Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Metropolis
*** Shopping-Tip: Metropolis
{{Otheruses}}
A '''metropolis''' (in
Greek language Greek ''metera'' = mother and ''polis'' = city/town) is a major
city (in most cases with a population of at least one million), which is a significant
economical and
cultural center for some
country or larger
region, and usually an important hub for international connections and communications.
The word comes from the
Greek language Greek '''''metropolis''''' ("mother city") (pl. '''metropoleis''') which is how the
Greek colonies of
Ancient Greece antiquity referred to their original cities, with whom they retained cultic and political-cultural connections. The word was used in post-classical
Latin for the chief city of a province, the seat of the government, and in particular ecclesiastically for the seat or see of a
metropolitan bishop to whom
suffragan bishops were responsible. This usage equates the province with the
diocese or
episcopal see.
In modern usage the word is also used for a '''
metropolitan area''', a set of adjacent and interconnected
cities clustered around a major urban center. In this sense "'''metropolitan'''" usually means "spanning the whole metropolis" (as in "metropolitan administration"); or "proper of a metropolis" (as in "metropolitan life", and opposed to "
province provincial" or "rural").
Global/World city
The concept of
Global city (or World city) means a city that has a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socioeconomic, cultural, and/or political means. The term has become increasingly familiar, because of the rise of
globalization (i.e.,
global finance,
communications, and
travel). An attempt to define and categorise world cities by financial criteria was made by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network (GaWC), based primarily at
Loughborough University in
England. The study ranked cities based on their provision of "advanced producer services" such as
accountancy,
advertising,
finance and
law. The Inventory identifies three levels of world cities and several sub-ranks (''See
Global city#GaWC Inventory of World Cities World cities ranking'').
A metropolis isn't necessarily a global city, or being one, it could not be among the top ranking due to its poor standards of living, development, and lack of infrastructures.
United States
In the
United States an
Incorporation (municipal government) incorporated area or group of areas having a population more than 50,000 is required to have a
metropolitan planning organization in order to facilitate major infrastructure projects and to ensure financial solubility. Thus, a population of 50,000 or greater has been used as a
de facto standard in the United States to define a metropolis. A similar definition is used by the
United States Census Bureau. They define a
Metropolitan Combined Statistical Area metropolitan statistical area as ''at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more inhabitants''.
United Kingdom
Various conurbations in the United Kingdom are considered to be metropolitan areas (see
metropolitan county and
List of conurbations of the United Kingdom). The term 'Metropolis' itself is rarely used.
London is archaically referred to as 'the Metropolis'.
Metropole
''see also
Metropole''
Like in the
United Kingdom UK, in
French language French and
Portuguese language Portuguese language, the
cognate word ''métropole (Fr.)'' / ''metrópole (Port.)'', designates the part of a country near or on the
Europe European continent; in the case of France, this would mean France without its
Département d'outre-mer overseas departments; for Portugal during the
Portuguese Empire period, it used to be common to designate Portugal except its
colonies (the ''Ultramar'').
Metropoleis today
According to the main definition at the top of this article, worldwide examples of modern-day metropoleis are:
Africa
{|
|valign="top"|
*
Abidjan
*
Accra
*
Alexandria
*
Algiers
*
Antananarivo
*
Brazzaville
*
Cairo
*
Cape Town
*
Casablanca
*
Dakar
*
Dar es Salaam
*
Douala
*
Durban
*
Harare
*
Ibadan
|valign="top" style="border-left:1px #ddd solid"|
*
Johannesburg
*
Khartoum
*
Kinshasa
*
Lagos, Nigeria Lagos
*
Luanda
*
Lusaka
*
Nairobi
*
Rabat
|}
Asia
{|
|valign="top"|
*
Amman
*
Ankara
*
Baghdad
*
Bangalore
*
Bangkok
*
Beijing
*
Beirut
*
Chennai
*
Damascus
*
Delhi
*
Guangzhou
*
Ho Chi Minh City
*
Hong Kong
*
Hyderabad, India Hyderabad
*
Jakarta
|valign="top" style="border-left:1px #ddd solid"|
*
Karachi
*
Kolkatta
*
Kuala Lumpur
*
Manila
*
Mumbai
*
Novosibirsk
*
Osaka
*
Riyadh
*
Seoul
*
Shanghai
*
Singapore
*
Taipei
*
Tashkent
*
Tehran
*
Tokyo
|}
Europe
{|
|valign="top"|
*
Amsterdam
*
Athens
*
Barcelona
*
Belgrade
*
Berlin
*
Brussels
*
Bucharest
*
Budapest
*
Copenhagen
*
Frankfurt
*
Hamburg
*
Istanbul
*
Kharkiv
*
Kiev
*
Lisbon
|valign="top" style="border-left:1px #ddd solid"|
*
London
*
Madrid
*
Milan
*
Minsk
*
Moscow
*
Munich
*
Nizhny Novgorod
*
Paris
*
Rome
*
Saint Petersburg
*
Sofia
*
Vienna
*
Warsaw
*
Zagreb
*
Zurich
|}
Oceania
*
Auckland
*
Adelaide
*
Brisbane
*
Melbourne
*
Perth, Western Australia Perth
*
Sydney
The Americas
{|
|valign="top"|
*
Bogotá
*
Buenos Aires
*
Caracas
*
Chicago, Illinois Chicago
*
Dallas, Texas Dallas
*
Houston
*
La Habana
*
La Paz
*
Lima
*
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles
*
Mexico City
*
Montreal
*
New York City
*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia
*
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix
|valign="top" style="border-left:1px #ddd solid"|
*
Quito
*
Rio de Janeiro
*
San Francisco, California San Francisco
*
Santiago, Chile Santiago de Chile
*
São Paulo
*
Toronto
*
Vancouver
|}
''Note: Some of the examples shown here must be considered as a metropolis due to its role as a major center for a large
metropolitan area which could include several
satellite cities and
towns in its vicinities, and not just for the main city itself.''
See also
*
Ecumenopolis
*
Global city
*
Megalopolis
*
Sister city
External links
-
'''U.S. Census Bureau''': ''About Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistics''
Category:Cities
Category:Metropolitan areas
Category:Geography
Category:Demographics
{{culture-stub}}
da:Metropolis
de:Metropolis
fr:Métropole
it:Metropoli
ja:メトãƒãƒ?リス
pt:Metrópole
sv:Metropolis
uk:МетрополіÑ?
*** Shopping-Tip: Metropolis
