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

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

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 (Leeds – Bradford)  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] (Düsseldorf – Neuss)  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
Saarbrücken – Forbach  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

Notes

  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

  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]

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