Metropolitan area is:

Metropolitan area is:

• A. An Urban Area Made Up of Multiple Cities
• B. An Urban Area Made Up of a Single City, Whose Population Is Over 50,000, and Includes Its Suburbs and Counties Dependant on That City
• C. A Rural Region
• D. A Megalopolis

Answer: (B)

A metropolitan area is an urban region anchored by a central city, with the surrounding suburbs and nearby counties that are economically and socially tied to that city. The defining feature is the hub-and-spoke relationship: a core city with a population large enough to sustain regional activity, plus the adjacent suburbs and counties connected through commuting, trade, and shared services. That’s why the selected option fits best: it describes a central city with a sizable population and the inclusion of its suburbs and dependent counties, capturing the integrated urban region that defines a metropolitan area. Rural regions don’t fit because they lack that dense urban center; a megaregion describes an even larger network of cities beyond a single metro; and while a metropolitan area can include multiple municipalities, the anchor is the central city and its connected suburbs and counties.

A metropolitan area is an urban region anchored by a central city, with the surrounding suburbs and nearby counties that are economically and socially tied to that city. The defining feature is the hub-and-spoke relationship: a core city with a population large enough to sustain regional activity, plus the adjacent suburbs and counties connected through commuting, trade, and shared services.

That’s why the selected option fits best: it describes a central city with a sizable population and the inclusion of its suburbs and dependent counties, capturing the integrated urban region that defines a metropolitan area. Rural regions don’t fit because they lack that dense urban center; a megaregion describes an even larger network of cities beyond a single metro; and while a metropolitan area can include multiple municipalities, the anchor is the central city and its connected suburbs and counties.