West Midlands conurbation
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The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes Birmingham, in the English West Midlands.
The conurbation comprises a number of towns and cities which collectively make a single urban area including Birmingham (the largest part), Wolverhampton, Solihull and the towns of the Black Country.
Although the exact boundaries of any conurbation are open to debate, dependent on what criteria are used to determine where an urban area ceases, the Office for National Statistics defines the West Midlands urban area as including the urban areas (in decreasing size) of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Oldbury and Smethwick, West Bromwich, Sutton Coldfield, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen, Brownhills, Knowle/Bentley Heath, Aldridge, Pelsall (Walsall), Shelfield (Walsall), Coleshill, Yew Tree (Sandwell), Rushall (Walsall), Hagley, Shelly Green (Solihull), Water Orton, and Cheswick Green (Solihull). As of the 2001 Census the population of this area was 2,284,093.
Occasionally the conurbation is seen as being coterminous with the West Midlands county; however, this includes Coventry, which is separate from the main urban area, and excludes the parts of the surrounding counties of Staffordshire (e.g. Little Aston), Warwickshire (specifically Coleshill and Water Orton) and Worcestershire (Hagley).
The conurbation is sometimes called the "West Midlands metropolitan area" or occasionally "Greater Birmingham". Some people (erroneously) refer to the entire urban area as "Birmingham".
The conurbation grew up during the industrial revolution, and is a major industrial area.
For administrative purposes, the vast majority of the conurbation falls within the six council areas of Birmingham, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, Sandwell, the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull (which also includes a rural area), the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and Wolverhampton. Between 1974 and 1986 these areas (along with Coventry) were additionally administered by the West Midlands County Council.
References
[Office for National Statistics: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas]
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