City proper

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The city proper starts and ends at the city limits, as seen with this sign for Schulenburg, Texas. Schulenburg city limit.jpg
The city proper starts and ends at the city limits, as seen with this sign for Schulenburg, Texas.

A city proper is the geographical area contained within city limits. [1] [2] The term proper is not exclusive to cities; it can describe the geographical area within the boundaries of any given locality. The United Nations defines the term as "... the single political jurisdiction which contains the historical city centre." [3]

Contents

City proper is one of the three basic concepts used to define urban areas and populations. [4] The other two are urban agglomeration, and the metropolitan area. In some countries, city limits that act as the demarcation for the city proper are drawn very wide, in some very narrow. This can be cause for recurring controversy. [5] [6]

Usage

An unincorporated town such as Nutbush could not be a city proper, but it can be part of one. Nutbush City Limits.jpg
An unincorporated town such as Nutbush could not be a city proper, but it can be part of one.

In its strict sense, city proper is used as a technical term in demography, the statistical study of human populations. Under the title "World Urbanization Prospects", the United Nations issues every two years estimates and projections of the urban and rural populations of all countries of the world. The book defines the population of a city proper as "the population living within the administrative boundaries of a city." The book continues to say that "city proper as defined by administrative boundaries may not include suburban areas where an important proportion of the population working or studying in the city lives." [7]

In demography, city proper is one of the three basic concepts used to define urban areas and populations. Census Bureau seal.jpg
In demography, city proper is one of the three basic concepts used to define urban areas and populations.

In demography, city proper is one of the three basic concepts used to define urban areas and populations. [4] The other two are urban agglomeration, and the metropolitan area. In addition, there are Census Statistical Areas and permutations thereof.

A United Nations University working paper titled "Urban Settlement" [4] reviews the most commonly used data sources, and highlights the difficulties inherent in defining and measuring the size of urban versus rural populations. It says: "The city proper is determined by legal and administrative criteria, and typically comprises only those geographical areas that are part of a legally defined, and often historically-established administrative unit. However, many urban areas have grown far beyond the limits of the city proper, necessitating other measures. An urban agglomeration is the de facto population contained within the contours of a contiguous territory inhabited at urban density levels without regard to administrative boundaries’. Urban agglomerations are thus determined by density: the agglomeration ends where the density of settlement drops below some critical threshold. A still more comprehensive concept is the metropolitan area."

In short, there is no "right" manner to define a city or municipality; city proper is just one manner.

Etymology

In encyclopedias, the term "city proper" is often used as an example to illustrate a meaning of the word "proper" as "tightly defined". Brockhaus Lexikon.jpg
In encyclopedias, the term "city proper" is often used as an example to illustrate a meaning of the word "proper" as "tightly defined".

The term is a combination of "city" in the sense of "an incorporated administrative district", [8] and "proper" in the sense of "strictly limited to a specified thing, place, or idea" or "strictly accurate". [9] In encyclopedias, the term "city proper" is often used as an example to illustrate the meaning of the word "proper" in the sense of "tightly defined".

Encarta
"narrowly identified, strictly identified and distinguished from something else" – stayed in the suburbs, not the city proper [10]
Merriam-Webster
"strictly limited to a specified thing, place, or idea 'the city proper;" [11]
Dictionary.com
"in the strict sense of the word (usually used postpositively)":- Is the school within Boston proper or in the suburbs? [12]
The Free Dictionary
"Being within the strictly limited sense, as of a term designating something: the town proper, excluding the suburbs". [13]

Internationalization

"City proper" can take on different meanings in different parts of the world. (6th of October, Egypt). City entrance.JPG
"City proper" can take on different meanings in different parts of the world. (6th of October, Egypt).

Especially when translated from the English or back, "city proper" sometimes takes on different meanings in different parts of the world. Some languages have no equivalent.

The United Nations Demographic Yearbook is compiled using questionnaires dispatched annually to more than 230 national statistical offices. [4] These questionnaires ask for the country-specific definition of urban areas, rural areas and city proper. [14] In its glossary, [15] the Yearbook defines "city proper" as "a locality defined according to legal/political boundaries and an administratively recognized urban status that is usually characterized by some form of local government". In its data however, the United Nations Demographic Yearbook affords the individual countries considerable leeway over the definition of "city proper". The table titled "Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants" [5] provides several country-specific definitions for "city proper" that diverge from the provided definition:

Japan
"Except for Tokyo, all data refer to shi, a minor division which may include some scattered or rural population as well as an urban centre". In Tokyo, "data for city proper refer to 23 wards (ku) of the old city".
Australia
"For all regions it is not possible to distinguish between 'city proper' and 'urban agglomeration' areas, therefore data has been included under 'city proper'".
UK, Thailand, Qatar, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Suriname, Colombia, Nicaragua, Canada
do not report City Proper data; agglomerations only.
Turkey
provides city proper data for most cities; for some large cities, such as Istanbul or Ankara, only agglomeration data are given.
Mexico
provides city proper data for most cities, while for others, such as Guadalajara, Mexico City, or Monterey, only agglomeration data are given.
Poland
A city can be "an administratively separated area entitled to civil (municipal) rights".
France
"Data for cities proper refer to communes which are centres for urban agglomeration".

These definitions are those given for the purpose of the United Nations Demographic Yearbook. One should not assume that these necessarily are the prevailing definitions in their respective countries.

Controversy

Nagqu (yellow), Tibet, a city established in 2018, became the largest city in China by area, overtaking Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia. Location of Nagchu Prefecture within Xizang (China).png
Nagqu (yellow), Tibet, a city established in 2018, became the largest city in China by area, overtaking Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia.
Divided into several Local Government Areas, Lagos, the most populous city in Africa, and one of the most populous and fastest growing cities in the world, does not count as a city proper. Lagos Island.jpg
Divided into several Local Government Areas, Lagos, the most populous city in Africa, and one of the most populous and fastest growing cities in the world, does not count as a city proper.

In some countries, city limits that act as the demarcation for the city proper are drawn very wide, or very narrow. This can be a recurring cause for controversy.

"List of largest cities by area" lists several little known cities that are larger than many countries. By area, the city of Altamira, Brazil (population 84,000) is bigger than Greece. The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder (population 32,000) covers more area than Hungary, Portugal, Austria, or Ireland. While these examples cause limited debate, cities in China are a source of continuing contention.

The Chinese city of Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia was recognized as the largest city in the world by area until 2018 (see image caption above). According to the "Urban Settlement" working paper, in 1986, to cope with growing administrative demands at the local level, China essentially reclassified counties as cities in order to allow local city governments to control the surrounding areas". [4] The authors state that "the Chinese city of Chongqing is another case in point. Even though the municipal district of Chongqing has a total population of more than 30 million inhabitants, fewer than 6 million actually live in Chongqing city proper. Depending on which classification is used, Chongqing is sometimes listed as the world's largest city and, in other cases, does not even appear in the top rung of urban population rankings".

On the other side of the extreme is Metropolitan Lagos. This city has a population of nearly 8 million according to the latest census, which is debated. Official data by the Lagos State estimate the population of Metropolitan Lagos at more than 14 million. [17] However, there is no Metropolitan Government. The Municipality of Lagos was disbanded in 1976 and divided into several Local Government Areas. As a result, the most populous city in Africa, and one of the most populous and fastest growing cities in the world [18] can be missing from lists of cities proper. A similar situation exists in Australia, where large cities are divided into much smaller Local Government Areas, with the exception of Queensland. [ citation needed ]

Wellington is also regarded as a confusing case; unlike Auckland, which is governed by a single city council, Wellington is subdivided and governed by at least four. These are Wellington City, Porirua, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt, with the Kapiti Coast often included. While all of these areas are contiguous and are considered to be integral parts of Wellington as a whole, they are legally distinct, thus giving Wellington a statistical population of 215,000 rather than the de facto 439,200 (measured as its metro area) or 497,200 (including the Kapiti Coast). This makes Wellington technically the third-largest city in New Zealand, rather than the second.

London may also be considered as a confusing case. The City of London could arguably be considered the "city proper" of London but has a population of only about 8600 (though the areas immediately surrounding the City of London boundaries have the same urban character as those within, and such urban character continues for some distance beyond the "Square Mile" boundary). Some lists instead state that the population of London is that of Greater London which is about 9 million. It is disputable whether Greater London is a city or a region, and also why similar treatment is not given to Manchester as distinct from Greater Manchester or Birmingham as distinct from the West Midlands metropolitan area.

See also

Related Research Articles

A megacity is a very large city, typically with a population of more than 10 million people. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its 2018 "World Urbanization Prospects" report defines megacities as urban agglomerations with over 10 million inhabitants. A University of Bonn report holds that they are "usually defined as metropolitan areas with a total population of 10 million or more people". Elsewhere in other sources, from five to eight million is considered the minimum threshold, along with a population density of at least 2,000 per square kilometre. The terms conurbation, metropolis, and metroplex are also applied to the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan area</span> Administrative unit of a dense urban core and its satellite cities

A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which are sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually comprises multiple principal cities, jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships, boroughs, cities, towns, exurbs, suburbs, counties, districts and even states and nations in areas like the eurodistricts. As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Population density</span> Measurement of population per unit area or unit volume

Population density is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.

The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there are five levels of local government; the provincial, prefecture, county, township, and village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conurbation</span> Group of settlements linked by continuous urban area

A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most cases, a conurbation is a polycentric urbanised area in which transportation has developed to link areas. They create a single urban labour market or travel to work area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban area</span> Human settlement with high population density and infrastructure of built environment

An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. This is the core of a metropolitan statistical area in the United States, if it contains a population of more than 50,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangkok Metropolitan Region</span> Urban agglomeration in Thailand

The Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), may refer to a government-defined "political definition" of the urban region surrounding the metropolis of Bangkok, or the built-up area, i.e., urban agglomeration of Bangkok, Thailand, which varies in size and shape, and gets filled in as development expands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primate city</span> Disproportionately largest city of a country or region

A primate city is a city that is the largest in its country, province, state, or region, and disproportionately larger than any others in the urban hierarchy. A primate city distribution is a rank-size distribution that has one very large city with many much smaller cities and towns and no intermediate-sized urban centers, creating a statistical king effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human settlement</span> Community of any size, in which people live

In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community of people living in a particular place. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities with surrounding urbanized areas. Settlements include hamlets, villages, towns and cities. A settlement may have known historical properties such as the date or era in which it was first settled, or first settled by particular people. The process of settlement involves human migration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milan metropolitan area</span> Human settlement in Italy

The Milan metropolitan area, also known as Grande Milano, is the largest metropolitan area in Italy and the 54th largest in the world. It is the largest transnational metropolitan area in the EU. The metropolitan area described in this article is strictly statistical and, contrary to the administrative Metropolitan City of Milan, a provincial-level municipality, does not imply any kind of administrative unity or function.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolis</span> Large city or conurbation

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.

References

  1. ↑ United Nations. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs (2002). Demographic yearbook, 2000. United Nations Publications, 2002. p. 23. ISBN   92-1-051091-7.
  2. ↑ Robert B. Potter; Virginia Potter (1978). Urban development in the world dryland regions: Inventory and prospects. Geoforum. pp. 349–379.
  3. ↑ "Global Urban Indicators - Selected Statistics" (PDF). UN habitat. November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 20 Jul 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 David E. Bloom, David Canning, Günther Fink, Tarun Khanna, Patrick Salyer. "Urban Settlement" (PDF). Working Paper No. 2010/12. Helsinki: World Institute for Development Economics Research . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 20 Jul 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 "Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  6. ↑ City of Saint John
  7. ↑ World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision. United Nations. 2004. p. 104. ISBN   92-1-151396-0 . Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  8. ↑ "WordNet Search - 3.0". Wordnetweb.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  9. ↑ "Proper - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Mw2.merriam-webster.com. 2007-04-25. Archived from the original on 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  10. ↑ "Encarta example for the usage of "proper"". Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  11. ↑ "Merriam-Webster example for the usage of proper Archived 2010-07-11 at the Wayback Machine "
  12. ↑ Dictionary.com example for the usage of "proper"
  13. ↑ Free Dictionary example for the usage of "proper"
  14. ↑ "Questionnaire on Metadata for Population and Housing Census". Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  15. ↑ The United Nations Demographic Yearbook
  16. ↑ "那曲地区撤地设市" [Nagqu Prefecture Abolished to Establish City] (in Chinese (China)). 人民网－人民日报. 2018-04-26.
  17. ↑ "Population (Lagos)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  18. ↑ World's fastest growing cities and urban areas from 2006 to 2020, by CityMayors.com
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