Centers of the largest agglomerations. Megacities and largest agglomerations of the world

An agglomeration is a city without division into administrative units, which is an area of continuous development. To identify such urbanized areas, the “light fingerprint” method is used - an area of artificial lighting in the city and its suburbs, which can be observed from an airplane on a clear night.

Let's look at the largest agglomerations on Earth:

Moscow agglomeration - 16 million people

Has an area of 4662 sq. km. and population density of 3500 people. per 1 square kilometer. The center of the agglomeration is Moscow. The largest agglomeration in Russia.

Osaka - Kobe - Kyoto agglomeration - 17.4 million people

Has an area of 3212 sq. km. and population density 5400 people. per 1 square kilometer. Has three centers. The second largest agglomeration.

Mumbai metropolitan area - 17.7 million people

The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea. It is the second largest agglomeration in. Its area is 546 sq. km., and the population density is 32,400 people. per 1 square kilometer.

Mexico City agglomeration - 20 million people

The capital is the largest agglomeration in the country. Its area is 2072 sq. km. and population density 9700 people. per 1 square kilometer.

Agglomeration of Sao Paulo - 20.3 million people

The largest includes 39 municipalities. The agglomeration area is 2707 sq. km. and a population density of 7,500 people. per 1 square kilometer.

Agglomeration Guangzhou - Foshan - 20.5 million people

The agglomeration area is 3432 sq. km. and population density of 6000 people. per 1 square kilometer. The distance between city centers is 27.6 km. The third largest agglomeration.

New York metropolitan area - 20.6 million people

The New York metropolitan area is considered the largest in the United States. The agglomeration area is 11642 sq. km. and a population density of 1800 people. per 1 square kilometer.

Beijing agglomeration - 21 million people

It is the second largest in China. The agglomeration area is 3820 sq. km. and population density 5500 people. per 1 square kilometer.

Karachi metropolitan area - 22.1 million people

Karachi is the largest port city in Pakistan. The agglomeration area is 945 sq. km. and population density 23,400 people. per 1 square kilometer.

Shanghai agglomeration - 23.4 million people

is the largest agglomeration in China. The agglomeration area is 3820 sq. km. and population density 5500 people. per 1 square kilometer.

Seoul - Incheon agglomeration - 23.5 million people

This is the largest agglomeration in South Korea. Its area is 2266 square meters. km. and population density 10,400 people. per 1 square kilometer.

— 24.1 million people

Capital. The agglomeration area is 3225 sq. km. and population density 9500 people. per 1 square kilometer.

Tokyo - Yokohama agglomeration 37.8 - million people

The largest agglomeration on the planet. Located in Japan. The agglomeration area is 8547 sq. km. and population density 4400 people. per 1 square kilometer.

Introduction

1 The concept of urban agglomeration

1.1 Hierarchy of urban systems

1.2 Spatial structure of urban agglomerations

1.3 Ways of agglomeration formation

1.4 Problems of big cities

2 Largest urban agglomerations in the world

2.1 Overseas Europe

2.2 Overseas Asia

2.3 USA and Latin America

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

The city is one of man's greatest and most complex creations. The appearance of cities - the stone chronicle of humanity - preserves the memory of the most important events in world history. Cities are the main arena of political, economic, social processes taking place in the modern world, the place where the greatest values created by human labor are concentrated.

How and why do cities grow? How to reveal the mysterious secret of the spatial concentration of cities in different parts of the globe? What is their internal structure? These questions concern all people and constitute the professional task of the geographical study of cities.

The purpose of the course work is to consider the largest urban agglomerations, ways of their formation and development.

The objectives of this work are:

· in identifying the features of the structure and formation of the largest urban agglomerations;

· in considering the hierarchy of urban systems;

· in identifying urban problems.

Urban agglomerations are a developing form of settlement and territorial organization of the economy. Concentrating a huge scientific, technical, industrial and socio-cultural potential, they are the main bases for accelerating scientific and technological progress and have a great influence on the vast territories surrounding them, so their study is especially relevant today.

1 . Concept of urban agglomeration

In the historical evolution of settlement forms, traditional types of populated areas - urban and rural settlements developing relatively autonomously - are increasingly being replaced by new “group” forms of highly concentrated settlement, formed when settlements are placed close together and intensive connections are formed between them. These are urban agglomerations - rapidly developing clusters of populated areas throughout the world, often consisting of dozens and sometimes hundreds of settlements, including rural settlements, closely connected with each other. There is no uniform terminology to refer to these population clusters. Along with the term “urban agglomeration”, the terms “local settlement systems”, “districts of large cities”, “group settlement systems”, “constellation of cities” are used.

The most common term “urban agglomeration” is not entirely appropriate. In industrial production technology, agglomeration means “the formation of large pieces (aggregation) from fine ores and dusty materials by sintering.” In economic literature, the term “agglomeration” characterizes territorial combination, concentration of industrial enterprises in one place.

The term “agglomeration” in relation to settlement was introduced by the French geographer M. Rouget, according to which agglomeration occurs when the concentration of urban activities goes beyond administrative boundaries and spreads to neighboring settlements.

In Russian literature, the concept of urban agglomeration was used quite widely already in the 10s and 20s, although under different names: this is also the “economic district of the city” by A.A. Krubera, and “agglomeration” by M.G. Dikansky, and the “economic city” of V.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky.

There are many definitions for the word “agglomeration”.

According to N.V. Petrov, urban agglomerations are compact clusters of territorially concentrated cities and other populated areas, which in the process of their growth come closer (sometimes grow together) and between which diverse economic, labor, cultural and everyday relationships intensify.

E.N. Pertsik gives another definition: an urban agglomeration is a system of territorially close and economically interconnected populated areas, united by stable labor, cultural, social and production ties, common social and technical infrastructure, a qualitatively new form of settlement, it arises as the successor of the city in its compact (autonomous) , point) form, a special product of modern urbanization. And large urban agglomerations are the most important areas in which progressive industries, administrative, economic, scientific and design organizations, unique cultural and art institutions, and the most qualified personnel are concentrated.

The boundaries of an urban agglomeration are mobile in time due to changes in the most important parameter of agglomeration - the range of daily movements from the place of residence to the places of employment: within the framework of the spatial self-organization of these movements, their range increases in proportion to the increase in the speed of means of transport, and the time spent increases slightly.

The development of urban agglomerations is characterized by: the build-up of gigantic urban clusters, including non-stop growing and spreading cores, drawing ever new territories into their orbit, and the concentration of large masses of the population in them; the rapid development of suburbs and the gradual (although not clearly visible everywhere) redistribution of the population between city centers and suburban areas; attracting the rural population to non-agricultural work, especially in urban areas; pendulum migrations and systematic movements of people within agglomerations to work, places of study, cultural services and recreation, acquiring an unprecedented scale.

E.N. Pertsik offers various criteria for urban agglomerations: urban population density and continuity of development; the presence of a large city center (usually with a population of at least 100 thousand people); intensity and range of work, cultural and social trips; proportion of non-agricultural workers; share of people working outside their place of residence; the number of satellite urban settlements and the intensity of their connections with the center city; number of telephone conversations with the center; industrial relations; communications for social, domestic and technical infrastructure (unified engineering systems of water supply, energy supply, sewerage, transport, etc.). In some cases, a combination of characteristics is taken as a criterion, in others it is focused on one of them (for example, the boundaries of an agglomeration are distinguished by 1.5- or 2-hour isochrones of labor movements from the center city).

1.1 Hierarchy of urban systems

Cities are growing and developing. In some cases, formerly small cities have become megacities, often with populations above 8 million.

The evolution of settlement forms under the influence of development processes and concentration of production leads to the convergence and fusion of agglomerations, the formation of megalopolises - urbanized zones of the supra-glomeration level, including vast territories (city - agglomeration - urbanized zone - urbanized area - megalopolis).

So, there are five main hierarchically subordinate forms of urban settlement (according to Yu.L. Pivovarov):

1.A compact city (in its traditional form) is the main element of settlement in the initial stages of urbanization of a country or region. According to the Dictionary of General Geographical Terms, a city is understood as: “a collection of monasteries, incorporative (that is, registered as an accounting unit) and governed by a mayor or alderman.” A city in Denmark is understood as a settlement with over 250 inhabitants, in Japan - 30 thousand, in Russia from 5 to 12 thousand inhabitants.

2. Agglomeration - (from Latin agglomero - add, accumulate) an elementary form of developed group settlement. It represents a cluster around the center (big city) of closely located urban and rural settlements, united by intensive and stable connections. We consider agglomeration for areas with great development potential as a stage form in the transition from an autonomous city to more complex forms of settlement.

3. An urbanized (metropolitan) area is the main structural element of settlement in the future. It means a relatively vast area, the core of which is usually several agglomerations with their surroundings, united by common functional and morphological characteristics. This socio-spatial form of settlement is based on the comprehensive planning of vast territories, specialization and clear identification of functional zones. It includes the metropolitan area itself and the territories of the vast metropolitan region.

4. The urbanized zone is the largest link (combining several elements) in the prospective spatial structure of the country’s settlement. This is an area with a high density of urban settlements and a large proportion of the urban population. An urbanized zone is distinguished by the intensity of development of urban settlements (and not by their number).

5. Megalopolis (from the Greek megalu - large, polis - city) is the largest form of settlement. These are extensive urbanized zones with a strip-like configuration, which are formed as a result of the actual merging of many neighboring agglomerations of different ranks. Typically, such urbanized strips stretch along the most important transport routes and multi-highways, or some kind of economic axes.

Introduction

The purpose of the course work is to consider the largest urban agglomerations, ways of their formation and development.

The objectives of this work are:

· in identifying the features of the structure and formation of the largest urban agglomerations;

· in considering the hierarchy of urban systems;

· in identifying urban problems.

The course work consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of references and includes one table. It is written on 28 pages. The first chapter includes four subchapters, the second - three. Eight different literature sources were used to write this work.

Concept of urban agglomeration

In the historical evolution of settlement forms, traditional types of populated areas - urban and rural settlements developing relatively autonomously - are increasingly being replaced by new “group” forms of highly concentrated settlement, formed when settlements are placed close together and intensive connections are formed between them. These are urban agglomerations - clusters of populated areas that are rapidly developing throughout the world, often consisting of tens, and sometimes hundreds of settlements, including rural settlements, closely connected with each other. There is no uniform terminology to refer to these population clusters. Along with the term “urban agglomeration”, the terms “local settlement systems”, “districts of large cities”, “group settlement systems”, “constellation of cities” are used.

There are many definitions for the word “agglomeration”.

E.N. Pertsik gives another definition: urban agglomeration is a system of territorially close and economically interconnected populated areas, united by stable labor, cultural, social and production ties, common social and technical infrastructure, a qualitatively new form of settlement, it arises as the successor of the city in its compact (autonomous) , point) form, a special product of modern urbanization. And large urban agglomerations are the most important areas in which progressive industries, administrative, economic, scientific and design organizations, unique cultural and art institutions, and the most qualified personnel are concentrated.

Agglomerations, as a natural extension of the life cycle of cities, are emerging all over the world. In Russia, the largest agglomeration is Moscow; processes are actively underway in Nizhny Novgorod, Samara-Togliatti, St. Petersburg and some others. The leader in the development of agglomerations in the Asian part of Russia is Novosibirsk.

An urban agglomeration is a compact cluster of settlements, mainly urban, merging in places, united into a complex multi-component dynamic system with intensive production, transport and cultural connections.

Moscow agglomeration

Currently, the territory of the Moscow agglomeration is at least 20 thousand km 2, the population is about 17.4 million people. The Moscow agglomeration has approximately 100 cities, including a dozen and a half in neighboring regions. There are about three dozen science cities in the Moscow agglomeration, almost half of which exist in Russia. Among them are centers of not only applied, but also fundamental science - Dubna, Pushchino, Protvino, Troitsk, Chernogolovka. The Moscow agglomeration has a developed historical and cultural framework, the links of which are the ancient cities of Kolomna, Dmitrov, Volokolamsk, Borovsk, famous monasteries such as the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in Sergius Posad, the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery in Dzerzhinsky, Joseph-Volokolamsky near Volokolamsk, New Jerusalem in Istra. This also includes estates - literary nests and centers of art, places of military glory associated with the events of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Battle of Moscow in 1941-1942.

In terms of the total number of places in sanatoriums and other health and treatment facilities, the Moscow region is not inferior to Crimea. The Moscow agglomeration is a gigantic reservoir of labor resources. Suburban trains of the Moscow railway hub transport about 1.5 million passengers daily, which, if traveling there and back, results in over 700 thousand people participating in daily migration from the suburbs to Moscow, from Moscow to the suburbs and throughout the territory of Moscow itself or the Moscow region itself .

The framework of the agglomeration is the radii of an extensive transport hub, which has 11 railways and 13 highways, as well as the waterways of the Moscow River and the Canal. Moscow. The transport hub determines the configuration of the Moscow agglomeration - a multi-beam star. Along some radii, almost continuous settlement strips have formed for tens of kilometers, especially developed in the Ryazan, Yaroslavl, and Vladimir directions. The complexity of the territorial organization of the Moscow agglomeration is evidenced by the formation of second-order agglomerations within its composition, emerging as territorial groups of closely related cities and towns. Thus, in the central part of the Moscow agglomeration these are the Noginsko-Elektrostalskaya, Podolsko-Klimovskaya, Lyuberetsko-Ramenskaya, Balashikha-Reutovskaya, Khimkinsko-Zelenogradskaya, Dolgoprudny-Lobnenskaya agglomerations; on the periphery - Serpukhovsko-Chekhovskaya, Kashirsko-Stupinskaya, Kolomenskaya, Orekhovo-Zuevskaya, Obninsk-Narofominskaya. Some peripheral agglomerations of the second order included settlements of neighboring regions. In the Kaluga direction, near the borders with the Moscow region, a group of cities and towns was formed led by Obninsk; the Orekhovo-Zuevskaya agglomeration included the cities of the Vladimir region - Pokrov, Petushki, Kosterevo. There is a rapprochement between the Moscow agglomeration and the agglomerations of Kaluga, Tver, Vladimir, Ryazan, and Tula, which strengthens the connectivity of regions in Central Russia.

Nizhny Novgorod agglomeration

The Nizhny Novgorod agglomeration, which has about 2.1 million people, which is 63.1% of the population of the Nizhny Novgorod region, 6.97% of the population of the Volga Federal District, 1.48% of the population of the Russian Federation, was formed around the capital of the Nizhny Novgorod region and the Volga Federal District - Nizhny Novgorod. The agglomeration includes eight municipalities, the total area is 10.5 thousand km 2.

The prospect for the development of the agglomeration is the development of 3.6 thousand hectares of the territory of the Borsky district, located on the left bank of the Volga, opposite the historical part of Nizhny Novgorod, the creation of a “City of the Future”.

St. Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia, makes the agglomeration unique. St. Petersburg, the only Russian center, began its existence with the simultaneous creation of satellite settlements in its surroundings: residences of rulers, fortresses, industrial centers, ports. The uniqueness of the agglomeration is given by its coastal location. The agglomeration acquires a characteristic pattern, following natural objects and landscapes. Along the deep Neva, the Neva settlement ray was formed, ending at Shlisselburg (64 km from St. Petersburg) in front of Lake Ladoga. The Karelian Isthmus, replete with beautiful lake-forest landscapes and overlooking the shores of Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, due to its natural conditions, represents an extensive recreational area and is almost included in the suburban area, being part of the agglomeration. The Karelian Isthmus, having a large recreational capacity, is a place of recreation, treatment, tourism and sports. The recreational component is inherent in many cities of the St. Petersburg agglomeration, including those that perform other functions: port, industrial, scientific, administrative.

The agglomeration extends approximately 50 km from the center of St. Petersburg. The population of the St. Petersburg agglomeration is approximately 5.4 million people, the territory area is about 11.6 thousand km 2.

The core includes the territory of St. Petersburg within high-density, almost continuous buildings. The approximate area of the core is 550 km 2. The agglomeration consists of approximately 35 urban settlements, including 15 cities. Among the cities and towns of the agglomeration there are many famous ones that occupy a prominent place in the history, economy, culture and territorial organization of Russia. The administrative subordination of St. Petersburg includes eight cities and 21 urban-type settlements with a total population of 560 thousand people. The cities of Kolpino, Sestroretsk, Zelenogorsk, Kronstadt, Lomonosov, Pavlovsk, Pushkin, Petrodvorets remain isolated, separated from the central city by significant spaces that are unlikely to be built up in the foreseeable future. Being located within the administrative boundaries of St. Petersburg, they actually form the first (near) satellite zone within the agglomeration.

The city of Sochi encompasses a resort agglomeration stretching along the Black Sea coast for 145 km from the Shepsi River in the northwest to the Psou River on the state border of Russia and Georgia. The agglomeration area is 3.5 thousand km 2 .

The Sochi agglomeration is polycentric, it includes the city of Sochi itself and the coastal settlements included within its boundaries - Magri, Makopse, Ashe, Lazarevskoye, Soloniki, Golovinka, Yakornaya Shchel, Vardane, Loo, Dagomys, Matsesta, Khosta, Adler, and in the mountains - Krasnaya Polyana village. After the railway from Tuapse to Adler was extended to Georgia, the Sochi agglomeration found itself in a transport corridor. The railway and the even earlier Black Sea Highway served as the axes for the development of the agglomeration.

The permanent population of Greater Sochi is about 500 thousand people. About 2/5 of the permanent population is concentrated in the Central region of Sochi, where the administration, main cultural institutions are located: the opera house, philharmonic society, art museum, Nikolai Ostrovsky museum, circus, arboretum, large hotels, as well as railway, sea and bus stations. A significant part of the multi-storey housing stock is located in the Sochi River valley.

The development of Sochi as the capital of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will make it possible to carry out a radical reconstruction of the agglomeration and make fuller use of its unique potential.

Samara-Tolyatti agglomeration

Samara Luka is one of the most remarkable places on the Volga. An arched bend with sharp turns, where the river changes direction by 90°, skirting the Zhiguli Mountains, protrudes far to the east. At the extreme eastern part of the arc is Samara, the largest center of the Volga region, two other turns of the bend are marked by pairs of cities: Togliatti - Zhigulevsk, Syzran - Oktyabrsk.

The agglomeration has a population of 2.3 to 2.7 million people, which makes it the third agglomeration in Russia by this criterion. It includes 9 out of 10 urban districts and 9 out of 27 municipal districts of the region. The Samara-Togliatti agglomeration occupies more than 40% of the region's territory, 80% of the population lives here, 90% of industrial and more than half of agricultural products are created.

It is characterized by the combination of intensive industrial, cultural, social and recreational connections, as well as due to high population density and infrastructure, low transport costs, both increased investment and human potential, and high current scientific, investment and cultural development, as well as high quality demand.

Rostov agglomeration

The population of the agglomeration reaches 2.2 million people, which makes it the most prominent interregional center of socio-economic development and attraction for the large macro-region of southern Russia. Rostov-on-Don has no competitors and, despite its position “in the corner” of the North Caucasus, is its recognized and natural socio-economic focus.

The Rostov-Shakhty polycentric agglomeration-conurbation has about 2.7 million inhabitants and is projected to strengthen and grow to 3.5 million people by 2025. Each of the cities of conurbation has a remarkable history, characteristic features, and its own development trajectory. Rostov-on-Don connects the coal and metallurgical Donbass with the Don and Kuban granaries, and opens routes to the Caucasus and Lower Volga. Modern Rostov-on-Don is the largest cultural, scientific and industrial center, the most important transport hub. To a large extent, the functions of the transport hub are assigned to the satellite of Rostov-on-Don - the city of Bataysk, located 15 km to the south, on the opposite bank of the Don. The second closest satellite, the industrial center of Aksai, is located 18 km to the east. Novocherkassk, having lost its administrative functions, retained cultural and educational functions, also becoming a large diversified industrial center. The city of Shakhty is an industrial center. The city of Azov for centuries had a troubled fate as a key fortress city. Now it is a multifunctional city, a sea and river port, a center of industry and tourism. Taganrog is the second largest city in the region and conurbation, the center of the northern Azov region. Its industrial development was facilitated by its location at the exit from the Donbass. Metallurgy and electrical engineering industries are developed in Taganrog. Taganrog is an important center of culture and education.

The agglomeration has positive population growth, projected to reach 2.4 million people by 2025, and significant prospects due to the status of the capital of the Southern Federal District, good climate, good location, and federal plans for “core cities.”

The Yekaterinburg agglomeration occupies a central position in the Middle Urals. The center of the agglomeration is the city of Yekaterinburg, founded in 1723 as the administrative and economic center of the mining Urals. The city of Nevyansk received city rights in 1917, although it emerged as a settlement at the plant in 1700. During the pre-war five-year plans, six settlements became cities, during the war - two, in the post-war period - eight. Along with cities that had deep historical roots, new cities appeared: the famous nuclear and science city Novouralsk, the science city Zarechny at the first Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in the Urals, and the energy city Sredneuralsk.

The Yekaterinburg agglomeration is multi-beam and has the appearance characteristic of agglomerations formed in an extensive transport hub: Yekaterinburg has seven railway directions. Some of the cities in the agglomeration are centers of mining of ore and non-metallic minerals (Berezovsky, Degtyarsk, Asbest, Verkhnyaya Pyshma). Russia's largest copper smelter in Kirovgrad operates its own ores. A characteristic feature is the presence in the territorial structure of the agglomeration of nests of urban settlements - territorially close groups of cities and urban-type settlements (Pervouralsk-Revda - Degtyarsk, Zarechny - Beloyarsky, Sysert - Verkhnyaya Sysert, etc.).

The agglomeration area is 13.1 thousand km 2, the population is about 2.2 million people.

There are 20 emerging agglomerations in Russia with a population of more than 1 million people. This indicates a paradigm shift in Russia's regional development strategy. The inclusion of low-urbanized cities in agglomerations or industrial-innovation clusters makes it possible to integrate them into the overall development system, including the agro-industrial complex, providing new financial flows, an influx of investment and changes in socio-economic living conditions.

In preparing the article, materials from the portal http://geographyofrussia.com were used

Urban forms of settlement include cities and urban-type settlements (in Russia).

A city in the Russian Federation is considered a settlement with a population of more than 12 thousand people, 85% of which are engaged in non-agricultural activities.

Urban settlement - 3-4 thousand people, 85% are not engaged in agriculture.

The oldest city in Russia is Derbent (8th-9th century AD)

Temporary settlements - holiday villages, shift camps for oil workers, houses for hunters and fishermen.

There are now 3 billion people living in cities. By 2050, 5 billion are predicted. The most urbanized areas are America and Europe.

In Russia, the urban population predominates in central Russia and the North.

The most urbanized territories are the Murmansk region, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. The reason is that there is no agriculture there. Murmansk is the largest city in the world beyond the Arctic Circle (about 400 thousand). St. Petersburg is the northernmost million-plus city.

The least urbanized are the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts.

In Chechnya and Ingushetia - more than 50% of the rural population (only 2 regions in Russia).

The level of urbanization of the Leningrad region is less than the Russian average. The two largest cities of the Leningrad region are Vyborg and Gatchina (100 thousand each). Vyborg at the time of joining Russia was the second most important city in Finland.

The first cities arose in ancient times. They mainly occurred in river deltas (Nile, Tigris, Euphrates). They emerge as centers of trade and craft. Along with crafts, surplus products appear that need to be sold. River deltas have access to the seas - it is easier to trade. Memphis, Rome – 100 thousand

During the Middle Ages, the population grew slowly. In the 10th century - 350 million people, the share of the urban population was 3-5%. Large cities were considered to have 10-30 thousand people. The largest cities are Paris, Milan, Prague, Novgorod, London, Pskov, Moscow.

All the largest cities appeared on the site of former Roman cities.

Features and prerequisites for the emergence of medieval cities:

The economic source is the division of labor (separation of crafts from agriculture). A craftsman settles under the walls of a feudal lord's castle, or under the walls of a monastery. Firstly, it is protection, and secondly, it is a sales market. The geographically advantageous location played a decisive role in the development of cities. One of the factors is war. The people who settle near the fortress are townspeople. If there are many of them, a second ring of the wall is built.

The streets were narrow, the facades were short in length, there was no sewerage system, and poor landscaping was a feature of medieval cities.

The political factor also plays a role in the formation of cities. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the leaders were Spain and Portugal. Lisbon was the largest city in the world in the 15th and 16th centuries, and London in the 19th century.

Now the largest city is Tokyo.

There is no global definition of a city.

For Denmark, Sweden and Finland, a city is 200 people not employed in agriculture. In Canada and Australia there are more than 2000. In India and Iran there are 5000 people. In Switzerland and Malaysia - 10,000, Japan - 50,000 people.

City– a settlement whose residents are usually employed outside of agriculture; The classification of a settlement as a city is formalized by law.

Typology of cities:

1. Small (up to 50 thousand)

2. Medium (50 - 100 thousand)

3. Large (100 – 250 thousand)

4. Large (250 – 500 thousand)

5. Largest (500 thousand - 1 million)

6. Millionaire cities (over 1 million)

Urban agglomeration– a compact spatial grouping of settlements (mainly urban), united into one whole by intensive production, labor, cultural, social and recreational connections.

Typology of urban agglomerations:

1. Monocentric - with 1 city-center, which subordinates to its influence all other settlements located in its suburban area, and far exceeds them in size and economic potential.

2. Polycentric - with several interconnected city centers (conurbation).

The largest agglomerations of the Russian Federation: the largest is Moscow with a population of 13.5 million people; it includes about 100 urban and several thousand rural settlements; St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, Samara.

Problems of cities:

1. Environmental (for large cities)

2. Competition between major cities

3. Social (mainly for large cities)