Metropolis

Metropolises ( from Ancient Greek μητρόπολις Metrópolis, literally " mother city " ) are large cities that have central functions and a major influence in their respective regions.

Metropolises in antiquity

Metrópolis ( "Mother City " ) called the ancient Greeks, the city was founded by the colony from an associated. This had a major political impact on the colonies. Due to the Stadtstaatentum these cities were also the political, religious, economic, cultural and social centers of their respective regions.

From the Roman period important late antique province capitals were called metropolis. As only one of its cities, the Metropolis Trier was until well into the early Middle Ages develop their late antique flower seamlessly.

The term metropolis ( " provincial " ) was taken in early Christianity of the Church and called the merger of several dioceses headed by a top bishop. Therefore, the current official title Metropolitan originates in the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches.

Cities today

The term capital is not clearly defined today. In the space sciences so central places are called, which emit their functions, called Metropol features a large geographic or product supply, collection, jurisdiction or control area and therefore occupy a high rank in the urban hierarchy.

Often the term is used as a synonym for cosmopolitan city. In contrast to a world city, which owns international absolute meaning, a metropolis can, however, only relative importance within a specific region or a specific company area have, for example, as art capital or financial capital. Cities with predominantly economic importance are called global cities.

Megacities are usually both cities. In metropolitan areas, the population can also be lower, in the foreground the importance for the region. Are Metropol -features in a dense collection of several central places in a whole region, one speaks of a metropolitan area. Outside of metropolitan regions can cities in their region similar functions as a metropolis take over (see Regio poles ).

The increasing concentration of business, administration and culture is referred to as metropolisation.

In the dependency theory is meant by the metropolis contrast to the periphery or to the Third World.

Research and Science

At the HafenCity University Hamburg in the winter semester of 2009/2010 Course Metropolitan Culture was set up to deal with the cultural aspects of cities.