ESPON metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom

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The 20 largest ESPON metropolitan areas in the UK, ranked by population. Uk-metro-areas.svg
The 20 largest ESPON metropolitan areas in the UK, ranked by population.

A metropolitan area is generally defined as consisting of an urban area, conurbation or agglomeration, together with the surrounding area to which it is closely economically and socially integrated through commuting.

Contents

The European Union's ESPON (European Spatial Planning Observation Network) project defined a harmonised series of metropolitan areas across Europe, made up of two components: Morphological Urban Areas (MUAs), which are similar to urban areas that form the densely populated urban cores of metropolitan areas, and Functional Urban Areas (FUAs), which form the labour basin surrounding Morphological Urban Areas. [1]

Morphological Urban Areas were calculated by combining contiguous local administrative units with population densities greater than 650 inhabitants per square kilometre, with Functional Urban Areas then being calculated by combining surrounding local administrative units where 10% or more of the workforce works within the core Morphological Urban Area. [2]

According to the harmonised European definition, there were eighteen metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom with populations of more than 500,000 at the time of the 2001 census.

This article lists the UK metropolitan areas defined by ESPON, which excluded combined conurbations such as the Liverpool-Manchester megalopolis, which (in 2001) had a combined population of 5.6 million. [3] It also excluded city regions such as those formed in Greater Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield, which are typically areas covered by a combined authority.

Summary

In 2001, there were 46 metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom with a populations in the range 150,000 to 25 million inhabitants, according to the ESPON project, with the following population distribution:

CategoryPopulations (2011)Count
A12.8 – 25 million1
B6.4 – 12.8 million0
C3.2 – 6.4 million1
D1.6 – 3.2 million3
E0.8 – 1.6 million7
F0.4 – 0.8 million9
Gi0.2 – 0.4 million19
Gii<0.2 million~6
Total46

Source[ citation needed ]

By population (2001 data)

Source [4]

#Area (population)Parts (population)
1London (13,709,000) London  (8,265,000) • Southend  (291,000) • Chatham  (231,000) • Luton–Dunstable  (216,000) • Reading  (216,000) • Aldershot–Farnborough  (174,000) • Woking  (124,000) • Basildon  (113,000) • Slough  (112,000) • High Wycombe  (100,000) • Crawley  (99,000) • Bracknell–Ascot  (96,000) • Harlow  (87,000) • Chelmsford  (76,000) • Hemel Hempstead  (68,000) • Maidstone  (65,000) • Maidenhead  (59,000) • St. Albans  (59,000) • Basingstoke  (55,000) • Aylesbury  (49,000) • Stevenage  (49,000) • Sittingbourne  (42,000) • Wokingham  (42,000) • Tunbridge Wells  (39,000) • Sandhurst–Yateley  (37,000) • Guildford  (34,000) • Windsor  (33,000) • Bishop's Stortford  (31,000) • Letchworth  (28,000) • Horsham  (27,000) • East Grinstead  (26,000) • Burgess Hill  (24,000) • Sevenoaks  (24,000) • Haywards Heath  (22,000) • Hitchin  (21,000) • Tonbridge  (20,000)
2Birmingham (3,683,000) Birmingham–Wolverhampton  (2,363,000) • Coventry  (308,000) • Nuneaton  (87,000) • Warwick–Leamington  (71,000) • Redditch  (61,000) • Bromsgrove  (25,000) • Tamworth  (21,000)
3Manchester (2,556,000) Greater Manchester Urban Area  (2,207,000) • Macclesfield  (59,000)
4Leeds–Bradford (2,302,000) Leeds  (534,000) • Bradford  (341,000) • Huddersfield  (219,000) • Halifax–Queensbury  (155,000) • Wakefield  (111,000) • Castleford–Pontefract  (102,000) • Harrogate  (60,000) • Dewsbury  (36,000)
5Liverpool-Birkenhead (2,241,000) Liverpool–Birkenhead  (1,170,000) • Wigan–Ashton  (220,000) • Warrington  (168,000) • Widnes–Runcorn  (121,000) • Chester  (58,000) • Southport  (44,000) • Ellesmere Port  (40,000) • Ormskirk  (24,000) • Skelmersdale  (20,000)
6Newcastle–Sunderland (1,599,000) Newcastle  (814,000) • Sunderland  (270,000) • Blyth–Cramlington  (55,000) • Peterlee  (42,000) • Ashington  (27,000) • Seaham  (24,000) • Chester-le-Street  (23,000)
7Sheffield (1,569,000) Sheffield  (693,000) • Rotherham  (150,000) • Doncaster  (80,000) • Darfield  (73,000) • Chesterfield  (73,000) • Barnsley  (56,000)
8Portsmouth–Southampton (1,547,000) Portsmouth  (500,000) • Southampton  (376,000) • Bognor Regis  (66,000) • Salisbury  (29,000) • Winchester  (27,000) • Andover  (26,000)
9Nottingham–Derby (1,534,000) Nottingham  (532,000) • Derby  (217,000) • Mansfield  (185,000) • Ilkeston  (53,000) • Newark  (25,000) • Alfreton  (23,000)
10Glasgow (1,395,000) Greater Glasgow  (1,228,000) • East Kilbride  (59,000) • Cumbernauld  (45,000) • Kilmarnock  (39,000) • Dumbarton  (23,000)
11Cardiff and South Wales valleys (1,097,000) Cardiff  (353,000) • Newport  (192,000) • Merthyr Tydfil  (35,000) • Pontypridd  (28,000) • Caerphilly  (26,000) • Bridgend  (24,000) • Ebbw Vale  (22,000)
12Bristol (1,041,000) Bristol  (568,000) • Weston-super-Mare  (70,000) • Bath  (65,000) • Clevedon  (25,000)
13Belfast (799,000) Belfast  (501,000) • Bangor  (15,000)
14Edinburgh (782,000) Edinburgh  (478,000) • Livingston  (46,000)
15Brighton–Worthing–Littlehampton (769,000) Brighton–Worthing  (410,000) • Eastbourne  (74,000) • Littlehampton  (40,000)
16Leicester (745,000) Leicester  (442,000) • Loughborough  (53,000) • Coalville  (39,000) • Hinckley  (20,000)
17Middlesbrough (656,000) Middlesbrough-Stockton  (389,000) • Darlington  (58,000) • Hartlepool  (53,000)
18Bournemouth–Poole (531,000) Bournemouth–Poole  (390,000)
19Swansea (462,000) Swansea  (219,000) • Port Talbot–Neath  (51,000)
20Stoke (456,000) Stoke-on-Trent  (359,000)
21Hull (419,000) Hull  (284,000)
22Blackburn–Burnley (391,000) Blackburn  (182,000) • Burnley  (125,000)
23Norwich (364,000) Norwich  (193,000)
24Preston (354,000) Preston–Leyland  (249,000)
25Plymouth (343,000) Plymouth  (228,000)
26Aberdeen (332,000) Aberdeen  (183,000)
27Blackpool (304,000) Blackpool  (239,000)
28Northampton (288,000) Northampton  (220,000)
29Cambridge (283,000) Cambridge  (142,000)
30Milton Keynes (271,000) Milton Keynes  (136,000)
31Swindon (260,000) Swindon  (144,000)
32Exeter (259,000) Exeter  (105,000) • Exmouth  (25,000)
33Oxford (244,000) Oxford  (122,000)
34Ipswich (240,000) Ipswich  (120,000)
35York (234,000) York  (135,000)
36Torbay (231,000) Torbay  (178,000)
37Peterborough (219,000) Peterborough  (127,000)
38Dundee (211,000) Dundee  (150,000)
39Telford (209,000) Telford  (105,000)
40Bedford (202,000) Bedford  (108,000)
41Colchester (191,000) Colchester  (95,000)
42Lincoln (176,000) Lincoln  (99,000)
43Grimsby (174,000) Grimsby  (123,000)
44Gloucester (166,000) Gloucester  (134,000)
45Hastings–Bexhill (164,000) Hastings–Bexhill  (103,000)
46Cheltenham (164,000) Cheltenham  (82,000)

By region (2001 data)

Region Region population
[ citation needed ]		Metro RankMetropolitan areaMetro Population (2001)
Greater London 8,173,9411London13,709,000
West Midlands 5,601,8472Birmingham3,683,000
20Stoke456,000
39Telford209,000
North West 7,052,1773Manchester2,556,000
5Liverpool–Birkenhead2,241,000
22Blackburn–Burnley391,000
24Preston354,000
27Blackpool304,000
Yorkshire and the Humber 5,283,7334Leeds–Bradford2,302,000
7Sheffield1,569,000
21Hull419,000
35York234,000
43Grimsby174,000
North East 2,596,8866Newcastle–Sunderland1,599,000
17Middlesbrough656,000
South East 8,634,7508Portsmouth–Southampton1,547,000
15Brighton–Worthing–Littlehampton769,000
30Milton Keynes271,000
33Oxford244,000
45Hastings–Bexhill164,000
East Midlands 4,533,2229Nottingham–Derby1,543,000
16Leicester745,000
28Northampton288,000
42Lincoln176,000
Wales 11Cardiff and South Wales valleys1,097,000
19Swansea462,000
South West 5,288,93512Bristol1,041,000
18Bournemouth–Poole531,000
25Plymouth343,000
31Swindon260,000
32Exeter259,000
36Torbay231,000
44Gloucester166,000
46Cheltenham164,000
East of England 5,846,96523Norwich364,000
29Cambridge283,000
34Ipswich240,000
37Peterborough219,000
40Bedford202,000
41Colchester191,000
Scotland 5,404,70010Glasgow1,395,000
14Edinburgh782,000
26Aberdeen332,000
38Dundee211,000
Northern Ireland 13Belfast799,000

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "MUAs and FUAs delineation" (PDF). ESPON project 1.4.3 Study on Urban Functions. European Spatial Planning Observation Network. March 2007. p. 8. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "The methodology" (PDF). ESPON project 1.4.3 Study on Urban Functions. European Spatial Planning Observation Network. March 2007. p. 17. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  3. ↑ Schulze Bäing, Andreas. "Shrinking cities and growing regions – emerging trends of new rural-urban relationships in the UK and Germany". 13 July. AESOP University of Manchester. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "British urban pattern: population data" (PDF). ESPON project 1.4.3 Study on Urban Functions. European Spatial Planning Observation Network. March 2007. p. 119. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
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