Metropolis

A metropolis is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city belonging to a larger urban agglomeration, but which is not the core of that agglomeration, is not generally considered a metropolis but a part of it. The plural of the word is metropolises, although the Latin plural is metropoles, from the Greek metropoleis (μητρoπόλεις). For urban areas outside metropolitan areas that generate a similar attraction on a smaller scale for their region, the concept of the regiopolis ("regio" for short) was introduced by urban and regional planning researchers in Germany in 2006.

Etymology Metropolis (μητρόπολις) is a Greek word, (plural: metropoleis) coming from μήτηρ, mḗtēr meaning "mother" and πόλις, pólis meaning "city" or "town", which is how the Greek colonies of 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 a colonial context, it is the "mother city" of a colony, that is, the city which sent out settlers. The word has distant roots in the colonial past of Ancient Greece with first usage in Middle English around the 14th century. This was later generalized to a city regarded as a center of a specified activity, or any large, important city in a nation.

Concept The concept of a "metropolis" as a "mother city" dates back to at least sixth-century Canterbury, where the term was used in a religious context, but the term began to be used to describe a large secular city starting with 16th-century London. London's cultural influence meant that until the 19th century, concepts of the "metropolis" were rarely used to describe other cities, though Edinburgh was also described as a "metropolis." While metropolis can often mean any large city, the metropolis is generally understood as a city which serves as a particular function as opposed to simply being large. Modern ideas of a metropolis have changed as modern city growth has created "polycentric" urban regions, where one city does not necessarily dominate its surroundings but instead is central to an economic region. Instead of a single "metropolis" fulfilling an economic role, large urban areas such as the Tokyo–Osaka corridor or the southern California built up area have been considered as a modern "metropolis" even though the region encompasses multiple cities.

Usage as a mainland area In France, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands, the word metropolis (métropole (French) / metrópole (Portuguese) / metrópoli (Spanish) / metropool (Dutch)) designates the mainland part of a country situated on or close to the European mainland; in the case of France, this means France without its overseas departments. For Portugal and Spain during the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire period, the term was used to designate Portugal or Spain minus its colonies (the Ultramar). In France métropole can also be used to refer to a large urban agglomeration; for example, "La Métropole de Lyon" (the Lyon Metropolis).

By country The following countries either have a specific legal definition of "metropolis" or have a history of usage of the term (or a similar term).

Americas

Brazil The term used in Brazilian Portuguese for a metropolitan area is Região Metropolitana. In Brazil, the Greater São Paulo is the principal metropolis with over 21 million inhabitants. In the larger cities, such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (population 12 million), favelas (slums) grew up over decades as people migrated from rural areas in order to find work. Other metropolises in Brazil with more than one million inhabitants include: Belém, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Campinas, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Goiânia, Maceió, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador and São Luís.

Canada

Statistics Canada defines a census metropolitan area as one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core where the urban core has a population of at least 100,000. Canada's six largest metropolises are Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton.

Mexico

In Mexico, a metropolis is an urban area with a high concentration of population and activities, interacting with nearby municipalities. The Consejo Nacional de Población (CONAPO) last reviewed the criteria in 2018, and from that date, a metropolitan area in Mexico is defined as: a set of two or more municipalities where a city with a population of at least 100,000 is located, and whose urban area, functions and activities exceed the limits of the municipality, incorporating within its area of direct influence the predominantly urban neighboring municipalities, maintaining a high degree of socioeconomic integration. Also included are those municipalities that, due to their particular characteristics, are relevant to urban planning and policy for each metropolitan area. The six largest metropolitan areas are the Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Toluca and Tijuana.

United States

In the United States, an 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 solvency. Thus, a population of 50,000 or greater has been used as a de facto standard to define a metropolis in the United States. A similar definition is used by the United States Census Bureau. The bureau defines a Metropolitan Statistical Area as "at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more inhabitants." The six largest metropolitan areas in the United States are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., with New York being the largest.

Asia

China

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