ABSTRACT
The metropolis, as a distinctive form of human settlement, consists of a large number of people living in and around one or more centres of high density. Within the metropolis, these centres are much more thickly settled and intensively used for urban activities than are any other sub-areas. Moving out from the centre one finds a graduated decline in the density of settlement and the intensity of use, until one leaves the metropolis altogether, either for open countryside or the outskirts of another urban centre or, perhaps, another metropolis.
