West Midlands conurbation

Not to be confused with West Midlands (county) or West Midlands (region).

West Midlands
Conurbation
Map of the West Midlands conurbation, with the individual urban areas labelled. The cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton are highlighted in pink.
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Largest settlements	(Pop. 100,000+) Birmingham Wolverhampton Dudley Walsall West Bromwich Sutton Coldfield
Population  (2001 census)
• Total	2,284,093
• Rank	2nd
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode	B, DY, WS, WV
Area code(s)	0121, 01562, 01384, 01902, 01922

The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Sutton Coldfield, Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge and Halesowen in the English West Midlands.

Not to be confused with the region or metropolitan county of the same name, the conurbation does not include parts of the county such as Coventry, but does include parts of the surrounding counties of Staffordshire (e.g. Little Aston, Perton), Warwickshire (specifically Coleshill and Water Orton) and Worcestershire (Hagley, Hollywood).

According to the 2001 Census the area had a population of 2,284,093, making it the second most populated in the United Kingdom behind Greater London.

Constituent parts

Although the exact boundaries of any conurbation are open to debate, dependent on what criteria are used to determine where an urban area ceases, the Office for National Statistics defines the West Midlands Urban Area as including the urban areas (in decreasing size) of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, and Walsall amongst others. These settlements are not coterminous with the Metropolitan Boroughs of the same name, and the ONS takes its settlement boundaries within the conurbation as the pre-1974 local authorities.

The conurbation is unusual in having a number of large settlements within, with Birmingham (2nd), Wolverhampton (13th), Dudley (19th) and Walsall (28th) all being amongst the largest 30 urban sub-areas in England.

The area of conurbation between Birmingham and Wolverhampton is known as the Black Country. The Black Country is unusual in that it has no single centre, having grown up from a number of historic market towns and industrial villages that coalesced during the 20th century. It remains essentially polyfocal with many of the towns and villages remaining recognisable communities. Inhabitants of the Black Country generally resist hints at any relationship to people living in Birmingham. This can be seen by recent (2006) controversy regarding the name of the newly created city region. "Greater Birmingham" was seen as unacceptable, and the final name given was "Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country".

Coventry is separated from the West Midlands conurbation by the Meriden Gap, and other urban areas, such as Cannock and Codsall are also only narrowly avoided.

Relationship to Metropolitan County

Occasionally the conurbation is seen as being coterminous with the West Midlands county; however, this includes Coventry, which is separate from the main urban area, and excludes the parts of the surrounding counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire that fall within the conurbation.

For administrative purposes, the vast majority of the conurbation falls within the six Metropolitan Boroughs of Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Between 1974 and 1986 these areas (along with Coventry) were additionally administered by the West Midlands County Council. Some bodies such as the West Midlands Police and Centro (the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive) still cover the Metropolitan County, but not the entire urban area.

Settlements

The West Midlands conurbation consists of the following settlements:

Rank (2001)	Settlement	Population (2001)	Population (1991)	Population (1981)
1	Birmingham	1,016,800	965,928	1,024,118
2	Wolverhampton	251,462	257,943	265,631
3	Dudley	194,919	192,171	187,367
4	Walsall	170,994	174,739	178,852
5	Oldbury / Smethwick	139,855	145,542	153,461
6	West Bromwich	136,940	146,386	154,531
7	Sutton Coldfield	105,452	106,001	103,097
8	Solihull	94,753	94,531	94,613
9	Stourbridge	55,480	55,624	55,499
10	Halesowen	55,273	57,918	57,532
11	Brownhills	19,866	18,159	18,200
12	Knowle / Bentley Heath	18,452
13	Aldridge	15,659	16,832	17,589
14	Pelsall	10,524	10,007	10,328
15	Shelfield	6,807	7,079	6,029
16	Coleshill	6,235	6,324
17	Yew Tree	6,109
18	Rushall	5,864	5,871	6,137
19	Hagley	5,723	5,417	5,754
20	Shelly Green	5,702
21	Water Orton	3,573	3,555
22	Cheswick Green	2,261	2,511
	Knowle		17,588	16,872
	Bentley Heath		5,984

Notes:

• Knowle and Bentley Heath are considered as one settlement in 2001, but are considered separately in 1991 and 1981. Bentley Heath was not considered to be a settlement within the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981.
• Coleshill and Water Orton were not considered to be part of the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981, but a separate Coleshill/Water Orton Urban Area with a total population of 9,554; made up of Coleshill (6,113) and Water Orton (3,441).
• Yew Tree is only considered part of the West Midlands Urban Area in the 2001 census.
• Cheswick Green was not considered to be a settlement within the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981.
• Shelly Green was not considered to be a settlement within the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981 or 1991.

See also

• Constituent areas of Birmingham, England
• List of areas in Dudley
• list of areas in Sandwell
• List of areas in Walsall
• List of areas in Wolverhampton

External links

Maps showing breakup of the conurbation according to the ONS in the 2001 census (PDF):

• North West, including Wolverhampton
• North East, including Walsall
• South West, including Dudley
• South East, including Birmingham and Solihull