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:
““Do not be afraid; for see -I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.””
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 2:10 -12.
Angels to the Shepherds.
“Not too many years ago, a child’s 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 child’s 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)
“I thought it altogether proper that I should take a brief furlough from official duties at Washington to mingle with you here to-day as a comrade, because every President of the United States must realize that the strength of the Government, its defence in war, the army that is to muster under its banner when our Nation is assailed, is to be found here in the masses of our people.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“Rev. J.D. Liddell: The Kingdom of God is not a democracy. The Lord never seeks re- election. There’s no discussion. No deliberation. No referenda as to which road to take. There’s one right, one wrong. One absolute ruler.
Sandy: A dictator, you mean.
Rev. J.D. Liddell: Aye, but a benign, loving dictator.”
—Colin Welland (b. 1934)