Paris urban area

The Paris metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine de Paris, pronounced [ɛʁ yʁbɛn də paʁi]) is a statistical area that describes the reach of commuter movement to and from Paris and its surrounding suburbs.

Created and used from 1996 by France's national INSEE statistical bureau to match international demographic standards, the aire urbaine (literally: 'urban area') is a statistical unit that describes the suburban development around centres of urban growth: it is composed of a couronne périurbaine (literally: 'peri-urban crown'; INSEE translation: 'rim') ) surrounding a more densely built and densely populated pôle urbain (or "urban cluster"), which is a single or group of densely-built unité urbaine (literal and INSEE translation: "urban unit") communes.

From 2011, the INSEE classified its largest aires urbaines into aires métropolitaines (literally: metropolitan areas) and grandes aires urbaines ('large urban areas'). From then, Paris became France's largest metropolitan area.

In France, the 'Paris metropolitan area' term's use is limited to demographic and statistical studies, and, to date, it is unused in economical statistics (the traditional commune, département and région administrative areas are still referenced for this), but in recent years the media has begun using it to describe the electoral tendencies of France's largest cities. In 2010 the government passed a law that invited France's largest city 'metropoles' to work together as a intercommunitary entities (more or less described by the INSEE concept), but the lack of response by the following year moved the government to make the cooperation for many of France's largest cities obligatory, and Paris became a case study all on its own.

This latter initiative created the "Métropole du Grand Paris" (official translation: 'Grand Paris metropolitan authority'), a Paris-centred intercommunal cooperation effort enacted from January 1, 2016. The territory it covers is much smaller than the INSEE 'Paris metropolitan area' statistical area: it includes Paris, its neigbouring three départements (or 'petite couronne'), and a few bordering communes in the departments beyond.

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