Last month, the communist candidate was elected mayor of Komae, a large suburb of Tokyo, but it was by no means unusual -- momentum had been building for most of the year.

CNN: The Communists come back

"In the old days, Jordan was built on favoritism--something we call 'wasta, ' political and business mafias and corruption, " the king says, sitting in the living room of his large, heavily guarded home in a suburb of Amman (he decided to forgo a palace).

FORBES: Magazine Article

Lets say you live 45 minutes away from a large town, but that large town is just a suburb of a larger metropolitan area 1:30 hours away.

ENGADGET: HDTV Buying Guide: Extended Warranties HD

He had a large house with servants in a suburb of Taipei.

ECONOMIST: Chang Hsueh-liang

There is a large police presence in the Boston suburb of Watertown, where authorities have asked reporters to stay back from the area.

CNN: Key developments in Boston bombings investigation

In the late 1950s, with racism still prevalent in many American neighborhoods, an Irish-American couple in financial difficulties accepts money to purchase a large home in an all-white Boston suburb on secret behalf of a well-off, highly educated African-American doctor and his wife.

WSJ: Review: Racism fuels poignant 'Luck Of The Irish'

Ever since April's killing of schoolchildren in Littleton, a rich suburb of Denver, Americans have been agonising that the suburban bliss they sought large houses, clear air, better schools, less crime was turning sour.

ECONOMIST: Urban sprawl