Urbanite
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Urbanite is a word used in the United Kingdom and Ireland to describe a demographic of people who, like yuppies, are young, urban professionals, and are socially conscious. This group of people has been called the yuppies of the 21st Century. Their social conscience has been attributed to their living through the “caring, sharing” 1990s, while in other ways they may be products of the “greedy, selfish” 1980s. Urbanites can be seen as the very opposite of the lower-class group identified as Chavs. Urbanites are young, like Chavs, but unlike Chavs, they are educated, upmarket and highly aspirational.
The British commuter newspaper Metro has focused on three elements of Urbanites that go some way to defining and describing them: Urbanites are aged between 18-30, they are full-time working professionals and they are living or working in one the UK’s top 20 urban areas by population (i.e. big cities, not small towns). Metro's original qualitative research in 2001 identified Urbanites as having six key characteristics: they are time-poor, city-proud, media-literate, brand-centric, trend-sensitive and culturally-aware. They are affluent consumers with an optimistic outlook on life that is very different from those who live in “small town” or rural areas. The third element towards a sociology and psychology of Urbanites is connected to their expectations from life. Through research on the "Urban Life" consumer panel, Metro listed 10 “Great Expectations” that motivate and drive Urbanites:
- Expecting to live a meaningful and experience-rich urban life
- Expecting to succeed in multiple areas of life (not just career)
- Expecting to get substantial fulfilment from work (not just cash)
- Expecting to be at the hub of a large friendship network
- Expecting the traditional ideal of “true love” in the modern world
- Expecting to have to “make time” in order to have and enjoy time
- Expecting to avoid the use of debt to have what they need or would want
- Expecting to have a progressive government that delivers results
- Expecting to live in a pleasant “urban village” area of their city
- Expecting to live a responsible life as an urban consumer
