Thursday, May 22, 2014

City Analysis: London

London falls at the very top of the hierarchy of Central Places.  With a population of over 7 million people,  London has no equals among its UK peers in the other 200 largess towns, cities, and districts.  Being the UK's capital, this can be expected.  London is the most populous, urban zone and metropolitan area in the country.  Being a leading global city with strengths in arts, commerce, education (including 43 universities, making it the most concentrated center of higher education), entertainment, finance, healthcare, professional services, research, tourism, and many more, London is one of the world's top financial centers with the 5th largest metropolitan area GDP in the world.

London is followed by other bigger cities in the UK such as Birmingham, Leeds, and Glasgow.  Birmingham has a population of just over 1 million, which Leeds and Glasgow follow with populations of about 727,000 and 616,500.

London offers a variety of things that would not normally be available in a smaller place.  Being the largest city in the UK, there isn't much that cannot be found there.  Being a large center for business, London offers numerous choices for higher education that could not be found in many other places.  Although other places in the UK, such as Edinburgh, are home to universities, London offers more than enough choices that contribute to the large population, many of which are students.  London is also home to the UK's center of government, Parliament, which finds its home in the Palace of Westminster in the center of London off of the River Thames.  London is also the UK's most visited city, contributing to its massive tourism industry.
London is a national metropolis and is not missing anything in particular, simply because of its massive size.  Though, it may be seen as missing some cultural things, such as the game of American football and a team to follow.

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