Unité urbaine

In France an unité urbaine (literally: "urban unit") is a statistical area defined by INSEE, the French national statistics office, for the measurement of contiguously built-up areas. According to the INSEE definition ref|ui_insee, an "unité urbaine" is a commune alone or a grouping of communes which: a) form a single unbroken spread of urban development, with no distance between habitations greater than 200 metres, and b) have altogether a population greater than 2,000 inhabitants. Communes not belonging to an "unité urbaine" are considered rural.

The French "unité urbaine" is a statistical area in accordance with United Nations recommendations for the measurement of contiguously built-up areas. Other comparable units in other countries are the United States "Urbanized Area" and the "urban area" definition shared by the United Kingdom and Canada.

ee also

* urban area
* aire urbaine a related concept

References

# INSEE. Nomeclatures, Définitions, Méthodes. [http://www.insee.fr/fr/nom_def_met/definitions/html/unite-urbaine.htm "Unité Urbaine: définition."] . Retrieved December 9, 2005.