For other uses, see Metropolis (disambiguation). New York City, the largest metropolis in the United States Although there is no clear definition or classification of what a metropolis constitutes, it is a term that is generally used to represent a large city or urban area. It can be from one million people to five or more.citation needed Big cities belonging to a larger urban agglomeration, but which are not the core of that agglomeration, are not generally considered a metropolis but a part of it. A metropolis is usually a significant economic, political and cultural center for some country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications. The plural of the word is most commonly metropolises, though metropolis is sometimes used as well. With the historical meaning, it refers to the city or state of origin of a colony (as of ancient Greece), a city regarded as a center of a specified activity, or a large important city. Contents 1 Antiquity 2 Etymology and modern usage 3 Global cities 4 Local definitions by country 4.1 Bangladesh 4.2 Canada 4.3 India 4.4 Italy 4.5 Japan 4.6 Pakistan 4.7 Philippines 4.8 Poland 4.9 United Kingdom 4.10 United States 5 Metropolis as a mainland area 6 Metropolis in Other Media 7 See also 8 Notes and references 9 External links Antiquity

In the past, metropolis was the designation for a city or state of origin of a colony. Many large cities founded by ancient civilizations have been considered important world metropolises of their times due to their large populations and importance. Some of these ancient metropolises survived until the modern days and are among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Etymology and modern usage The word comes from the Greek μήτηρ, mētēr meaning "mother" and πόλις, pólis meaning "city"/"town", which is how the Greek colonies of antiquity referred to their original cities, with whom they retained cultic and political-cultural connections. The word was used in post-classical Latin for the chief city of a province, the seat of the government and, in particular, ecclesiastically for the seat or see of a metropolitan bishop to whom suffragan bishops were responsible. This usage equates the province with the diocese or episcopal see.

In modern usage the word has come to refer to a metropolitan area, a set of adjacent and interconnected cities clustered around a major urban center. In this sense metropolitan usually means "spanning the whole metropolis" (as in "metropolitan administration"); or "proper of a metropolis" (as in "metropolitan life", and opposed to "provincial" or "rural"). Global cities The concept of a Global city (or a World city) means a city that has a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socioeconomic means. The term has become increasingly familiar, because of the rise of globalization (i.e., global finance, communications, and travel). An attempt to define and categorize world cities by financial criteria was made by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network (GaWC), based primarily at Loughborough University in England. The study ranked cities based on their provision of "advanced producer services" such as accountancy, advertising, finance and law. The Inventory identifies three levels of world cities and several sub-ranks (see World cities ranking).

A metropolis is not necessarily a global city—or, being one, it could not be among the top-ranking—due to its standards of living, development, and infrastructures. Local definitions by country Bangladesh In the People's Republic of Bangladesh, there are seven metropolitan areas Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal and Rangpur. Lands are highly priced and residents are considered to have a better urban lifestyle. Special police departments are entitled for the metropolitan cities as well as there are city corporations for which mayors are being elected for five years regime. Most of these cities have population density of 35,000/sq mile or more. Dhaka is considered as a mega city because of its population crossed 10 million. 1 Canada Statistics Canada defines a census metropolitan area as one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core where the urban core has a population of at least 100,000.2 India Chennai, one of South Asia's largest metropolitian centres

In the Republic of India, declared metropolitan cities are Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Residents of these cities are also entitled to a higher house-rent allowance. The Census Commission defines the qualification for metropolitan city as population more than 4 million, so Pune, and Ahmedabad3 are qualified to be declared as metropolitan cities. Italy With the 2001 reform of the Title V of the Constitution of Italy, the Italian republic has provided for the institution of Aree Metropolitane. Aree Metropolitane will be instituted at least for the major conurbations of Rome, Milan, Turin and Naples, but, as of January 2009[update], it is yet unclear whether the Aree Metropolitane will replace Provinces, or just be added to the older administrative subdivisions. Japan The Japanese legal term to (都) is commonly translated as "metropolis".4 Structured like a prefecture instead of a normal city, there is only one to in Japan, namely Tokyo. As of 2008[update], Japan has 11 other cities with populations greater than one million. Pakistan

In Pakistan declared metropolitan cities are Karachi and Lahore. Philippines Metro Manila, one of the largest metropolises Metro Manila is the most populous of the twelve defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines and the 11th most populous in the world. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 11,553,427. Metro Manila is the largest and richest metropolis in Southeast Asia in terms of GDP. Poland The Union of Polish Metropolises (Polish: Unia Metropolii Polskich), established in 1990, is an organization uniting the largest cities in country. Presently twelve cities are members of the organization, of which 11 have more than a quarter million inhabitants. The largest metropolis in Poland, if ranked solely by the number of inhabitants, is Upper Silesian Metropolis with 2 million inhabitants (5 million inhabitants in the Silesian metropolitan area), followed by Warsaw, with 1.7 million inhabitants in city proper, and 2.7 million in Warsaw metropolitan area. Upper Silesian Metropolis is an initiative of recent years, attempt to unite large conurbation/urban area into one official urban organism. United Kingdom

Various conurbations in the United Kingdom are considered to be metropolitan areas (see Metropolitan county). The term Metropolis itself is rarely used. London is archaically referred to as "the Metropolis", which is only retained by the London police force, the Metropolitan Police Service. (The chief officer of the Met is formally known as the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.) United States In the United States an incorporated area or group of areas having a population more than 50,000 is required to have a metropolitan planning organization in order to facilitate major infrastructure projects and to ensure financial solvency. Thus, a population of 50,000 or greater has been used as a de facto standard in the United States to define a metropolis. A similar definition is used by the United States Census Bureau. They define a metropolitan statistical area as at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more inhabitants. Metropolis as a mainland area Main article: Metropole

In France, Portugal and Spain, metropolis (métropole (Fr.) / metrópole (Port.) / metrópoli (Spa.)) designates the mainland part of a country near or on the European continent; in the case of France, this would mean France without its overseas departments; for Portugal and Spain during the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire period, it used to be common to designate Portugal or Spain except its colonies (the Ultramar). In France metropolis is also used to refer to large agglomerations. Metropolis in Other Media See also Other city types Global city Megacity Megalopolis Lists List of metropolitan areas by population Planning theories New Urbanism Smart growth Transit-oriented development Other Ekistics Large Cities Climate Leadership Group Sustainable city World's largest cities Metropolis (film) Metropolis (manga) Metropolis (anime) Metropolis (comics) Notes and references ^ Analysis on Population Growth in Dhaka ^ Geographic Units: Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) and Census Agglomeration (CA) ^ Ahmedabad yet to become mega city ^ "Local Government in Japan" (PDF). Council of Local Authorities for International Relations. pp. 41. http://www.jlgc.org/en/pdf/localg2006.PDF. Retrieved 2007-10-16.  Allen J. Scott (ed.) Global City Regions: Trends, Theory, Policy, Oxford University Press (2001). Monti, Daniel J., Jr., The American City: A Social and Cultural History. Oxford, England and Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 1999. 391 pp. ISBN 978-1-55786-918-0. External links Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article metropolis. U.S. Census Bureau: About Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistics Megalopolis, my Arcadia, a podcast with a worldwide analysis of megacities (focus Latin America) Geopolis: research group,university of Paris-Diderot, France