't automatically win the day, IMO. In other words, Vancouver has the best claim to being the anchor city of that conurbation, followed by Surrey, then followed by New Westminster.