Urban area An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it . Urban areas may be cities , town s or conurbation s , but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as village s and hamlets . Urban areas are created and further developed by the process of urbanization . Measuring the extent of an urban area helps in analyzing population density and urban sprawl , and in determining urban and rural populations . Unlike an urban area , a metropolitan area includes not only the urban area , but also satellite cities plus intervening rural land that is socio - economically connected to the urban core city , typically by employment ties through commuting , with the urban core city being the primary labor market . In the US , Metropolitan areas tend to be defined using counties or county sized political units as building blocks of much larger , albeit more condensed population units . Counties tend to be stable political boundaries ; economists prefer to work with economic and social statistics based on metropolitan areas . Urbanized areas are a more relevant statistic for determining per capita land usage and densities . Definitions . Definitions vary somewhat between nations . Europe an countries define urbanized areas on the basis of urban - type land use , not allowing any gaps of typically more than 200 m , and use satellite imagery instead of census blocks to determine the boundaries of the urban area . In less developed countries , in addition to land use and density requirements , a requirement that a large majority of the population , typically 75 % , is not engaged in agriculture and / or fishing is sometimes used . Australia . In Australia , urban areas are referred to as " urban centres " and are defined as population clusters of 1000 or more people , with a density of at least 200 / km . Canada . According to Statistics Canada , an urban area in Canada is an area with a population of at least 1 , 000 people where the density is no fewer than 400 persons per square km . If two or more urban areas are within of each other by road , they are merged into a single urban area , provided they do not cross census metropolitan area or census agglomeration boundaries . In the Canada 2011 Census , Statistics Canada redesignated urban areas with the new term " population centre " ; the new term was chosen in order to better reflect the fact that urban vs . rural is not a strict division , but rather a continuum within which several distinct settlement patterns may exist . For example , a community may fit a strictly statistical definition of an urban area , but may not be commonly thought of as " urban " because it has a smaller population , or functions socially and economically as a suburb of another urban area rather than as a self - contained urban entity , or is geographically remote from other urban communities . Accordingly , the new definition set out three distinct types of population centres : small ( population 1 , 000 to 29 , 999 ) , medium ( population 30 , 000 to 99 , 999 ) and large ( population 100 , 000 or greater ) . Despite the change in terminology , however , the demographic definition of a population centre remains unchanged from that of an urban area : a population of at least 1 , 000 people where the density is no fewer than 400 persons per square km . China . In China , an urban area is an urban district , city and town with a population density higher than 1 , 500 / km . As for urban districts with a population density lower than that number , only the population that lives in streets , town sites , and adjacent villages is counted as urban population . Finland . Similar to other Nordic countries , an urban area ( " taajama " ) in Finland must have a building at least every and at least 200 people . To be considered a city , an urban area must have at least 15 , 000 people . France . In France , an urban area is a zone ( " aire urbaine " ) encompassing an area of built - up growth ( called an " urban unit " ( " unité urbaine " ) - close in definition to the North American urban area ) and its commuter belt ( " couronne périurbaine " ) . Although the official INSEE translation of " aire urbaine " is " urban area " , most North Americans would find the same as being similar in definition to their metropolitan area . India . For the Census of India 2011 , the definition of urban area is as follows : Source : A PDF file named ' 1 . Data Highlight ' accessed on 11 April 2012 from Census of India , 2011 Japan . In Japan urbanized areas are defined as contiguous areas of densely inhabited districts ( DIDs ) using census enumeration districts as units with a density requirement of . New Zealand . Statistics New Zealand defines New Zealand urban areas for statistical purposes as a settlement with a population of a thousand people or more . Norway . Statistics Norway defines urban areas ( " tettsteder " ) similarly to the other Nordic countries . Unlike in Denmark and Sweden , the distance between each building has to be of less than 50 m , although exceptions are made due to parks , industrial areas , rivers , and similar . Groups of houses less than 400 m from the main body of an urban area are included in the urban area . Philippines . With an estimated population of 16 . 3 M . Metro Manila is the most populous metropolitan area in the Philippines and the 11th in the world . However , the greater urban area is the 5th largest in the world with a population of 20 , 654 , 307 people ( 2010 estimate ) . Including Metro Manila , the Philippines has twelve metropolitan areas as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority ( NEDA ) . Metro Angeles , Metro Bacolod , Metro Baguio , Metro Batangas , Metro Cagayan de Oro , Metro Cebu , Metro Dagupan , Metro Davao , Metro Iloilo - Guimaras , Metro Naga , Metro Olongapo . Poland . In Poland , official " urban " population figures simply refer to those localities which have the status of towns ( " miasta " ) . The " rural " population is that of all areas outside the boundaries of these towns . This distinction may give a misleading impression in some cases , since some localities with only village status may have acquired larger and denser populations than many smaller towns . Russia . In Russia , only the population residing in cities / towns and urban - type settlement s is considered to be " urban " . The city / town / urban - settlement designation means usually that the majority of the population is employed in areas other than agriculture , but the exact definitions vary from one federal subject to another . Sweden . Urban areas in Sweden ( " tätorter " ) are statistically defined localities , totally independent of the administrative subdivision of the country . There are 1956 such localities in Sweden , with a population ranging from 200 to 1 , 372 , 000 inhabitants . United Kingdom . The United Kingdom ' s Office for National Statistics has produced census results from urban areas since 1951 , since 1981 based upon the extent of irreversible urban development indicated on Ordnance Survey maps . The definition is an extent of at least 20 ha and at least 1 , 500 census residents . Separate areas are linked if less than 200 m ( 220 yd ) apart . Included are transportation features . The UK has five Urban Areas with a population over a million and a further sixty nine with a population over one hundred thousand . United States . In the United States , there are two categories of urban area . The term " urbanized area " denotes an urban area of 50 , 000 or more people . Urban areas under 50 , 000 people are called " urban clusters " . Urbanized areas were first delineated in the United States in the 1950 census , while urban clusters were added in the 2000 census . There are 1 , 371 urban areas and urban clusters with more than 10 , 000 people . The U . S . Census Bureau defines an urban area as : " Core census block groups or blocks that have a population density of at least 1 , 000 people per square mile ( 386 per square kilometer ) and surrounding census blocks that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile ( 193 per square kilometer ) . " The concept of Urbanized Areas as defined by the U . S . Census Bureau is often used as a more accurate gauge of the size of a city , since in different cities and states the lines between city borders and the urbanized area of that city are often not the same . For example , the city of Greenville , South Carolina has a city population under 60 , 000 and an urbanized area population of over 300 , 000 , while Greensboro , North Carolina has a city population over 200 , 000 and an urbanized area population of around 270 , 000 — meaning that Greenville is actually " larger " for some intents and purposes , but not for others , such as taxation , local elections , etc . The largest urban area in the United States is that of New York City , with its city proper population exceeding 8 million and its metropolitan statistical area population over 19 million and combined statistical area population over 22 million . The next five largest urban areas in the U . S . are those of Los Angeles , Chicago , Washington D . C . and Philadelphia and Boston . About 82 percent of the population of the United States lives within the boundaries of urbanized area as of December , 2010 . Combined , these areas occupy about 2 percent of the United States . The majority of urbanized area residents are suburbanites ; core central city residents make up about 30 percent of the urbanized area population ( about 60 out of 210 million ) . In the U . S . Department of Agriculture ' s natural resources inventory , urban areas are officially known as developed areas or urban and built - up areas . Such areas include cities , ethnic villages , other built - up areas of more than 10 ac ( 4 ha ) , industrial sites , railroad yards , cemeteries , airports , golf courses , shooting ranges , institutional and public administration sites , and similar areas . The 1997 national resources inventory placed over 98 , 000 , 000 ac ( 40 , 000 , 000 ha ) in this category , an increase of 25 , 000 , 000 ac ( 10 , 000 , 000 ha ) since 1982 . See also . Lists :