Saturday, December 17, 2011

UK City Definition.

What is a city?

 

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines 'city' as 'a large town' or 'any town in the UK which has a cathedral'. This is the common meaning of the word throughout the world, and in most countries the size of a town is the deciding factor over whether it has city status. Large towns are automatically considered cities. This is perfectly logical and sensible, however this is not the case in the UK.
Despite having a parliamentary democracy, many decisions within the UK are not open to the public, but instead controlled by the monarchy or parts of the British government which answer to the monarchy, irrespective of which political party is in office. The decision to grant a town city status is one such decision. Hence in the UK city status is not granted automatically just because a town becomes very large, or because of a cathedral. A town must be granted city status by the British monarch.
According to the part of the British government known as the Department for Constitutional Affairs:
"City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of The Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers. It is for Her Majesty The Queen to decide when a competition for city status should be held. Competitions are usually held on occasions such as important Royal anniversaries."
Because of this peculiarity there is a discrepancy between the common meaning of the word 'city' and the 'official' meaning.

What criteria are used to grant city status within the UK?

Officially and contrary to popular belief, there are no specific criteria which automatically grant city status in the United Kingdom, although in the past the status was awarded to towns with a diocesan cathedral.
As far back as history has been recorded, city status has been conferred by a royal charter, but there are a number of cities whose city status predates historic records. In present times, city status is granted by the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II.
To most people, the word 'city' confers a large and densely populated urban area. However there are a number of UK cities which are no bigger than average towns or even villages. Most notably, St David's in Pembrokeshire, Wales is the smallest city in the United Kingdom with a population of just 2000. The city is so small that it lies entirely within a national park. Other small cities include Wells in Somerset with a population of 10000 and Ely in Cambridgeshire with a population of around 14000.
By contrast there are several large and densely populated urban areas in the United Kingdom which are not officially designated as cities, that is which have no city charter. These fall into two groups:
  • Conurbations

    Conurbations are large urban areas which can include cities, but which are not officially designated a city as a composite
    The most notable example of the former group is is London (Greater London) which contrary to popular belief is not officially classed as a city as it has no city charter. It is a conurbation which includes two cities, the City of London and the City of Westminster, as well as a large number of towns and villages. Nevertheless the overwhelming majority of people in the UK and internationally consider London to be a city.
    (Note that the City of London is not the same as London or Greater London. The City of London also known as The City or the Square Mile spans an area of just over one square mile (just under 3 square kilometers) and forms the financial centre of Greater London. Its resident population is just 8000 but due to the high density of offices, its daily working population is around 300,000 and makes a significant contribution to UK GDP).
  • Large Towns Without City Status

    There are many examples of large towns within the United Kingdom which are large enough to be considered 'cities', if 'cities' are defined as large and densely populated urban areas. Here are the largest of the non-city towns, with approximate population figures. As these towns are not officially considered cities, there is no section on ukcities.co.uk for them, hence links have been provided to local websites where you can find further information about each town. As can be appreciated from these websites, some of the towns have a notable metropolitan quality to them.

    Official Definition or Common Usage?

    Hence there is an inconsistency between the common usage or meaning of the word 'city' and the very different "official" definition of the word 'city' as an exclusive status which can only be granted by the British Monarch.
    For some people the distinction between 'city' and 'large town' is not important and in the course of their daily affairs either could be used interchangeably as synonyms.
    For other people, there is a principle at stake and they would sooner refute the official definition on the grounds that it has nothing in common with the meaning conveyed in common usage and even ought to be officially superceded by the meaning in common usage. There is also dispute over whether it is the Crown's place to define a word.

    Criticisms of the Official Definition of 'City'

    There are three main criticisms of the official definition of 'city':
  • a. city status granted since time immemorial There is no record of how, why or when some cities were granted their city status. Had some of the smaller cities not been granted city status in the distant past, it is very unlikely that they would receive city status today, in view of their very small size. Many people therefore consider their status unjustified by today's standards of common usage.
  • b. cities whose status was granted in the past due to having a diocesan cathedral Although cathedrals may have been considered of prime importance at the time of their construction and are still important to their local clergy and members, cathedrals do not play an important role in the lives of the majority of Britain's modern city dwellers.
    In the past the Church was at the very centre of each community and assumed a local governmental and administrative role. However today local councils, departments and endless layers of government administration have acquired this power. Today therefore in the interests of aspiring to democracatic values, cathedrals cannot be considered sufficient or appropriate grounds for granting city status.
    In modern multicultural Britain, it would not be deemed appropriate for city status to be granted due to the existence of a Christian cathedral, as this would be prejudice against the significant number of members of other faiths.
    Furthermore it is likely that most people would not consider religious grounds as an appropriate measure to determine city status. Level of economic activity, population size or other socio-economic indicators would be better suited.
  • c. cities as designated by the British Monarch According to the Department for Constitutional Affairs website: "City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of The Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers. It is for Her Majesty The Queen to decide when a competition for city status should be held. Competitions are usually held on occasions such as important Royal anniversaries."
    So, no matter which political party the British public elect, it is still up to the Queen, non-elected though she is, to determine which town has city status and which has not. Whether this is her decision or on the advice of her ministers, it is still a decision removed from the public. The following account of how the city of Rochester lost its city status much to its dismay in 2002, illustrates the undemocratic nature of city status as designated by a monarch.
    An administrative oversight meant that Rochester, which had held city status since 1211, ceased to officially be a city. The former Rochester-upon-Medway City Council neglected to appoint ceremonial Charter Trustees when Medway became a unitary authority in 1998. Unfamiliar with the archaic rules governing city status, they did not realize that Charter Trustees would be needed to protect the city's status. Consequently Rochester was removed from the Lord Chancellor's official list of UK cities and since then has not been a city. Furthermore, much to the alarm of the people of Rochester, the decision is irrevocable, because the former City Council no longer exists as an entity and so cannot appoint Charter Trustees now. The people of Rochester have since been writing to the queen pleading with her to restore its former city status, but it is far from certain whether this will occur anytime soon.
    From a linguistic perspective, there is also a question of whose place it is to determine the definition of words in the English language. Normally lexicographers, who study the lexicon of a language and author dictionaries, define words as for publication in their dictionaries, as closely as possible to the word's common usage. Why then should the so-called "official" definition of a word such as 'city' and which towns qualify for city status be based on the whims of a single person (or indeed a group of ministers) who are uneducated in the field of lexicography?


    Largest Cities in the UK

    This is a list of the largest cities in the United Kingdom. Note that the population statistic for London refers to Greater London which according to the "official definition" is not considered a city. 

  • CityPopulation
    London7.2 Million
    Birmingham992000
    Leeds720000
    Glasgow560000
    Sheffield512000
    Bradford467000
    Edinburgh450000
    Liverpool440000
    Manchester420000
    Bristol380000
    Wakefield316000
    Cardiff310000
    Coventry305000
    Nottingham285000
    Leicester280000
    Sunderland280000
    Belfast280000
    Newcastle upon Tyne259000
    Brighton248000
    Hull240000
    Plymouth240000
    Stoke-on-Trent239000
    Wolverhampton239000
    Derby230000
    Swansea225000
    Southampton220000
    Salford215000
    Aberdeen215000
    Westminster190000
    Portsmouth186000
    York182000
    Peterborough157000
    Dundee145000
    Lancaster135000
    Oxford135000
    Newport135000
    Preston130000
    St Albans130000
    Norwich125000
    Chester118000
    Cambridge115000
    Salisbury115000
    Exeter111000
    Gloucester110000
    Lisburn110000
    Chichester108000
    Winchester108000
    Londonderry105000
    Carlisle101000
    Worcester93000
    Bath90000
    Durham87000
    Lincoln86000
    Hereford55000
    Armagh55000
    Inverness51000
    Stirling45000
    Canterbury42500
    Lichfield30000
    Newry30000
    Ripon24500
    Bangor20000
    Truro19000
    Ely14000
    Wells10000
    St Davids2000


  • Dates of city incorpration - when cities received their city status

    This is a list of dates when the places now deemed to be cities in the United Kingdom received their charters of incorporation and assumed official city status. Note that some cities have no date listed as their city status predates any known historical record. Also note that the date given is when they officially became cities and is not the same as the date when the settlement began. Most of these cities existed as villages or towns for thousands of years before they were awarded city status.
    CityYear of Incorporation
    Preston2002
    Newport2002
    Stirling2002
    Lisburn2002
    Newry2002
    Brighton2000
    Wolverhampton2000
    Inverness2000
    St Davids1994
    Armagh1994
    Sunderland1992
    Derby1977
    Swansea1969
    Southampton1964
    Cambridge1951
    Plymouth1928
    Portsmouth1926
    Salford1926
    Stoke-on-Trent1925
    Cardiff1905
    Bradford1897
    Nottingham1897
    Sheffield1893
    Aberdeen1891
    Birmingham1889
    Dundee1889
    Wakefield1888
    Belfast1888
    Liverpool1880
    St Albans1877
    Truro1877
    Manchester1853
    Ripon1836
    Londonderry1613
    Lichfield1553
    Bristol1542
    Oxford1542
    Peterborough1541
    Westminster1540
    Bath1519
    Glasgow1492
    Coventry1345
    Edinburgh1329
    Hull1299
    Salisbury1220
    Leeds1207
    Wells1205
    Norwich1195
    Hereford1189
    Worcester1189
    Newcastle upon Tyne1080
    Ely673
    Carlisle
    Canterbury
    Chichester
    Gloucester
    Lincoln
    Chester
    Durham
    Exeter
    Lancaster
    Leicester
    Winchester
    York
    Bangor

Conurbations and Metropolises

A conurbation is an urban area which encompasses a number of cities or towns. There are numerous examples of conurbations throughout the United Kingdom due to urban sprawl. In particular, in the South East of Great Britain, the area around Greater London can be thought of as one gigantic conurbation and/ or a metropolis.
A metropolis can encompass one or more cities but also includes peripheral zones such as suburban districts, towns and villages which are not necessarily urban in nature, yet which are dependent on the city or cities, for example commuter belts. Often an urban area is a conurbation and a metropolis, as the larger it becomes, the more cities become encompased and amalgamate.
When new towns are built, usually they are strategically placed in proximity to existing cities and towns. As new towns evolve and their suburbs become increasingly developed, the peripheries of these new towns often merge with the peripheries of the existing towns and cities. Transport links further entrench the connections between the towns, which in turn makes the land near to the transport routes more desirable and prone to development, thereby intensifying the sprawl.