- Twin cities (geographical proximity)
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are born in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time. The term "Twin Cities" in the
United States refers specifically to the cities Minneapolis andSaint Paul, Minnesota .Cities twinned geographically do not necessarily match demographically, economically, or politically.
In the normal course of things, cities which grow into each other's space in this way lose their individual identity and whatever border or barrier still separates them becomes irrelevant until they fuse into one new city. One famous example of this is
Budapest inHungary , which began as two settlements (Buda and Pest) facing each other across theDanube at a strategic fording place along a trade route; another isLondon, England , which resulted from the merger of two cities, theCity of London and theCity of Westminster . But there are twin cities which have been able to resist this final union and have maintained individual identity against the tides of history, economics and demographics.Twin cities often share an
airport , into whose airport code are integrated the initials of both cities; DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) and MSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul) are well-known examples.In some cases, such as Albury/Wodonga in Australia, the two cities are permanently divided by a state boarder, often one that strictly adheres to a geographical landmark, such as the
Murray River that dividesNew South Wales from Victoria, and thus, Albury from Wodonga.Examples
Asia
* The capital of the medieval
Khazar Empire,Atil -Khazaran , which was situated on the western and eastern banks of theVolga River , respectively.
*Islamabad andRawalpindi ,Pakistan
* Hyderabad andSecunderabad ,India
*Bhubaneswar andCuttack ,India
*Hubli andDharwad ,India
*Kolkata andHowrah , India
*Ramallah andal-Bireh , in theWest Bank
*Taipei andKeelung ,Taiwan
* Taoyuan and Jhongli, Taiwan
*Seoul andIncheon ,South Korea
*Tirunelveli andPalayamkottai ,India
*Tel Aviv andJaffa ,Israel Europe
*
Manchester andSalford ,UK
*Brighton and Hove ,UK , though there are several other smaller towns likeWorthing which make up the metropolitan area.
*Ludwigshafen andMannheim ,Germany
*Ulm andNeu-Ulm , Germany
*Mainz andWiesbaden , Germany
*Porsgrunn andSkien ,Norway
*Sandnes andStavanger ,Norway
*Fredrikstad andSarpsborg ,Norway
*Gorizia ,Italy andNova Gorica ,Slovenia
*Gornja Radgona , Slovenia andBad Radkersburg ,Austria
*Buda and Pest,Hungary
*Tornio ,Finland andHaparanda ,Sweden
*Porto andVila Nova de Gaia ,Portugal North America
* Minneapolis and Saint Paul, popularly known as the "Twin Cities" in North America
*Duluth, Minnesota andSuperior, Wisconsin , often referred to as the "Twin Ports "
*Ottawa, Ontario andGatineau, Quebec ; formerly includedHull, Quebec until Hull (and also other municipalities) merged with Gatineau in 2002.
* Halifax, Nova Scotia andDartmouth, Nova Scotia . Even though both cities were amalgamated into theHalifax Regional Municipality they are separated byHalifax Harbour and still retain separate identities.
* Kitchener and Waterloo,Ontario (occasionally mentioned with nearby Cambridge), popularly abbreviated as "Kitchener-Waterloo " or "K-W" [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004335]
*Corte Madera, California andLarkspur, California . [http://www.ci.larkspur.ca.us/208.html]
*Windsor, Ontario andDetroit, Michigan
*Kansas City, Kansas andKansas City, Missouri
*Port Huron, Michigan andSarnia, Ontario
*Niagara Falls, Ontario andNiagara Falls, New York
* Leominster andFitchburg, Massachusetts
*Springfield, Massachusetts andHartford, Connecticut
*Dallas, Texas andFort Worth, Texas
* Des Moines and West Des Moines,Iowa
*Champaign, Illinois andUrbana, Illinois
*South Bend, Indiana andMishawaka, Indiana
* Lewiston and Auburn,Maine , sometimes locally referred to as "LA" or the Twin Cities.
*Saco, Maine andBiddeford, Maine
* Bossier City andShreveport, Louisiana . [http://shreveport-bossier.org/about/default.aspx]
*Monroe, Louisiana andWest Monroe, Louisiana . [http://www.monroe-westmonroe.org/web/index.php?page=history]
*Brownsville, Texas andMatamoros, Tamaulipas
*Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua , andEl Paso, Texas , exemplify a chain of twin cities on theMexico-US border , particularly within theRio Grande valley.
*Laredo, Texas andNuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas
*Rosenberg, Texas andRichmond, Texas
*Bluefield, Virginia andBluefield, West Virginia
*Bristol, Virginia andBristol, Tennessee
*Nogales, Arizona andNogales, Sonora
*Calexico, California andMexicali, Baja California
* Sherman and Denison,Texas
*Texarkana, Texas andTexarkana, Arkansas
*Memphis, Tennessee andWest Memphis, Arkansas
*Sarasota, Florida andBradenton, Florida
*San Diego, California andTijuana, Baja California
*Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan andSault Ste. Marie, Ontario
*Kalamazoo, Michigan andBattle Creek, Michigan
*Gulfport, Mississippi andBiloxi, Mississippi
* Little Rock and North Little Rock,Arkansas
*Kenosha, Wisconsin andRacine, Wisconsin
*Portland, Oregon andVancouver, Washington
*Seattle, Washington andTacoma, Washington
*Bryan, Texas andCollege Station, Texas
*Reno, Nevada andSparks, Nevada
*Waterloo, Iowa andCedar Falls, Iowa
*Omaha, Nebraska andCouncil Bluffs, Iowa
*Lansing, Michigan andEast Lansing, Michigan
*Sacramento, California andWest Sacramento, California
*Eugene, Oregon andSpringfield, Oregon
*Philadelphia, Pennsylvania andCamden, New Jersey
*Bismarck, North Dakota andMandan, North Dakota , Also known as Sister Cities to local residents.
*Pierre, South Dakota andFort Pierre, South Dakota
*Sioux City, Iowa andSouth Sioux City, Nebraska
*Fort Smith, Arkansas andVan Buren, Arkansas
*Miami, Florida andFort Lauderdale, Florida
*Palm Beach, Florida andWest Palm Beach, Florida
*Lakeland, Florida andWinter Haven, Florida
*Columbus, Georgia andPhenix City, Alabama
*Auburn, Alabama andOpelika, Alabama
*Anniston, Alabama andOxford, Alabama
*Benton Harbor, Michigan andSt. Joseph, Michigan
*Peoria, Illinois andEast Peoria, Illinois
*Bloomington, Illinois andNormal, Illinois
*Lancaster, California andPalmdale, California
*Fargo, North Dakota andMoorhead, Minnesota
*Midland, Texas andOdessa, Texas
*Nevada City, California andGrass Valley, California
*San Francisco, California andOakland, California
*Fort Myers, Florida andCape Coral, Florida
*Denver, Colorado andAurora, Colorado
*Silverthorne, Colorado andDillon, Colorado
*Edwards, Colorado andAvon, Colorado
*Albuquerque, New Mexico andRio Rancho, New Mexico
*Delmar, Delaware andDelmar, Maryland
*McAllen, Texas andReynosa, Tamaulipas
*Breckenridge, Minnesota andWahpeton, North Dakota
*Grand Forks, North Dakota andEast Grand Forks, Minnesota
*Brainerd, Minnesota andBaxter, Minnesota
*Yuba City, California andMarysville, California
*Eureka, California andArcata, California
*Colorado City, Arizona andHildale, Utah
* New York, New York andNewark, New Jersey
*San Antonio, Texas andAustin, Texas
*Baltimore, Maryland andWashington, D.C.
*Gregory, Texas andPortland, Texas popularly known as Gregory-Portland or "GP"
*Boston, Massachusetts andCambridge, Massachusetts
*Lewiston, Idaho andClarkston, Washington named after the explorers who first visited the region.outh America
*
Leticia ,Colombia andTabatinga ,Brazil .
*Rivera ,Uruguay andSantana do Livramento ,Brazil .
*Vitória andVila Velha ,Brazil .
*Aparecida andGuaratinguetá ,Brazil .
*Florianópolis andSão José ,Brazil .
*Juazeiro andPetrolina ,Brazil .
*Recife andOlinda ,Brazil .
*Ilhéus andItabuna ,Brazil .
*Foz do Iguaçu ,Brazil ,Puerto Iguazu ,Argentina , andCiudad del Este ,Paraguay .
*Valparaiso andViña del Mar ,Chile
*La Serena andCoquimbo ,Chile
* Concepción andTalcahuano ,Chile Australia
* Albury and Wodonga
* Coolangatta and Tweed HeadsAfrica
*
Kinshasa , capital of Congo DR andBrazzaville , capital ofRepublic of the Congo .Fictional twin cities
*
Gotham City (the home ofBatman ) and Metropolis (the home ofSuperman ) have sometimes been presented as twin cities, mainly in 1970s and 1980s stories byDC Comics . The two cities were shown as located on opposite sides of a largebay .
*Central City andKeystone City , from the current "Flash"comic s, are shown as twin cities; earlier comics presented each city as located in the same space but on different parallel Earths.
*Ankh-Morpork , fromTerry Pratchett 's "Discworld " novels, is referred to as "the twin cities of proud Ankh and pestilent Morpork", but has been a single political entity in all the books thus far.Tri-Cities
United States
* The
Tri-Cities, Washington , consisting of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick,Washington , along the banks of theColumbia River
* TheTri-Cities, Tennessee ,Tennessee andVirginia , consisting of the twin cities ofBristol, Tennessee /Bristol, Virginia , Kingsport, and Johnson City
* The Research Triangle inNorth Carolina , consisting of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.
* The Golden Triangle inTexas , consisting of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange.
* ThePiedmont Triad in North Carolina, consisting of Greensboro, Winston-Salem (itself a merged city), and High Point.
* TheTri-Cities (Michigan) in Michigan, consisting of Bay City, Saginaw, and Midland in theSaginaw Valley
* InIllinois andIowa : three of the fourQuad Cities —Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport in Iowa—were formerly known as the Tri-Cities, before the inclusion ofEast Moline, Illinois and later,Bettendorf, Iowa
*TheCapital District inNew York , consisting of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy
* InColorado : the towns of Firestone, Frederick, and Dacono (known as the "tri-towns")
* InNebraska : Grand Island, Kearney, and Hastings in the south-central part of the state
*Tri-Cities, Virginia , consisting of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell in theGreater Richmond Region
* InNew Hampshire : Dover, Somersworth, and Rochester in theSeacoast Region
*InFlorida : theTampa Bay Area , consisting of Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg
*In North andSouth Carolina : the Metrolina region, consisting of Charlotte, Gastonia and Rock Hill.
*InOklahoma : Tuttle, Newcastle, and Blanchard (sometimes with the town of Bridge Creek)
*InCalifornia : Anaheim, Orange, and Santa Ana, the three oldest cities in Orange County
*In California: Yorba Linda, Placentia, and Brea, three cities in northeast Orange County that all meet at Tri-Cities Park.
*In California:Chino Hills ,Diamond Bar , and Brea, representing San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Orange counties, respectively
*In California: Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista in northwest San Diego County
* InCalifornia : Fremont, Newark, and Union City, the three southernmost cities in Alameda County
* In California: Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria, sometimes referred collectively as the South Coast, being on the a south-facing coast in Santa Barbara County. The term 'tri-cities' is only rarely used as a reference to them, and is considered somewhat old.
* TheTriple Cities in New York: Binghamton, Endicott and Johnson City
* InPennsylvania : Allentown, Bethlehem, and EastonCanada
*
Tri-Cities (British Columbia) , consisting ofCoquitlam ,Port Coquitlam , andPort Moody , located east of Vancouver
*Penetanguishene, Ontario ,Victoria Harbour, Ontario ,Midland, Ontario , andPort McNicoll, Ontario .
*Ingersoll, Ontario , Tillsonburg and Woodstock.
*Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge.
*Tri-Towns, a historic designation for the towns of Haileybury, New Liskeard and Cobalt, which is no longer in widespread use since the amalgamation of Haileybury and New Liskeard into the city of Temiskaming Shores in 2004.Mexico
*
Torreon, Coahuila ,Gomez Palacio andLerdo , Durango.Asia
*
Warangal inIndia ,Andhra Pradesh consists of the towns ofWarangal ,Hanamkonda , andKazipet .
*The secondTricity inNorth India consists of the towns ofChandigarh ,Panchkula andSAS Nagar (Mohali ).outh America
* Near
Iguazu Falls :Foz do Iguaçu ,Brazil ,Ciudad del Este ,Paraguay , andPuerto Iguazu ,Argentina .Europe
* The
Tricity inPoland consists ofGdańsk ,Gdynia andSopot Quad Cities
*
Quad Cities of Davenport and Bettendorf,Iowa , and Rock Island and Moline,Illinois . Also includes a fifth member,East Moline, Illinois .
* TheFlorence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Area in Alabama is locally referred to as "the Quad Cities", with Florence and Muscle Shoals dominating smaller Sheffield and Tuscumbia.
* The Quad Cities of Minnesota consist of Virginia, Eveleth, Gilbert, and Mountain Iron.Examples of cities formed by merging
*
London grew from its cores in theCity of London and theCity of Westminster to encompass many other towns and villages.
*Budapest is the amalgamation ofBuda , Pest andÓbuda .
* Minneapolis. St. Anthony (not to be confused with St. Anthony Village, a modern city which is asuburb of Minneapolis) was a twin city to Minneapolis in the two cities' youth. Minneapolis, the larger of the two, annexed St. Anthony in the late 1800s.
*New York City (five boroughs, historically especially between Manhattan and Brooklyn)
*Hong Kong (Victoria City andKowloon )
*Thunder Bay, Ontario (Fort William and Port Arthur).
*Lloydminster , Canada, on theSaskatchewan -Alberta border, was formed as a single entity in 1903, when both future provinces were part of theNorthwest Territories , but was divided into two separate entities in 1905 because the border between the newly created provinces bisected the community. In 1930, the two towns were reunited as a single town under the shared jurisdiction of both provinces, and Lloydminster was reincorporated as a single city in 1958.
* Halifax and Dartmouth (Canada) were forcibly merged in 1996 along with Bedford and Halifax County to create theHalifax Regional Municipality .
*Berlin (Berlin andCölln ) in Germany
*Wuppertal (Barmen andElberfeld ) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
* Townsville (Townsville and Thuringowa) in Queensland, Australia
*Saguenay, Quebec (Chicoutimi and Jonquière, et al.)
* What is now the city of Winston-Salem inNorth Carolina was once two separate towns called Winston and Salem.
*Pittsburgh annexed Allegheny City, which is now the quarter of the city that lies north of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers.
*Wuhan in China consists of the towns of Wuchang,Hankou , and Hanyang inHubei Province
*Seattle anex neighboring towns ofWest Seattle andBallard Resistance to merging
Bloomington and
Normal, Illinois have always rebuffed any merger referendum, and where the original boundary is the appropriately named "Division Street". InEngland , the cities ofLeeds andBradford are very close, but have strong separate identities and would not see themselves as part of the same entity. Both cities have individual cathedrals and councils, as well as having separate sports teams.ee also
*
Divided cities
*United cities
*Town twinning
*Cross-border town naming
*Megacity
* Sister cities
*List of metropolitan areas that overlap multiple countries
*List of twin towns and sister cities
*Global city
*Ecumenopolis
*Metropolis
* Megalopolis
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