City Boundaries in The United Kingdom
In the UK, city boundaries are more difficult to define, since British cities are defined as any town, regardless of size, that has been granted letters patent. In smaller cities, such as Wells (pop. approx. 10,000) or Gloucester (pop. approx. 100,000), the boundary will be that governed by the city council. In the case of larger cities, such as Birmingham (pop. approx. 1,000,000), a specific metropolitan borough will make the definition. Ironically, London the largest city is perhaps the most difficult to define, as different people have different definitions ranging from just The City of London, to anywhere inside the M25 motorway.
Although British city boundaries are often important for defining local services such as refuse collection, schools, libraries and planning (zoning), they play little or no role in law enforcement or hospitals. Police jurisdiction and local services are generally defined by county boundaries, and people in one county may usually decide to use hospitals, libraries, and schools in another without incurring any fees.
There is no concept of local taxation in the UK, other than minor differences between Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and Wales. Local government councils derive their income from council tax and business rates, which are based on the values of buildings.
Planning (zoning) law around British cities is generally determined by green belt laws, which prevent building on the countryside immediately surrounding large and medium-sized towns and cities.
Read more about this topic: City Limits
Famous quotes containing the words city, boundaries, united and/or kingdom:
“Youve been trying to keep an honest accounting of city monies. Youve been dealing with politicians. Youve been standing up for your own rights, havent you? Naturally you landed in jail.”
—Dalton Trumbo (19051976)
“Not too many years ago, a childs experience was limited by how far he or she could ride a bicycle or by the physical boundaries that parents set. Today ... the real boundaries of a childs life are set more by the number of available cable channels and videotapes, by the simulated reality of videogames, by the number of megabytes of memory in the home computer. Now kids can go anywhere, as long as they stay inside the electronic bubble.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
“The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth. A Galileo could no more be elected President of the United States than he could be elected Pope of Rome. Both posts are reserved for men favored by God with an extraordinary genius for swathing the bitter facts of life in bandages of soft illusion.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“The private life of one man shall be a more illustrious monarchy,more formidable to its enemy, more sweet and serene in its influence to its friend, than any kingdom in history. For a man, rightly viewed, comprehendeth the particular natures of all men.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)