conurbation

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conurbation A term coined by Patrick Geddes in 1915 to describe large-scale city regions such as Greater London, New York/Boston, or the Ruhr. It is not a statistically based concept, but normally refers to one city or a conglomerate of very large cities surrounded by extensive suburbs, which form a continuous urban and industrial built-up environment. In most cases, transportation systems develop to link all districts within the conurbation, so as to create a single urban labour-market or travel-to-work area. Alternative terms are urban agglomeration and, in the United States, metropolitan area.

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