South-Western Skåne

South-Western Scania (Swedish: "Sydvästra Skåne)," or more seldom Greater Malmö "(Stor-Malmö)" or Metropolitan Malmö, is the metropolitan area surrounding the cities of Malmö and Lund in the southern-most part of Sweden.It constitutes the south-eastern part of the Scandinavian Öresund Region.

Contrary to the concept of "South-Western Scania", there is no common understanding of what is to be included and excluded in "Metropolitan Malmö." The cities of Ystad and Helsingborg would typically be understood to be parts of the same metropolitan area as the cities of Malmö and Lund, and so understood the metropolitan area is of roughly the same size as Metropolitan Gothenburg, but clearly smaller than Metropolitan Copenhagen or Metropolitan Stockholm. On the other hand, "South-Western Scania" is a more limited concept with an identity of its own.

Lund, that today is the smaller city, was historically the most important in Scania, with the Lund Cathedral (and Cathedral School) from the 11th century and the Lund University established in the 17th century. Today the city of Malmö is the largest due to its strong growth during the period of industrialization from the 19th century.

Clustered along the shore of The Sound, from the medieval town of Skanör in the South to Bjärred in the North, a set of villages and towns have in the latter half of the 20th century expanded to an almost continuous set of suburbs. The commuter belt in the inland consists of more separate towns and expanded villages. The inclusion of the harbor town Trelleborg at the Baltic Sea in the South, or the exclusion of Eslöv, Höör and Landskrona in the North, has necessarily to appear arbitrary.

Since the 1970s, improved highways and commuter train connections have ment that the actual metropolitan area has grown to include Ystad, Skurup, Sjöbo, Eslöv, Höör, Landskrona and Helsingborg. It's not uncommon to live by Malmö and work either in Ystad or Helsingborg, or vice versa. Mentally, however, these towns have kept their allegiance with older divisions of Scania. Inhabitants of Eslöv and Höör consider themselves to live in Central Scania, like Landskrona still is grouped together with Helsingborg rather than Malmö–Lund.

South-Western Skåne, or Greater Malmö, consists of Malmö Municipality, Lund Municipality, Burlöv Municipality, Svedala Municipality, Lomma Municipality, Staffanstorp Municipality, Trelleborg Municipality och Vellinge Municipality.

See also

* Metropolitan Areas of Sweden