The satellite towns ringing a major
city like the
Rings Of Saturn. Especially prevalent in the UK - all the large Northern cities (
Manchester,
Sheffield and
Leeds) have a sprawling
conglomeration of smaller towns and cities around them, which get lumped in with their mother city for censuses,
regional stereotypes and sports teams.
London has the largest commuter belt, an endless litany of soul-less, ugly, nowhere towns full of
beer boys,
slapper and urban drudgery.
With the collapse of Britain's industrial centres, the cities themselves are all redeveloped and lovely. If you want a dictionary definition of
Hell, then visit Romford, Staines or Crawley.
For musical clues, listen to
Ghost Town by
The Specials or
Town Called Malice by
The Jam.