flâneur

How do we define cities, towns, and rural areas?

blogs.worldbank.org · 2,276 words · saved by 1 readers

Because national definitions of urban and rural areas differ significantly from one country to another, it is difficult to compare these areas across national borders. If we can’t compare the performance of urban or rural areas across national borders, then we can’t learn from policies used in other countries. It also means we cannot meaningfully compare the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs) indicators for urban and rural areas across countries. To facilitate international comparisons, a coalition of six international organizations developed a new global definition of cities, towns and semi-dense areas, and rural areas.  On March 5th, the UN Statistical Commission endorsed the Degree of Urbanization as a recommended method for international comparisons. Many countries use a minimum population size to define an urban area, but that size can be 200 (as in Denmark), 2,000 (Argentina), 5,000 (India) or 50,000 (Japan) or even 100,000 (China). Some countries don’t use

How do we define cities, towns, and rural areas? Published on Sustainable Cities How do we define cities, towns, and rural areas? Lewis Dijkstra Ellen Hamilton Somik Lall Sameh Wahba March 10, 2020 This page in: English Français Español English English Français Español Aerial view showing urbanization on Luzon island, Philippines. (Photo: CherylRamalho / Shutterstock) Because national definitions of urban and rural areas differ significantly from one country to another, it is difficult to compare these areas across national borders. If we can’t compare the performance of urban or rural areas a

saved by

related reading