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The city – benefits of urban space

Cities have emerged and developed all over the world. In Europe, which has been densely populated for centuries, large cities existed as early as in ancient times. During the industrial revolution, cities grew rapidly. Subsequent years brought changes in transport while the growth of trade and services contributed to the continuous increase of population in cities as well as the expansion of urban space. This robust development of cities is connected with the benefits resulting from concentrating a large number of people in urban and industrial agglomerations.

Today the so called agglomeration benefits include:

• reduced cost of manufacturing, since the employer takes advantage of the services of a large number of employees with diverse skills and educational backgrounds, who perform only specific, specialised activities;

• reduced cost of business operations resulting from the use of existing technical infrastructure such as transport lines, power grid, commercial outlets, and technical buildings:

• easy access to multiple institutions and organisations based in the city, which fulfil educational, cultural, medical, financial, recreational and scientific and research functions.

Cities may be classified in terms of the main functions that they fulfil. For example, there are industrial, transport, port, commercial, health‑resort, and other types of cities.
Big cities, e.g. agglomerations, have most of the said functions and their individual character is reflected in other features, including historical, architectural, or cultural ones.

Urbanisation processes in Western Europe

The development of industry, commerce and transport contributed to the dynamic expansion of European cities. The process leading to the growth of cities is called urbanisation (Latin urbanus – 'urban').

Main symptoms of the urbanisation process include:

• increased number of people living in cities;

• increased number of cities;

• transformation of villages into cities – granting town privileges;

• expanding area of existing cities and their impact on rural areas;

• spread of urban customs and lifestyles;

• increased number of people working in the non‑farm sector.

The most common measure of urbanisation rate is percentage of urban population. Europe has a large concentration of people living in cities, with 73.6% of the total population in 2015. However, there are considerable regional differences. The biggest share of urban population is in Northern Europe – 81.2% and in Western Europe – 78.9%, with the lowest urbanisation rate in Eastern Europe – 69.4% and Southern Europe – 70.1%. Overall, the highest urbanisation rate is recorded in the most developed countries.

Metropolisation processes

In highly urbanised countries, the number of people living in big cities is growing rapidly. The expanding cities form monocentric and polycentric agglomerations (conurbations). Monocentric agglomeration is a typical spatial form of a city with millions of inhabitants. It consists of the main centre as well as smaller ones springing around it, often absorbed over time by the expanding centre. Conurbation is another form of consolidating several cities into a single major urban and industrial area. It is formed out of cities located close to one another, which have economic and social ties, but none of them plays a leading role. Conurbations in Europe include the Ruhr in Germany, Upper Silesian Agglomeration in Poland, and Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Liverpool in Great Britain. Today cities around the world undergo changes as part of metropolisation processes, i.e. forming huge cities – metropolisesmetropolismetropolises – with more than one million inhabitants. This is connected with changes taking place in the global economy and globalisation processes. The population of metropolises increases through the natural movement of people and a positive net migration rate. The city’s spatial development consists in expanding suburban areas.

Global metropolises control globalisation processes and influence the global economy. A metropolitan city is:

• a centre of political power in national and international terms including organisations supporting the government;

• a major financial, banking and insurance services centre;

• a centre of world trade with a system of mutual ties connected with the movement of goods;

• a global transport hub with advanced systems for the flow of people, goods and information;

• a place where information is collected, processed and distributed across the world through publications and IT systems.

A metropolitan city, sometimes referred to as world or global city, is also a major tourist destination with a vast tourist infrastructure and home to cultural institutions and internationally acclaimed sports clubs. International events, such as conferences, exhibitions, arts festivals, and sports competitions, regularly take place in such cities. Metropolises of global importance include two European cities – Paris and London (in addition to New York in North America and Tokyo in Asia). Continental metropolises in Europe include Milan, Madrid, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, Brussels, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Moscow, and Zurich. They have a very strong impact on the continent’s economy. Regional metropolises include other cities with millions of inhabitants, which have crucial importance for the country or a specific part of Europe.

The map below presents European metropolises.

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Ilustracja przedstawia mapę Europy z zaznaczonymi metropoliami, Europe metropolises. Wymienione aglomeracje to: Paryż (Francja), Londyn (Wielka Brytania), Madryt (Hiszpania), Bruksela (Belgia), Amsterdam (Holandia), Zurych (Szwajcaria), Mediolan (Włochy), Monachium (Niemcy), Frankfurt nad Menem (Niemcy) i Moskwa (Rosja).

Paris – a global metropolis

The following international organisations, among others, are based in Paris: UNESCO, International Time Bureau, International Bureau of Weights and Measures, European Space Agency, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development), Nuclear Energy Agency. Paris is home to nearly 200 branches of global corporations. Every year a few hundred events take place in the city, including conferences, exhibitions, sports and cultural events.
The centre of Paris, stretching along the Seine between the Île Saint‑Louis and Eiffel Tower, is UNESCO’s world heritage site. It is here where the masterpieces of French architecture, culture and art are located:

• Notre Dame Cathedral – built at the turn of 12th and 13th centuries, it is one of the biggest temples in France, 130‑metres long and 69‑metres high, with an enormous rose window with a diameter of 9.6 m;

• The Louvre – the old palace of French kings dating back to the 12th century, then expanded; currently it hosts a huge museum with a magnificent collection of fine art (Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa) and sculpture (Venus de Milo);

• buildings around the Place de la Concorde;

• Les Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids) built as ordered by Louis XIV as a shelter for veterans. Today it is a museum, whereas in 1840 the ashes of Napoleon I, brought from Saint Helena Island, were placed in the crypt here;

• The Avenue des Champs‑Élysées (Elysian Fields) – the main road of Paris running from the Place de la Concorde to the Triumphal Arch of the Star which commemorates victories of Napoleon’s army;

• Eiffel Tower.

Keywords

Metropolis, urbanisation process, agglomeration, conurbation, monocentric agglomeration

Glossary