The larger urban zone (LUZ), or functional urban area (FUA), is a measure of the population and expanse of

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

and surrounding areas which may or may not be exclusively urban. It consists of a city and its commuting zone outside it. The definition was introduced in 2004 by Eurostat, the statistical agency of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

(EU), in agreement with the national statistics offices in the member states. Eurostat data is provided only for zones in the EU countries, candidate countries and

EFTA The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European U ...

countries. Several cities were excluded by definition from the 2004 list of LUZs on technical, definitional grounds, such as the coincidence of the metropolitan area with the urban zone. The LUZ represents an attempt at a harmonised definition of the metropolitan area. Eurostat's objective was to have an area from which a significant share of the residents commute into the city, a concept known as the "functional urban region." To ensure a good data availability, Eurostat adjusts the LUZ boundaries to administrative boundaries that approximate the functional urban region. In 2006 LUZ definitions were changed significantly, improving the comparability of LUZ definitions across different countries, and allowing for almost all cities to be included.

List of larger urban zones

This is a list of larger urban zones. The Urban Audit also includes cities from

countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and EU candidate countries. The

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

(OECD) uses a similar definition of Functional Urban Area to represent population sizes of cities in OECD countries. This data is also included. The figures in the Eurostat database are an attempt at a compromise between harmonised data for all of the European Union, and with availability of statistical data, making comparisons more accurate.

List of larger urban zones by population as of 2017

This is a list of larger urban zones by population as of 2017. The 2004 Urban Audit also includes cities from

countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and EU candidate countries, although the only candidate country for which there is available data is Turkey. Some cities, including Marseille, Lille, Nice, Cordoba, Badajoz, Toulon and Montpellier were excluded from the 2004 list on technical, definitional grounds, such as the coincidence of the metropolitan area with the urban zone.

Urban Audit

Eurostat's Urban Audit is about much more than demographics. In order for it to be useful as a policy tool to the European Commission and other authorities it contains data for over 250 indicators across the following domains: * Demography * Social aspects * Economic aspects * Civic involvement * Training and education * Environment * Travel and transport * Information society * Culture and recreation

Notes

References

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