The West Midlands conurbation is a conurbation in the West Midlands region of England. The area consists of two cities and numerous towns: to the east, the city of Birmingham, along with adjacent towns of Solihull, Shirley, Chelmsley Wood and Sutton Coldfield; and to the west, the city of Wolverhampton and the area called the Black Country, containing the towns of Dudley, Walsall, Brownhills, Bloxwich, Aldridge, West Bromwich, Oldbury, Cradley Heath, Lye, Willenhall, Bilston, Darlaston, Wednesfield, Tipton, Smethwick, Wednesbury, Rowley Regis, Netherton, Brierley Hill, Kingswinford, Sedgley, Stourbridge and Halesowen.
It is broken down into multiple Travel to Work Areas: Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley & Sandwell, Walsall & Cannock, Hagley is within the Kidderminster area and the extreme south-east corner is within the Warwick & Stratford upon Avon area. The conurbation is mainly in the West Midlands county, including parts of the surrounding counties of Staffordshire (e.g. Little Aston, Perton and Essington) and Worcestershire (such as Hagley and Hollywood), with Coventry a separate area in the county.
According to the 2011 Census the area had a population of 2,440,986, making it the third most populated in the United Kingdom behind Greater London and Greater Manchester.
With the West Midlands also being a region and county, the conurbation is sometimes known as Birmingham-Wolverhampton. though it is the term Birmingham & The Black Country that has gained the widest traction as an alternative to the conurbation's official name: an example of this is the tagline used by BBC Radio WM - "The sound of Birmingham & The Black Country".
Constituent parts
thumb|left|The West Midlands Urban Area as at the 2001 Census
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 Built Up Area as including the urban areas of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Solihull, West Bromwich, Dudley, and Walsall amongst others. These settlements are not coterminous with the Metropolitan Boroughs of the same name.
Coventry is separated from the West Midlands conurbation by the Meriden Gap, and other urban areas, such as Cannock and Codsall remain separate from the conurbation. Coventry is 19 miles east of Birmingham.
thumb|right|[[West Bromwich]]
thumb|right|[[St Peter's Collegiate Church in Wolverhampton.]]
thumb|right|[[Solihull High Street.]]
thumb|right|[[Walsall]]
thumb|right|[[Dudley Town Centre.]]
thumb|right|West Midlands conurbation at night from the [[International Space Station|ISS.]]
Administration
Occasionally the conurbation is seen as being coterminous with the West Midlands Metropolitan 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.
Two Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) cover the majority of the conurbation area: Black Country LEP comprises the local authorities of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton while the Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP includes those two authorities and a number of satellite boroughs, many remote from the conurbation and not traditionally associated with it (Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Redditch, Tamworth and Wyre Forest).
Settlements
2011 Census
The West Midlands Built Up Area consists of the below subdivisions. Due to the change in methodology between the 2001 and 2011 Census, and the amount of change between 2011 Census and previous census data, it is impossible to compare the data directly between 2011 and earlier Censuses.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!Settlement
!Population (2011)
!Population
(1991)
!Population
(1981)
|-
|1
|Birmingham
|970,892
|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
|
|-
|23
|Knowle
|
|17,588
|16,872
|-
|24
|Bentley Heath
|
|5,984
|
|}
Notes:
See also
- List of areas in Birmingham
- List of areas in Dudley
- List of areas in Sandwell
- List of areas in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
- List of areas in Wolverhampton
References
External links
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