Archive:Urban-rural typology

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Data from March 2010, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

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This chapter presents a new typology of predominantly rural, intermediate and predominantly urban regions based on a variation of the OECD methodology (see Map 15.1). The aim of this new typology is to provide a consistent basis for the description of predominantly rural, intermediate and predominantly urban regions in all Commission communications, reports and publications.

This typology has been developed jointly by the following four different Directorates-General within the European Commission over the past two years: the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Eurostat, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate- General for Regional Policy. The authors would like to acknowledge in particular the contribution of Guido Castellano, Josefine Loriz-Hoffmann, Christine Mason, Lorenzo Orlandini, Rob Peters and Thierry Vard from the Agriculture and Rural Development DG, Berthold Feldmann and Oliver Heiden from Eurostat, Javier Gallego from the JRC, and Nicola De Michelis, Lewis Dijkstra and Hugo Poelman from the Regional Policy DG.

Main statistical findings

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Why a new typology?

Using the current OECD methodology to classify NUTS 3 regions in the EU creates two types of distortions that undermine its comparability within the EU. The first distortion is due to the large variation in the area of local administrative units level 2 (LAU2). The second distortion is due to the large variation in the surface area of NUTS 3 regions and the practice in some countries to separate a (small) city centre from the surrounding region. This chapter first describes the OECD methodology briefly. Secondly it shows how this new typology seeks to remediate these two issues with the existing OECD approach.

The OECD methodology

The OECD methodology (1) for defining the typology involves two main steps: •defining rural local administrative u • nits level 2; •based on the population share in rural LAU2s, classifying regions.

Identifying rural local administrative units level 2

The OECD methodology classifies LAU2s with a population density below 150 inhabitants per km² as rural. Due to heterogeneity of the size in area of LAU2s, some LAU2s will be incorrectly classified.

• Small villages which are very tightly circumscribed by their administrative boundary have a sufficiently high density and therefore will be classified as urban despite having a very small total population. For example, Aldea de Trujillo in Spain is classified as urban despite having a population of only 439 inhabitants.

• Cities or towns in very large LAU2s will be classified as rural due to a low population density, even when the city is fairly large and the vast majority of the population of the LAU2 lives in that city. For example, Badajoz and Cáceres in Spain and Uppsala in Sweden are classified as rural despite all three having a population of 150 000 or more.

Subdivision 2

Data sources and availability

Context

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Title of the publication

Main tables

Title of top Main tables folder, see:

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Title(s) of third level folder (if any)

Database

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Title(s) of second level folder (if any)

Title(s) of third level folder (if any)

Other information

External links

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Notes

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