The growth of metropolitan areas is reshaping the urban landscape and governance around the world, producing new challenges but also opportunities for sustainable development and the management of territories. The 'metropolitan scale' is now internationally recognised as a key concept and perspective through which we should consider various socio-economic, spatial and political dimensions. However, our understanding of metropolitan dynamics is curtailed by a substantial lack of information at this scale. Global databases on metropolitan areas are very limited. To tackle the void, this paper employs simple definitions and heuristics to collect and present comparable data for 58 metropolises from five continents. There is a clear trade-off between the accuracy of the data and the comprehensiveness of datasets. We reflect on the experience to emphasise the obstacles that lie ahead of both scholars and policy-makers at all levels of government. A strong system of cities and metropolitan areas and the appropriate governance of these scales may provide the basis for a balanced socio-economic development -but first we will need to know more about these territories and communities.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.