Urban agglomeration
Also called: UA · Topic: Human Settlements and Urbanisation in India · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Human Settlements"
Meaning
An urban agglomeration (UA) is one continuous urban spread. It forms in one of two ways. It can be a town together with its outgrowths, which are built-up areas next to it, such as a railway colony or a university campus. Or it can be two or more towns that touch each other. The idea matters because a city often spills beyond its legal limits, and the UA counts the whole real city. Census 2011 had 475 UAs. NCERT's table counts towns and UAs together, at 6,171 in 2011.
Example
The Greater Mumbai UA in Maharashtra takes in Mumbai and the built-up towns next to it. With about 18.4 million people in 2011, it was India's largest UA.
Don't confuse with
- Conurbation: Patrick Geddes's term (1915) for towns that have grown into each other, such as the Hugli belt. A UA is the Census's official counting unit.