Reviewing the Urban Audit

1. Reviewing the Urban Audit Lewis Dijkstra Deputy Head of the Analysis Unit DG for Regional PolicyEuropean Commission

2. Three key changes • Link to the new degree of urbanisation • A harmonised definition of the city and the LUZ based on shared work with the OECD • Reactions from NSIs • Next steps

3. Why link to degree of urbanisation? • Will significantly increase available data through a direct link to all surveys which use the degree of urbanisation • Labour Force Survey • Survey on Income and Living Conditions • IT use by households and IT availability • Eurobarometer • Tourism survey • Crime and safety survey • European Quality of Life Survey

4. What is degree of urbanisation? Classification of all LAU2s into three categories: Thinly populated Intermediate density Densely populated New version has been presented and approved by the Labour Market Working group (comments by end of June) It is one of the Eurostat ‘core variables’

5. Why a new classification? Old classification was based on density and contiguity of LAU2s which leads to distortions due to the large variation in area of LAU2 Revised urban-rural typology is based on a grid based definition of rural areas which is more reliable than OECD or LFS approach Harmonising spatial concepts Rural (OECD) and thinly populated areas (LFS) Densely populated areas (LFS) and cities (UA)

6. Previously: 3 conflicting definitions

7. Definition based on population grid

8. New Proposal: 3 Criteria 3 Classes

9. Definitions Rural grid cells = cells outside urban clusters Urban clusters = contiguous cells (with diagonals) with a density of at least 300 inhab/km2 and a minimum of 5 000 inhabitants High-density clusters (Urban centres) = contiguous cells (without diagonals but with gap filling) with a density of at least 1500 inhab/km2and a minimum of 50 000 inhabitants

13. Harmonised definition of a city

14. Harmonised definition in three steps • Define an urban centre • Define a city based on this urban centre (LAU2 or groups of LAU2s) • Define a commuting zone based on this city (including check for polycentric cities) IMPORTANT! Cities are selected based on the population of their centre, not total population

15. Short version

16. Detail • Urban centre • Contiguous grid cells with at least 1 500 inhabitants per km2, excluding diagonals • Gaps filled • A minimum population of 50 000 • City • A city consists of one or more LAU2s • City has at least 50% population in urban centres • At least 75% of each urban centre population is located within one or more cities

17. Cluster – Centre – City

18. Population grid Units: 1 km² grid cells (future reference for all population grids) Registered population (bottom-up grid) for 2006 is preferred option. Available in AT, FI, SE, SI, DK and NL and also in NO, CH, IS and HR Elsewhere disaggregation grid v5 (JRC) 2006 (except UK and EL 2001)

19. Overall result compared UA • Using this definition led to a proposal to: • Drop 110 cities • Include 229 cities • One third of countries do not have to change anything • This would change the total UA cities from 684 to 803 a moderate increase

20. Under-bounding • Definition a city does not capture 75% of the population of its urban centre. • Solutions: • Add a city next to the current city • Add a kernel which is larger than the city • Expand the city boundary • Concerns 52 cities

21. Overbounding • Definition: More than 50% of city population lives outside cluster and city is composed of more than one LAU2 • Solutions • Shrink city boundaries • Keep city boundaries but warn about overbounding • Concerns 16 cities (7 in FR, 3 in PT and 6 in UK)

22. Reactions think tank • Support for link to degree of urbanisation • Support for harmonised definition • Emphasis on need for continuity • Emphasis on need for financial support • Support from NSIs to add UA cities • Concern from DE that it will not be able to cover all cities with a centre of 50 000 inhabitants

23. Conclusion • Harmonised city definition works well and leads to a moderate change in the number of cities • It identifies all cities with a large centre • It identifies most cities with an urban centre between 50 000 and 100 000. • NSIs have been asked to commented, correct and complement within the logic of this approach

24. Adjusting the results • An thinly populated or intermediate LAU2 can be classified as densely populated if it belongs to a group of LAU2s with a political function and if the majority of population of this group of LAU2s lives in a urban centre (Toulouse). • A densely populated LAU2 can be classified intermediate as long as 75% of its high-density cluster population remains in densely populated LAU2s (Luxembourg)

25. Match to political level: bigger

26. Match to political level: smaller

27. State of Play • Three countries have a match: SI, FI and HR • No changes to the city list, only harmonisation degree and UA: LU, CY, DK, IS (all resolved) • Change city list +/- 1: MT, CH, IE, LT, LV, EE, AT • More Changes: • Replied and resolved: SK, SE, HU, CZ, BG, FR, NL, ES • Replied and to be analysed: UK, PL, DE • Outstanding: BE, IT, EL, RO, NO, MT, CH

28. Next steps 1 • Complete the revision of the harmonisation • Contacting the four countries who haven’t replied • Analyse the replies submitted • Larger Urban Zone • Finish the harmonised commuting zones • Compare them to the current LUZ • Calculate zones for added cities • Agree changes where needed • Data collection

29. Next steps 2 • Develop a city classification: size & function • How to report over/under-bounding? • Approved methodology/Gentlemen’s agreement? • Strong interest in a harmonised city and agglomeration list in Europe • OECD will extend this approach beyond Europe (US, Canada, Japan, Australia….) • Towns (cities with a centre below 50 000)

35. 2nd half of the urban hierarchy