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.  City Population London 7.2 Million Birmingham 992000 Leeds 720000 Glasgow 560000 Sheffield 512000 Bradford 467000 Edinburgh 450000 Liverpool 440000 Manchester 420000 Bristol 380000 Wakefield 316000 Cardiff 310000 Coventry 305000 Nottingham 285000 Leicester 280000 Sunderland 280000 Belfast 280000 Newcastle upon Tyne 259000 Brighton 248000 Hull 240000 Plymouth 240000 Stoke-on-Trent 239000 Wolverhampton 239000 Derby 230000 Swansea 225000 Southampton 220000 Salford 215000 Aberdeen 215000 Westminster 190000 Portsmouth 186000 York 182000 Peterborough 157000 Dundee 145000 Lancaster 135000 Oxford 135000 Newport 135000 Preston 130000 St Albans 130000 Norwich 125000 Chester 118000 Cambridge 115000 Salisbury 115000 Exeter 111000 Gloucester 110000 Lisburn 110000 Chichester 108000 Winchester 108000 Londonderry 105000 Carlisle 101000 Worcester 93000 Bath 90000 Durham 87000 Lincoln 86000 Hereford 55000 Armagh 55000 Inverness 51000 Stirling 45000 Canterbury 42500 Lichfield 30000 Newry 30000 Ripon 24500 Bangor 20000 Truro 19000 Ely 14000 Wells 10000 St Davids 2000 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. City Year of Incorporation Preston 2002 Newport 2002 Stirling 2002 Lisburn 2002 Newry 2002 Brighton 2000 Wolverhampton 2000 Inverness 2000 St Davids 1994 Armagh 1994 Sunderland 1992 Derby 1977 Swansea 1969 Southampton 1964 Cambridge 1951 Plymouth 1928 Portsmouth 1926 Salford 1926 Stoke-on-Trent 1925 Cardiff 1905 Bradford 1897 Nottingham 1897 Sheffield 1893 Aberdeen 1891 Birmingham 1889 Dundee 1889 Wakefield 1888 Belfast 1888 Liverpool 1880 St Albans 1877 Truro 1877 Manchester 1853 Ripon 1836 Londonderry 1613 Lichfield 1553 Bristol 1542 Oxford 1542 Peterborough 1541 Westminster 1540 Bath 1519 Glasgow 1492 Coventry 1345 Edinburgh 1329 Hull 1299 Salisbury 1220 Leeds 1207 Wells 1205 Norwich 1195 Hereford 1189 Worcester 1189 Newcastle upon Tyne 1080 Ely 673 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.