Modern society, due to many global processes, is becoming more and more urbanized. Therefore, the issue of studying and describing megacities and agglomerations is more than relevant. The article describes the largest agglomerations of the world, and also gives a definition of the term "agglomeration".
What is agglomeration
Most modern encyclopedias define an agglomeration as a large cluster of settlements, which are mainly urban, and in exceptional cases, rural entities, which are united into one 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 took place everywhere. In the 21st century, the process of urbanization intensified and continued in a new form.
An agglomeration can form around one big 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 agglomeration includesseveral large settlements, which, independently of one another, are central. A striking example of a polycentric agglomeration is the Ruhr region in Germany.
In 2005, there were about 400 agglomerations all over the world, the number of inhabitants in each of them exceeded 2 million people. The largest agglomerations of the world are located rather unevenly on the map, but their largest concentration is observed in economically developed countries. More than 230 million people live in the ten largest agglomerations of the world (much more than the population of the Russian Federation).
Tokyo and Yokohama
Of course, the largest agglomeration is the capital of Japan, Tokyo. Its population today is approaching 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 made up of three urban areas that are located around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. In addition, the city has 20 more districts and several prefectures (Gumma, Kanagawa, Ibaraki, etc.). This whole structure is commonly referred to as Greater Tokyo.
London
At the moment there are many definitions of the territory on which the city of London is located. Among them are Greater London, Londoncounty and even the London postal or telegraph district. Scientists usually divide the historical center (City), Inner London (13 city blocks), Outer London (suburban old areas) in the territorial structure of the British capital. All these territorial elements form the structure and population that the largest agglomerations of the world have.
The administrative boundaries of the London agglomeration occupy about 11 thousand km2 with a population of about 12 million people. This territory also 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
Administratively, the city of Paris is only one of the departments that make up the Île-de-France region. But the capital has long subjugated all eight departments, the administrative division is currently conditional. And Paris is an urban center that has the same qualities as the largest agglomerations and metropolitan areas of the world. In particular, Paris has a significant number of satellite cities that were built and merged into the capital back in the 1960s.
The construction of the so-called new cities - specially created satellites of Paris, began in the big corona in the 1960s.
Paris as the capital of France, together with the so-called new cities and crowns, forms a hugeagglomeration, or Greater Paris. The area of the metropolis is 12 thousand km2, and the population is more than 13 million people. Paris represents the largest agglomerations of the world on the map of Europe.
Asian agglomerations
Recently, Asia is beginning to gain positions in the world economic and cultural life. The largest agglomerations of the world are also concentrated in Asian countries. A clear example is the city of Mumbai, with a population of over 22 million. 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 entire country. Megacities such as Shanghai (19 million people) and Hong Kong (15 million inhabitants) are clear examples of urbanization processes in the East.
Thus, in the current conditions of globalization and urbanization, large cities are growing and turning into agglomerations, of which there are more and more in the world.
