Faubourg

"Faubourg" (French: [fo.buːʁ]) is an ancient French term historically equivalent to "fore-town" (now often termed suburb or banlieue). The earliest form is forsbourg, derived from Latin forīs, 'out of', and Vulgar Latin (originally Germanic) burgum, 'town' or 'fortress'. Traditionally, this name was given to an agglomeration forming around a throughway leading outwards from a city gate, and usually took the name of the same thoroughfare within the city. As cities were often located atop hills (for defensive purposes), their outlying communities were frequently lower down. Many faubourgs were located outside the city walls, and "suburbs" were further away from this location (sub, "below"; urbs urbis, "city").

Faubourgs are sometimes considered the predecessor of European suburbs, into which they sometimes evolved in the 1950s and 1960s, while others underwent further urbanisation. Although early suburbs still conserved some characteristics related to faubourgs (such as the back alleys with doors, little break margins for houses), later suburbs underwent major changes in their construction, primarily in terms of residential density.

Beside many French cities, faubourgs can still be found outside Europe include the province of Quebec in Canada and the city of New Orleans in the United States. The cities of Quebec and Montreal contain examples, although Montreal has far greater divergences in terms of banlieue, which lead to similarities of many Ontarian and American suburbs.