Megapolises and the largest agglomerations of the world
Modern society, by virtue of many globalprocesses, becomes more and more urbanized. Therefore, the question of studying and describing megacities and agglomerations is more than relevant. The article describes the largest agglomerations of the world, and also defines the term "agglomeration".
What is agglomeration?
Most modern encyclopedias defineagglomeration as a large congestion of settlements, which are mainly urban, and in exceptional cases also rural entities, which are united in a single unit due to economic, political and cultural ties. The largest agglomerations of the world began to form in the middle of the twentieth century, when the growth of cities occurred everywhere. In the 21st century, the process of urbanization intensified and continued in a new form.
The agglomeration can form around onea large city and be called monocentric. Examples of such agglomerations are New York and Paris. The second type of agglomeration is called polycentric, which means that the composition of the agglomeration includes several large settlements that, independently of one another, are central. A vivid example of polycentric agglomeration is the Ruhr region in Germany.
For 2005, there were around 400 worldwideagglomerations, the number of inhabitants in each of them exceeded 2 million people. The largest agglomerations of the world on the map are quite uneven, but their largest concentration is observed in economically developed countries. In the ten largest agglomerations of the world, there are more than 230 million people (much more than the population of the Russian Federation).
Tokyo and Yokohama
Undoubtedly, the largest agglomeration isthe capital of Japan, Tokyo. Its population today is close to 38 million people, which exceeds the population of many European countries (Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands and others). The agglomeration is inherently polycentric and unites two central cities - Yokohama and Tokyo, as well as a huge number of small settlements. The agglomeration area is 13.5 thousand km2.
The center of this huge agglomeration is threeurban district, which are located around the imperial palace in Tokyo. In addition, the city has 20 more districts and several prefectures (Gunma, Kanagawa, Ibaraki, etc.). The whole structure is usually called Big Tokyo.
London
At the moment, there are many definitions of thatThe territory where the city of London is located. Among them are Greater London, the London county and even the London postal or telegraph district. Scientists usually share in the territorial structure of the British capital the historical center (City), Inner London (13 city blocks), Outer London (suburban old districts). All these territorial elements form such a structure and population as the largest agglomerations of the world have.
The administrative borders of the London metropolitan area occupy about 11 thousand km2 with a population of about 12 million people. This territory includes the so-called satellite cities of London: Bracknell, Harlow, Basildon, Crowley and others. And also directly those territories that adjoin the capital: Essex, Surrey, Kent, Hertfordshire.
Paris
In administrative terms, the city of Paris isonly one of the departments in the Ile-de-France region. But the capital for a long time has crushed under itself all eight departments, the administrative division at the moment is conditional. And Paris is an urban center, which has the same qualities as the largest agglomerations and mega-cities of the world. In particular, Paris has a significant number of satellite cities, which were built and merged into the capital in the 1960s.
The construction of so-called new cities - specially created satellites of Paris, began in the big crown in the 1960s.
Paris as the capital of France, together with the so-called new cities and crowns, forms a huge agglomeration, or Greater Paris. The metropolitan area is 12 thousand km2, and the population - more than 13 million people. Paris represents the largest agglomerations of the world on the map of Europe.
Asian agglomerations
Recently, in the world economic andcultural life begins to conquer Asia's position. The Asian countries also have the largest agglomerations of the world. A clear example is the city of Mumbai, whose population exceeds 22 million people. Or the capital of the Philippines, Manila with a population of 20 million, as well as Delhi with 18 million inhabitants. In China, agglomerations occupy about 10% of the territory of the whole country. Such megacities as Shanghai (19 million people) and Hong Kong (15 million inhabitants) are clear examples of urban processes in the East.
Thus, in the current conditions of globalization and urbanization, large cities are growing and becoming agglomerations, which are becoming more and more in the world.
