- Aire urbaine
The aire urbaine is an
INSEE (the national statistics office of France) statistical region comprising a "couronne périurbaine " commuter belt around a contiguous "pôle urbain " (urban core). As it is specifically defined by statistical criteria, it is similar--though not identical--to the more general term of "urban area " used in English.The "aire urbaine" is a demographic unit the result of a quite literal methodology: drawn upon France's nation-wide map of interlocking "commune" municipalities, the "aire urbaine" has for its centre a "
pôle urbain " (similar to a "unité urbaine " ("urban unit ") - see note below) core of communes containing an interconnecting and unbroken urban growth; this centre forms a "pole of attraction" for a "couronne périurbaine " ("periurban ring" orcommuter belt ) communes having at least 40% of their resident populations commuting with the "pôle urbain ", or with other communes having the same relation to the "pôle urbain ". The result is a precise demographic map of a) a centre of urban growth and b) its socio-economic reach into the surrounding area.Note: There is a slight difference between a "
unité urbaine " and a "pôle urbain " : the basic "unité urbaine " is a contiguous urban growth containing at least 5,000 jobs, and the "pôle urbain" is the same as a centre of demographic growth; that is to say it is anurban area that it is not contained within the "couronne périurbaine " (commuter belt ) of any other "pôle urbain ".The following is a list of the fifteen largest "aires urbaines" of France based on population at the 1999 census:
Aire urbaine Population
(March 1999)Yearly percent change
(1990-1999)01- Paris 11,174,743 +0.32% 02- Lyon 1,648,216 +0.68% 03- Marseille 1,516,340 +0.46% 04- Lille
(figures do not include the part of Lille's
metropolitan area which lies on Belgian territory)1,143,125 +0.32% 05- Toulouse 964,797 +1.54% 06- Nice 933,080 +0.51% 07- Bordeaux 925,253 +0.67% 08- Nantes 711,120 +1.10% 09- Strasbourg
(figures do not include the part of Strasbourg's
metropolitan area which lies on German territory, seeEurodistrict )612,104 +0.81% 10- Toulon 564,823 +0.69% 11- Douai -Lens552,682 – 0.17% 12- Rennes 521,188 +1.32% 13- Rouen 518,316 +0.29% 14- Grenoble 514,559 +0.65% 15- Montpellier 459,916 +1.89% ee also
*
List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants (1999 census)
*Social situation in the French suburbs
*Demographics of France
* List of the largest urban areas of the European Union by population
*Unité urbaine a related conceptExternal links
*fr icon [http://www.incipitblog.com/index.php/2006/05/20/eric-maurin-le-ghetto-francais-enquete-sur-le-separatisme-social-2004/ Audio book (mp3)] of the introduction and first chapter of Éric Maurin's book : Le ghetto français, enquête sur le séparatisme social
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