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Which Are The Largest? Why Lists Of Major Urban Areas Vary So Greatly

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  • RICHARD L. FORSTALL
  • RICHARD P. GREENE
  • JAMES B. PICK

Abstract

Lists of the world's most populous urban areas are surprisingly inconsistent in standard reference sources. These even disagree about which area is the world's largest. We first review the differences found in lists of the 20 largest areas reported by several unofficial sources and by the United Nations. We then demonstrate that variations in the populations and rankings stem mostly from differences in concepts and geographic definitions, and identify six different types of definition in the UN's list. We also offer a set of consistently defined metropolitan areas based on stated guidelines. Case studies for Tokyo, Mexico City, Los Angeles and Beijing include maps to elucidate the administrative areas and statistical definitions in use in each of these urban areas, and illustrate how the varying definitions yield different population totals. We conclude by comparing our consistently defined metropolitan areas with the UN's list of largest urban agglomerations.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard L. Forstall & Richard P. Greene & James B. Pick, 2009. "Which Are The Largest? Why Lists Of Major Urban Areas Vary So Greatly," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 100(3), pages 277-297, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:tvecsg:v:100:y:2009:i:3:p:277-297
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9663.2009.00537.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zai Liang & Zhongdong Ma, 2004. "China's Floating Population: New Evidence from the 2000 Census," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 30(3), pages 467-488, September.
    2. Daniel Goodkind & Loraine A. West, 2002. "China's Floating Population: Definitions, Data and Recent Findings," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(12), pages 2237-2250, November.
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    Cited by:

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    7. Bowen Xiang & Rushuang Chen & Gaofeng Xu, 2022. "Uncovering Network Heterogeneity of China’s Three Major Urban Agglomerations from Hybrid Space Perspective-Based on TikTok Check-In Records," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-21, December.
    8. Takatoshi Tabuchi, 2012. "Are NEG Models Capable of Simulating Agglomeration in the Real World?," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-854, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
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    10. TABUCHI Takatoshi, 2012. "Does New Economic Geography Faithfully Describe Reality?," Discussion papers 12071, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).

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