conurbations
Merged metropolitan areas
Conurbations is the plural of conurbation, an extended urban area formed when neighboring cities and towns grow together into a continuous built-up region.
The word emphasizes that what looks like one sprawling metropolis may actually comprise distinct municipalities: The Boston-Washington conurbation stretches along the Eastern Seaboard.
Unlike a single city that expands outward, a conurbation emerges from multiple centers merging.
Extend in disorderly fashion
- growthIncrease in size
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
- suburbsResidential areas outside cities
outskirts · satellite · megaprojects · spread · greenfield · encroachment · agglomeration
Of a major city
- districtsDefined administrative regions
- boroughsMunicipal administrative districts
- neighborhoodsResidential districts of towns
- downtownCentral business district
precincts · zones · center · periphery · nodes · clusters · polycentric
Statistical population characteristics
- densityMass-to-volume ratio
- inhabitantsPermanent occupants of place
- residentsPeople living somewhere
- censusOfficial population count
migration · settlements · communities · multiculturalism · diversity · workforce · housing · socioeconomic
Basic physical systems
- transportMoving things between places
- commuteRegular work travel
- subwayUnderground transit passage
- railwayTrack system for trains
arterial · highways · transit · corridors · linkage · interconnection · networking · traffic
Sectioning areas by use
- planningArranging for future events
- regionalismLocal area favoritism
- coordinationOrganized cooperative movement
- amalgamationUniting into one
consolidation · merger · unification · boundaries · jurisdiction · municipal · administration · councils
sprawl
Extend in disorderly fashion
- growthIncrease in size
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
suburbs · outskirts · satellite · megaprojects · spread · greenfield · encroachment · agglomeration
metropolitan
Of a major city
- districtsDefined administrative regions
- boroughsMunicipal administrative districts
- neighborhoodsResidential districts of towns
downtown · precincts · zones · center · periphery · nodes · clusters · polycentric
demographics
Statistical population characteristics
- densityMass-to-volume ratio
- inhabitantsPermanent occupants of place
- residentsPeople living somewhere
census · migration · settlements · communities · multiculturalism · diversity · workforce · housing · socioeconomic · overcrowding
infrastructure
Basic physical systems
railway · arterial · highways · transit · corridors · linkage · interconnection · networking · traffic · congestion
zoning
Sectioning areas by use
- planningArranging for future events
- regionalismLocal area favoritism
- coordinationOrganized cooperative movement
amalgamation · consolidation · merger · unification · boundaries · jurisdiction · municipal · administration · councils · intergovernmental
conurbationshamlets
Very small villages
villages · small towns · homesteads · farmsteads · outposts
conurbationswilderness
Uncultivated, uninhabited natural region
countryside · rural areas · open country · hinterland · backcountry