Urban area

"Built up area" redirects here. For the Highway Code, see Built-up area (Highway Code).
"Urban agglomeration" redirects here. For city clusters, see Megalopolis.
Greater Tokyo in Japan, the world's most populated urban area, with about 40 million inhabitants as of 2022
Jakarta, the largest metropolitan city in Indonesia, can be seen the view from the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex
Greater São Paulo at night, as seen from the International Space Station
Greater Melbourne at night, as seen from the International Space Station
Warsaw metropolitan area

An urban area[a] is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. This is the core of a metropolitan statistical area in the United States, if it contains a population of more than 50,000.[1]

Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbanism, the term "urban area" contrasts to rural areas such as villages and hamlets; in urban sociology or urban anthropology it contrasts with natural environment.[citation needed]

The development of earlier predecessors of modern urban areas during the urban revolution of the 4th millennium BCE[2] led to the formation of human civilization and ultimately to modern urban planning, which along with other human activities such as exploitation of natural resources has led to a human impact on the environment.


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  1. ^ "Federal Register/Vol. 75, No. 123/Monday, June 28, 2010/Notices" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  2. ^ Morris, A.E.J. (2 December 2013) [1972]. "The Early Cities". History of Urban Form Before the Industrial Revolution (3 ed.). London: Routledge. p. 1. ISBN 9781317885146. [...] the Bronze Age, starting between 3500 and 3000 BC [...]. During this [...] period the first urban civilizations were firmly established.