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Metropolitan Area
*** Shopping-Tip: Metropolitan Area
A '''metropolitan area''' is a large population center consisting of a large city and its adjacent zone of influence, or of several neighboring
city cities or
towns and adjoining areas, with one or more large cities serving as its
hub or hubs.
A metropolitan area usually combines an
agglomeration (the contiguous built-up area) with peripheral zones not themselves necessarily urban in character, but closely bound to the centre by employment or commerce; these zones are also sometimes known as a '''commuter belt''', and may extend well beyond the urban periphery depending on the definition used.
The core cities in a polycentric metropolitan area need not be physically connected by continuous built-up development, distinguishing the concept from
conurbation, which requires urban contiguity. In a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that central cities together constitute a large population nucleus with which other constituent parts have a high degree of integration.
In practice the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Sometimes they are little different from an urban area, and in other cases they cover broad regions that have little relation to the traditional concept of a city as a single urban settlement. Thus all metropolitan area figures should be treated as interpretations rather than as hard facts. Metro area population figures given by different sources for the same place can vary by millions, and there is a tendency for people to promote the highest figure available for their own "city". However the most ambitious metropolitan area population figures are often better seen as the population of a "metropolitan region" than of a "city".
The term metropolitan area is sometimes abbreviated to 'metro', for example in
Metro Manila and
Washington, DC Metro Area, and in that case should not be mistaken to mean the
metro metro rail system of the city. In
France the term for a metropolitan area is an ''
aire urbaine'' (urban area).
In
Japan, individual cities form metropolitan areas or conurbations such as the capital zone of
Tokyo-
Kawasaki, Kanagawa Kawasaki-
Yokohama (the
Keihin area) or
Osaka-
Kobe, with which
Kyoto is sometimes included as part of the wider
Keihanshin zone.
In
Australia, Statistical Divisions (SDs) are defined by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics as areas under the unifying influence of one or more major towns or cities. Each capital city forms its own Statistical Division, and the population of the SD is the most-often quoted figure for that city's population. Statistical Districts are defined as non-capital but predominantly urban areas (for example that of
Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle). Both Statistical Divisions and Districts are equivalent to metropolitan areas.
If several metropolitan areas are located in succession, metropolitan areas are sometimes grouped together as a '''
megalopolis''' (plural ''megalopoleis'', also ''megalopolises''). A megalopolis consists of several interconnected
cities (and their suburbs), between which people commute, and which are so close together that suburbs can claim to be suburbs of more than one city.
This concept was first proposed by the French geographer
Jean Gottmann in his book ''Megalopolis'', a study of the northeastern United States. One famous example is the
BosWash BosWash megalopolis consisting of
Boston,
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford,
New York City,
Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore,
Washington, DC Washington, and vicinity. Other megalopoleis are
Tokyo and
Osaka, the
Ruhr Area and parts of the
Low Countries.
Africa's first megalopolis is said to be situated in the urban portion of
Gauteng Province in
South Africa, comprising the conurbation of
Johannesburg, and the metropolitan areas of
Pretoria and the
Vaal Triangle, otherwise known as the PWV. It has been suggested that the whole of south-eastern, Midland and parts of northern
England will evolve into a megalopolis dominated by
London. Clearly when usage is stretched this far, it is remote from the traditional conception of a city.
Megacity is a general term for agglomerations or metropolitan areas usually with a total
population in excess of 10 million people. In
Canada, '''megacity''' can also refer informally to the results of merging a central city with its suburbs to form one large municipality. A Canadian "megacity", however, is not necessarily an entirely urban area, as many cities so named have both rural and urban portions, and do not necessarily constitute a large metropolis. Their definition is thus close to the metropolitan area concept.
See also
*
Megacity
*
Metroplex
*
Ecumenopolis
*
List of metropolitan areas by population List of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the world
*
List of metropolitan areas in Japan by population
*
United States metropolitan area List of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the United States
*
Largest urban areas of the European Union List of the 59 largest urban areas of the European Union
*
Largest European metropolitan areas
*
Largest metropolitan areas in the Americas
*
List of metropolitan areas that overlap multiple countries
*
Metropolitan cities of India
*
aire urbaine List of fifteen largest metropolitan areas of France
*
Metropolitan areas in ROC (Taiwan)
*
Metropolitan Regions of Germany
*
Metropolitan Regions of Norway
*
Metropolitan Areas of Sweden
*
Metropolitan Areas of Mexico
*
Census Metropolitan Area (Canada)
*
List of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada
External links
-
metropolis.org - An organisation of world metropolises
Category:Urban studies and planning
Category:Metropolitan areas
ca:Àrea metropolitana
de:Metropolregion
es:Ã?rea metropolitana
fr:Aire urbaine
he:מטרופולין
id:Metropolitan
it:Area metropolitana
ja:都市�
mk:МетрополитенÑ?ка облаÑ?Ñ‚
pl:Obszar metropolitalny
pt:Região Metropolitana
zh:城市群
see
metropolitan area
*** Shopping-Tip: Metropolitan Area
