Metropolitan area
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This article is about densely populated regions. For the core of such regions, see Metropolis. For
other uses, see Metropolitan (disambiguation).
"Metro area" redirects here. For the dance music duo, see Metro Area.
Satellite imagery showing the New York metropolitan area at night. Long Island extends to the east
of the central core of Manhattan.
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and
its less-populated surrounding territories under the same administrative division, sharing
industry, infrastructure and housing.[1] A metro area usually comprises multiple jurisdictions
and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships, boroughs, cities, towns, exurbs, suburbs,
counties, districts, states, and even nations like the eurodistricts. As social, economic and
political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and
political regions.[2]
Metropolitan areas include satellite cities, towns and intervening rural areas that are
socioeconomically tied to the urban core, typically measured by commuting patterns.[3] Most
metropolitan areas are anchored by one core city such as Paris metropolitan area (Paris) and
New York metropolitan area (New York City). In some cases metropolitan areas have
multiple centers of close to equal importance, such as Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area
(Dallas and Fort Worth), Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area (Islamabad and
Rawalpindi), the Rhine-Ruhr in Germany and the Randstad in the Netherlands.
In the United States, the concept of the metropolitan statistical area has gained prominence.
Metropolitan areas may themselves be part of larger megalopolises. For urban centres outside
metropolitan areas, that generate a similar attraction at smaller scale for their region, the
concept of the regiopolis and respectively regiopolitan area or regio was introduced by
German professors in 2006.[4] In the United States, the term micropolitan statistical area is
used.
Contents
In 1939 Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners designed three large ordnance factories for the
Ministry of Supply; three other smaller factories followed later.
Other notable designs were the Kincardine Bridge,[4] Guinness and Company's brewery at
Park Royal, the Captain Cook graving dock at Sydney, Australia, the Singapore naval base,
supervision of construction of Phoenix units for the Mulberry harbours and an underground
factory for aeroplane engines at Corsham.
Between 1930 and 1936, the firm designed the modernist power stations of the Galloway
hydro-electric power scheme.
In 1936, it designed the Kincardine Bridge across the Firth of Forth, then Britain's largest
road bridge.
In 1937, the firm designed the Capper Pass and Son Smelting Works (as well as a row of
houses) in Hull.[5]
In 1939, it designed the new Allied Bakeries building, in St Pauls Cray (near Orpington).
Originally the Tip Top Bakery in Cray Avenue, now part of the Allied Bakeries division of
Associated British Foods.[6]
During World War II,the Drakelow Tunnels near Kidderminster were designed and
constructed.
In 1949, Cliff Quay Power Station in Suffolk was designed.
In 1968, Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners was joint consulting engineer on the Cleddau Bridge
in Wales.[7]
Other later works included the Tripoli International Airport (1978), Devonport Dockyard,
Limehouse Link tunnel (1989-1993), Great Man-Made River Project in Libya and several
defence and airport projects in the Middle East.
In the UK, the firm also worked on Waterloo International Railway Terminal between 1988-
1993, with Grimshaw Architects and Bovis Construction (as the main contractors),[8] Brook
House in Park Lane in London (with Squire and Partners),[9] Reading Crown Courts and HMP
Banstead, Surrey.
The firm also undertook a number of important hydro-electric dam projects including the
design and supervision of Tongariro Hydroelectric Scheme, (New Zealand), Lar Dam (Iran),
Victoria Dam (Sri Lanka) (1975-1985),[10] the Samanalawewa Dam project, (Sri Lanka)
(1993), Maentwrog New Dam, Wales[11] (1928) and Owen Falls Dam (1954),[12] Uganda.
Problems emerged on the Samanalawewa project and two years after its completion, its
reservoir still could not be filled because its base was leaking. One Sri Lankan geologist has
warned: "Samanalawewa is a write off". Also, the Victoria Dam in Sri Lanka has not
produced the amount of energy envisaged by the designed. [13]
In 1997, remedial works were carried out on Owen Falls dam under supervision by the
consulting firm.[12]
In June 1994, GibbAnglian, a partnership created by Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners and
Anglian Water International, won a two-year contract from the United Kingdom
Government'sOverseas Development Administration to study the impact of industrial effluent
in the city of Tianjin in China. The partnership's task was to investigate the technical,
institutional, environmental, and financial issues involved in reducing industrial wastewater
production and improving the quality of effluent discharges.[14]
Notable Engineers who worked at Sir Alexander Gibb &
Partners
Brigadier-General Sir Alexander Gibb, GBE, CB, FRS[1] (1872 – 1958), was a noted Scottish
civil engineer, who founded Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners in 1921
Sir Angus Paton, civil engineer (1905–1999), worked on several hydro-electric dam projects
across the world and became a partner of the firm in 1955.
Geoffrey Hamilton Coates (1924 - ) was non-secretarial director of Gibb Consultants Limited
as a chartered engineer[15]
Hugh Beaver, (1890 – 1967) was a British engineer, industrialist, and founder of the Guinness
Book of Records.
John Britten (1950 - 1995), mechanical engineer, worked briefly on the design of the
highway linking the M1 motorway to the M4 motorway.
Angus Goodwille, MBE
Sir Leopold Halliday Savile, KCB, MICE (1870 – 1953) was a Scottish civil engineer who
specialised in the design and construction of reservoirs. He served as President of the
Institution of Civil Engineers between November 1940 and November 1941.
Prof. Paul Back CBE joined 1955 assoc. 1967-70, ptnr 1970-89, co dir and chief tech dir 1989-
95; visiting prof of design Univ of Oxford 1992-1998
