In article , John Rowland
wrote:
"Stephen Osborn" wrote in message
...

De facto a continuous built up area is a single
_something_, the only question is what. The
phrase Metropolitan Area is used because these
somethings are relatively new and contain a
number of things already called cities.

Metropolis means *capital* city...

Does it?

In an act of great smallness Mrs Thatcher abolished the GLC, just to unseat
Ken Livingstone, and all the other "metropolitan" counties of England too,
to make it seem less obvious. The London metropolitan county was restored but
not the others. Tyne and Wear, Mersey, etc ... these are just strings of
villages in the eyes of London, they can't be given the status of
"metropolitan" and so the two meanings of "metropolitan" were used
to the advantage of London and the disadvantage of the rest of the
country. Not for the first time!


Michael Bell

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