The larger urban zone (LUZ), or functional urban area (FUA), is a measure of the population and expanse of metropolitan and surrounding areas which may or may not be exclusively urban.[1] It consists of a city and its commuting zone outside it.[2]

The definition was introduced in 2004 by Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union (EU), in agreement with the national statistics offices in the member states.[3][4] Eurostat data is provided only for zones in the EU countries, candidate countries and EFTA countries. Several cities were excluded by definition from the 2004 list of LUZs on technical, definitional grounds, such as the coincidence of the metropolitan area with the urban zone.[5][6][7]

The LUZ represents an attempt at a harmonised definition of the metropolitan area. Eurostat's objective was to have an area from which a significant share of the residents commute into the city, a concept known as the "functional urban region." To ensure a good data availability, Eurostat adjusts the LUZ boundaries to administrative boundaries that approximate the functional urban region.

In 2006 LUZ definitions were changed significantly, improving the comparability of LUZ definitions across different countries, and allowing for almost all cities to be included.

List of larger urban zones by population as of 2017 edit

This is a list of larger urban zones by population as of 2017. The 2004 Urban Audit also includes cities from EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and EU candidate countries, although the only candidate country for which there is available data is Turkey. Some cities, including Marseille, Lille, Nice, Cordoba, Badajoz, Toulon and Montpellier were excluded from the 2004 list on technical, definitional grounds, such as the coincidence of the metropolitan area with the urban zone.

  Areas outside of the European Union
Rank Larger urban zone Country Population Area (km2)
1 Paris   France 13,998,000 12,079.87[8]
2 Istanbul   Turkey 11,154,928
3 London   United Kingdom 10,345,124 8,900[8]
4 Madrid   Spain 5,804,829 8,022
5 Ruhr Area   Germany 5,302,179 4,435
6 Berlin   Germany 4,971,331 17,385
7 Naples   Italy 4,475,682 564.95
8 Barcelona   Spain 4,233,638 1,796.64
9 Athens   Greece 4,013,368 3,806.92
10 Ankara   Turkey 3,736,359
11 Rome   Italy 3,457,690 3,666.66
12 Hamburg   Germany 3,134,620 7,304
12 Milan   Italy 3,076,643 1,348.32
13 Katowice metropolitan area   Poland 2,710,397 2,650.65
14 Stuttgart   Germany 2,663,660 3,654
15 Warsaw   Poland 2,631,710 5,201.72
16 Manchester   United Kingdom 2,539,100 1,280
17 Munich   Germany 2,531,706 5,504
18 Frankfurt   Germany 2,517,561 4,305
19 İzmir   Turkey 2,459,474
20 Lisbon   Portugal 2,435,837 1,432.49
21 Budapest   Hungary 2,393,846 2,538[8]
22 Leeds   United Kingdom 2,393,300 5,114[8]
23 Birmingham   United Kingdom 2,357,100 1,598
24 Vienna   Austria 2,179,769 4,610.93[8]
25 Bucharest   Romania 2,140,194 662
26 Prague   Czech Republic 1,964,750 6,977[8]
27 Cologne   Germany 1,873,580 1,626
28 Stockholm   Sweden 1,860,872 6,519
29 Copenhagen   Denmark 1,806,667[8] 2,759[8]
30 Brussels   Belgium 1,800,663 1,613.91
31 Glasgow   United Kingdom 1,747,100 3,346
32 Turin   Italy 1,745,221 1,878.97
33 Lyon   France 1,717,300 5,997.68[8]
34 Belgrade   Serbia 1,683,962 514
35 Valencia   Spain 1,564,145 1,440.58
36 Dublin   Republic of Ireland 1,535,446[8]
37 Düsseldorf   Germany 1,525,029 1,201
38 Bursa   Turkey 1,474,482
39 Amsterdam   Netherlands 1,443,258 859.28
40 Adana   Turkey 1,394,130
41 Liverpool   United Kingdom 1,365,900 821
42 Bielefeld   Germany 1,297,876 2,921
43 Hanover   Germany 1,294,447 2,966
44 Nuremberg   Germany 1,288,797 2,934
45 Sheffield   United Kingdom 1,277,100 1,846
46 Kraków   Poland 1,264,322 2,988.65
47 Sofia   Bulgaria 1,263,807[8] 3,424.2[8]
48 Seville   Spain 1,249,346 3,081.9
49 Bremen   Germany 1,249,291 5,885
50 Helsinki   Finland 1,224,107 2,969.94
51 Rotterdam   Netherlands 1,186,818 611.75
52 Łódź   Poland 1,163,516 2,857.51
53 Ostrava   Czech Republic 1,153,876 3,889.6[8]
54 Zürich    Switzerland 1,110,478 1,086.14
55 Tricity   Poland 1,105,203 3,457.32
56 Porto   Portugal 1,099,040 562.32
57 Oslo   Norway 1,090,513 6,920
58 Newcastle upon Tyne   United Kingdom 1,055,600 3,385
59 Gaziantep   Turkey 1,052,795
60 Toulouse   France 1,052,497 4,706.93[8]
61 Wrocław   Poland 1,031,439 4,582.2
62 Poznań   Poland 1,018,511 3,719.2
63 Gothenburg   Sweden 1,015,974 3,694.86
64 Bristol   United Kingdom 1,006,600 1,635
65 Riga   Latvia 1,003,949 5,382.5

List of larger urban zones edit

This is a list of larger urban zones. The Urban Audit also includes cities from EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and EU candidate countries. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) uses a similar definition of Functional Urban Area to represent population sizes of cities in OECD countries.[9] This data is also included.

The figures in the Eurostat database are an attempt at a compromise between harmonised data for all of the European Union, and with availability of statistical data, making comparisons more accurate.[10]

  Areas outside of the European Union
Larger urban zone Country OECD Population (2014) [9] Eurostat Population (2006)[11] Eurostat Population (2016)[12]
Amsterdam metropolitan area   Netherlands 2,452,659 2,497,000[a] 2,771,661
Antwerp   Belgium 1,081,904 1,406,000[b] 1,100,139
Athens   Greece 3,535,055 3,761,000 3,863,763
Barcelona metropolitan area   Spain 3,846,697 4,082,000[c] 5,445,616
Berlin   Germany 4,399,542 4,016,000 5,005,216
Bilbao   Spain 1,013,805 947,000 1,025,109
Birmingham (West Midlands)   United Kingdom 1,957,078 3,701,107 2,332,629
Bordeaux   France 1,175,699 No data 1,244,264
Bremen   Germany 1,027,192 1,077,000 1,244,363
Bristol   United Kingdom 836,621 1,041,000 1,090,080
Brussels-Capital Region   Belgium 2,588,102 2,639,000[b] 2,625,525
Bucharest metropolitan area   Romania 2,402,530 2,158,558 2,403,107
Budapest metropolitan area   Hungary 2,879,601 2,523,000 2,993,948
Cardiff   United Kingdom 664,861 1,097,000 1,085,526
Copenhagen   Denmark 2,025,171 1,881,000[d] 1,893,010
Dublin Metropolitan Area   Ireland 1,836,119 1,261,332 1,263,035
Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Region   Germany 2,533,311 2,764,000[e] 2,573,745
Gdańsk   Poland 1,105,467 No data 1,141,954[f]
Greater Glasgow   United Kingdom 967,101 1,395,000 1,789,003
Metropolitan Gothenburg   Sweden 1,015,974 No data 1,006,548[g]
The Hague   Netherlands 906,897 1,404,000[a] 1,070,027
Hamburg Metropolitan Region   Germany 3,008,841 2,983,000 3,173,871
Hanover   Germany 1,217,511 No data 1,300,687
Helsinki Metropolitan Area   Finland 1,498,050 1,285,000 1,532,309
Katowice metropolitan area   Poland 2,589,349 3,029,000[h] 2,743,929
Kraków metropolitan area   Poland 1,362,740 1,236,000 1,276,438
West Yorkshire (LeedsBradford)   United Kingdom 1,774,552[i] 2,302,000 2,238,127
Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai   France/
  Belgium
1,363,465[j] 1,379,000[k] 2,572,374
Lisbon metropolitan area   Portugal 3,039,662 2,791,000 2,839,908
Liverpool/Birkenhead   United Kingdom 954,181 2,241,000 1,352,000
Łódź   Poland 939,568 1,165,000 1,116,660
London metropolitan area   United Kingdom 11,701,236 13,109,000 12,250,000
Lyon   France 1,960,847 1,669,000 2,188,759
Madrid metropolitan area   Spain 7,079,173 5,263,000 6,378,297
Greater Manchester   United Kingdom 1,935,559 2,556,000 2,615,144
Mannheim   Germany 1,230,276 No data 1,172,821
Marseille   France 1,773,503 1,530,000 1,750,885[l]
Milan metropolitan area   Italy 4,159,854 4,136,000[m] 4,267,946
Munich   Germany 2,965,871 2,665,000[n] 2,808,581
Naples metropolitan area   Italy 4,475,682 4,654,259[o] 4,127,390
Nice   France 865,195 1,082,000 1,017,307
Nottingham-Derby   United Kingdom 863,918 1,614,000 1,927,550
Nuremberg Metropolitan Region   Germany 1,169,367 1,443,000 1,301,504
Greater Oslo   Norway 1,299,955 1,037,000 1,144,883
Ostrava   Czech Republic no data no data 1,119,593[p]
Paris metropolitan area   France 12,037,889 13,975,000 12,824,000
Porto Metropolitan Area   Portugal 1,737,829 1,245,000[q] 1,286,111
Portsmouth-Southampton   United Kingdom 594,455 1,547,000 1,498,402[r]
Prague   Czech Republic 1,910,396 1,669,000 2,224,080[s]
Rhein-Nord[t] (DüsseldorfNeuss)   Germany 1,427,823[u] 3,073,000[v] 1,527,176
Rhein-Süd[t] (Cologne – Bonn)   Germany 1,926,073[w] 3,070,000[v] 3,023,545[x]
Riga   Latvia No data 1,195,000 1,089,767
Rome metropolitan area   Italy 4,149,364 4,353,738 3,700,000
Rotterdam   Netherlands 1,509,373 1,904,000[a] 1,818,563
Ruhr area   Germany No data[y] 5,376,000[v] 5,045,784
SaarbrückenForbach   Germany/
  France
570,479[z] 1,102,000 822,128
Seville   Spain 1,500,644 1,180,000[aa] 1,877,060
Sofia   Bulgaria No data 1,260,120 1,543,377
Metropolitan Stockholm   Sweden 2,018,208 2,171,000 2,034,354[citation needed]
South Yorkshire (Sheffield)   United Kingdom 920,128 1,569,000 1,596,298
Stuttgart Metropolitan Region   Germany 1,965,942 2,289,000 2,678,795
Thessaloniki metropolitan area   Greece 975,439 1,052,000 1,166,914
Toulouse   France 1,309,149 No data 1,388,978
Turin metropolitan area   Italy 1,774,507 1,601,000[ab] 2,302,353
Newcastle-Sunderland   United Kingdom 1,082,729[ac] 1,599,000 1,141,879
Valencia   Spain 1,668,153 1,398,000[ad] 2,516,818
Vienna   Austria 2,793,631 2,584,000 2,339,807
Warsaw metropolitan area   Poland 3,037,890 2,785,000 3,304,641
Zagreb   Croatia No data 1,107,115 1,123,374
Zürich metropolitan area    Switzerland 1,246,968 1,615,000 1,984,534

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c Part of the Randstad polycentric urban region consisting of the metropolitan areas of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht (982,000). The total population of the region is 7,100,000.
  2. ^ a b The Flemish Diamond metropolitan region, which consists of the metropolitan areas of Brussels, Antwerp, Gent, and Leuven, has a total population of 5,103,000.
  3. ^ Total population is 4,251,000 if the metropolitan area of Mataro (169,000) is included.
  4. ^ Part of the wider Öresund region, which includes the Swedish metropolitan area of Malmö (961,000). The total regional population is 2,842,000.
  5. ^ Part of the Rhein-Main metropolitan region with a total population of 4,149,000, which additionally includes the metropolitan areas of Darmstadt (501,000), Wiesbaden (453,000), and Mainz (431,000).
  6. ^ 2014 data
  7. ^ 2017 data
  8. ^ Part of the polycentric Upper Silesian urban region with a total population of 5,294,000. The region additionally includes the metropolitan areas of Ostrava (1,046,000), Bielsko-Biala (584,000) and Rybnik (526,000).
  9. ^ Leeds and Bradford counted separately.
  10. ^ Kortrijk not included.
  11. ^ Part of the wider Lille-Bassin Minier region with a total population of 3,115,000.
  12. ^ 2014 data
  13. ^ Part of a wider polycentric urban region with a population of 6,011,000.
  14. ^ When combined with the Augsburg metropolitan area (606,000), the region has a total population of 3,271,000.
  15. ^ Part of a wider polycentric urban region with a population of 3,714,000.
  16. ^ 2015
  17. ^ Part of a wider polycentric urban region with a population of 1,778,000.
  18. ^ Excludes Southampton
  19. ^ 2015
  20. ^ a b Polycentric metropolitan area
  21. ^ Excludes Neuss.
  22. ^ a b c Part of the polycentric urban region of Rhein-Ruhr, which has a total population of 12,190,000.
  23. ^ Excludes Bonn which has a population of 750,370
  24. ^ Excludes Bonn
  25. ^ Essen, Bochum, and Dortmund counted separately.
  26. ^ Saarbrücken only
  27. ^ Total population is 1,262,000 if the metropolitan area of Utrera (82,000) is included.
  28. ^ Total population is 1,716,000 if the metropolitan of Pinerolo is included.
  29. ^ Excludes Sunderland
  30. ^ Total population is 1,499,000 if the metropolitan area of Sagunto is included.

References edit

  1. ^ Position Statement on Cohesion Policy 2014–2020 Archived 2 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine, EuroMETREX. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  2. ^ "European cities – the EU-OECD functional urban area definition". Eurostat.
  3. ^ "City statistics – Urban audit". Eurostat. 2006. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009.
  4. ^ "The shift of Eurostat to Urban Statistics". Dr. Berthold Feldmann, Eurostat. March 2006. Archived from the original on 20 September 2006.
  5. ^ www.statistiques-locales.insee.fr https://web.archive.org/web/20110727094822/http://www.statistiques-locales.insee.fr/Fiches/RS/AU1999/RS_AU1999003.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110727094843/http://www.statistiques-locales.insee.fr/Fiches/RS/AU1999/RS_AU1999004.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110727094905/http://www.statistiques-locales.insee.fr/Fiches/RS/AU1999/RS_AU1999006.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Data for 2001 (2004 data not yet available)
  9. ^ a b "OECD Populations in cities". OECD. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Urban Audit Database". Urbanaudit.org. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  11. ^ European Spatial Planning Observation Network, Study on Urban Functions (Project 1.4.3) Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Final Report, Chapter 3, (ESPON, 2007)
  12. ^ http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=urb_lpop1&lang=en[bare URL]

External links edit