An example of an Agglomeration is the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area. The cities together create a bi-national agglomeration between Mexico and the United States. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

In the study of human settlements, an agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place (usually a municipality) and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area. A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a City, Town, or Village, or South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. In France, INSEE the French Statistical Institute, translate it as "Unité urbaine" which means continuous urbanized area. INSEE ( French: I nstitut N ational de la S tatistique et des É tudes É conomiques; inse (not) in French is the In France an unité urbaine (literally "urban unit" is a statistical area defined by INSEE, the French national statistics office for the measurement of contiguously However, because of differences in definitions of what does and does not constitute an "agglomeration", as well as variations and limitations in statistical or geographical methodology, it can be problematic to compare different agglomerations around the world. It may not be clear, for instance, whether an area should be considered to be a satellite and part of an agglomeration, or a distinct entity in itself.

The term "agglomeration" can also be linked to "Conurbation," which is a more specific term for large urban clusters where the built-up zones of influence of distinct cities or towns are connected by continuous built-up development (Essen - Dortmund and others in the Rhine-Ruhr district), even in different regions, states or countries, Lille - Kortrijk in France and Belgium). A conurbation is an Urban area or Agglomeration comprising a number of Cities, large Towns and larger urban areas that through Population Essen (ˈɛsən is a City in the center of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Dortmund (ˈdɔʁtmʊnt is a City in Germany, located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Lille (lil Rijsel is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in the country For the Dutch village see Kortrijk (Netherlands Kortrijk (official name in Dutch; French: Courtrai; Latin Each city or town in a conurbation may nevertheless continue to act as an independent focus for a substantial part of the area.

Metropolitan Area : Extended definition

It's an extended agglomeration or conurbation that also includes peripheral areas not themselves necessarily urban in character but closely bound to the urban area by flows linked to employment or commerce (see "Aire Urbaine" in France or "agglomération" in Switzerland which take into account at least 40% of flows from outlying areas to ventral built up area, or agglomeration). A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large Metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central The aire urbaine is an INSEE (the national statistics office of France statistical region comprising a Couronne périurbaine commuter belt around a contiguous In the UK Highway Code, a built up area is a settled area in which the Speed limit of a Road is automatically 30  Mph. The population may easily travel within an agglomeration by car or mass transit system. Example: if one lives a thirty minute local rail trip away from downtown New York City, and officially lives in a separately-named smaller county or state outside the city limits, that district or town would be considered a part of the New York agglomeration.

Metropolitan Area : Administrative definition

The agglomeration can also consist of legal administrative divisions where data is easily available because coming from one administrative level (Metro Area, City, Town, County, . A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large Metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central . . ) The Greater Tokyo Area provides an example of the difficulties involved because estimates of its population vary according to how it is defined. The Greater Tokyo Area is a large Metropolitan area in Japan consisting of most of the prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama While the prefectures of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama are commonly used to define Greater Tokyo, the Japan Statistics Bureau simply measures the area within 50 kilometers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices in Shinjuku[1] [2].

Specific legal definitions

Quebec

Main article: Urban agglomerations of Quebec

An agglomeration, or urban agglomeration, is an administrative subdivision of Quebec at the local level that may group together a number of municipalities which were abolished as independent entities on 1 January 2002 but reconstituted on 1 January 2006. An agglomeration, or urban agglomeration, is an administrative subdivision of Quebec at the local level that may group together a number of municipalities The province of Quebec is divided into units at the regional supralocal and local levels Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk The most recent episode of municipal reorganization in Quebec, Canada, was undertaken in 2002 by the Parti Québécois Government of Quebec, headed

The eleven agglomerations of Quebec, under this legal definition, range in population from 2,000 to 2 million. In fact, only the agglomerations of Montreal, Quebec, and Longueuil exceed 12,000 inhabitants. Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec Quebec City ( French: Ville de Québec, or simply Québec) (kwɨˈbɛk or /keˈbɛk/ is the Capital of the Canadian province

Agglomerations are administered by agglomeration councils, and comprise a central municipality as well as a number of related municipalities, and their powers are defined by the Act respecting the exercise of certain municipal powers in certain urban agglomerations. Agglomerations have certain powers which, elsewhere in Quebec, are exercised by individual municipalities. (These powers are not the same as those of the metropolitan communities of Montreal and Quebec, which cover geographically larger areas than the corresponding agglomerations. ) In some cases, agglomerations also have powers ordinarily exercised by regional county municipalities. The term regional county municipality or RCM ( French: municipalité régionale de comté MRC) is used in the Canadian

Largest Urban Agglomerations

The term "agglomeration" is more appropriate for determining the populations of large super-cities like Tokyo, Mexico City, and Seoul. These examples are super-cities which have expanded enough to consume other neighborhoods. Although administration may be separate for outlying districts, the population might say they are from the central city.

There are various lists of agglomeration populations. Two are presented here.

According to one list (11. 22. 06), the largest agglomerations in the world are as follows :

(The above information was gathered from: [3])

Another list indicates substantially smaller populations for some urban agglomerations in 2007. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Seoul ( soʊl is the Capital and largest City of South Korea. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The New York metropolitan area, often referred to as the Tri-State Area, is the most populous Metropolitan area in the United States and is also one The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country New Delhi (नई दिल्ली ਨਵੀਂ ਦਿੱਲੀ نئی دلی is the Capital city of India. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country São Paulo ( is the largest city in Brazil, with its metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Shanghai ( 上[[wikt 海|海]] is the largest city in China in terms of population and one of the largest urban areas in the world with over 20 million Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta) is the Capital and largest city of Indonesia. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. is a city in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshū For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Cairo () which means "the Vanquisher" or "the Triumphant" is the capital and largest city of Egypt. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. This list uses a “build up” method of population estimation of administrative jurisdictions within the confines of the continuously built up area (except where a census authority estimate is available). The principal difference between the population figures in the two lists is that the first list substitutes metropolitan area populations in urban agglomerations such as New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai and Delhi, which explains the higher figures.

Currently (2007), the agglomerations of more than 10,000,000 area are as follows :

(The above information is modeled for 2007 from population growth rates and is from [4] and [5]. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The New York metropolitan area, often referred to as the Tri-State Area, is the most populous Metropolitan area in the United States and is also one The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Seoul ( soʊl is the Capital and largest City of South Korea. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː Mumbai ( Marathi:,, IPA: formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the financial India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta) is the Capital and largest city of Indonesia. Jabotabek or Jabodetabek is the term given to the Metropolitan area surrounding Jakarta, Indonesia. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Delhi (दिल्ली ਦਿੱਲੀ دلی d̪ɪlːiː sometimes referred to as Dilli) is the second largest metropolis of India, with a population India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. São Paulo ( is the largest city in Brazil, with its metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The City of Manila The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP is a metropolitan region encompassing the metropolitan areas of the cities of Osaka in Osaka prefecture, Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture, and Kyoto For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Cairo () which means "the Vanquisher" or "the Triumphant" is the capital and largest city of Egypt. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The United States of America —commonly referred to as the India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Shanghai ( 上[[wikt 海|海]] is the largest city in China in terms of population and one of the largest urban areas in the world with over 20 million China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is geographically located on the southern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Shenzhen is a city of sub-provincial administrative status in southern China's Guangdong province situated immediately China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Rio de Janeiro ("River of January" ˈhiw dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu in Brazilian Portuguese, /ˈriːoʊ di ʒəˈnɛroʊ/ in English is the second largest city of Brazil |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Manila figure is considerably higher than most lists, which limit their data to the administrative boundaries of Metro Manila. However, the continuous urbanization extends into Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan provinces and is reflected in the higher figure in this list. Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the Calabarzon region in Luzon, Laguna is a province of the Philippines found in the CALABARZON region in Luzón. Rizal is a province of the Philippines located in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 20 kilometers east of Manila. This article is about the province For the municipality see Bulacan Bulacan. )

Businesses can also "agglomerate" when they need to be in close contact (for example, Financial Services). Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry.

See also

• Economies of agglomeration
• City
• Largest cities of the world - A list of the largest municipalities (cities) areas by population
• Megacity
• Metropolis
• Metropolitan Area
• World city

External links

• Principal Agglomerations of the World
• A Dynamic Map of the World Cities' Growth