In the study of
human settlements, an
urban agglomeration is an extended
city or
town area comprising the
built-up area of a central place (
usually a municipality) and any
suburbs linked by continuous
urban area.
INSEE, the French Statistical Institute, uses the term
unité urbaine, which means continuous urbanized area. However, because of differences in definitions of what does and does not constitute an "agglomeration", as well as variations and limitations in statistical or geographical methodology, it can be problematic to compare different agglomerations around the world. It may not be clear, for instance, whether an area should be considered to be a satellite and part of an agglomeration, or a distinct entity in itself.