• 郊外こうがい — suburbs; outskirts
• 近郊きんこう — nearby suburbs; metropolitan fringe
• 市郊しこう — city outskirts (literary)

The right-side radical 阝 (おおざと) marks places or settlements. With 交 (to cross, intersect) on the left, 郊 suggests the place where roads meet outside the city—the fringe or outskirts.