The
West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large
conurbation that includes the cities of
Birmingham and
Wolverhampton and the large towns of
Dudley,
Walsall,
West Bromwich and
Solihull, in the
English West Midlands.
Not to be confused with the Metropolitan county of the same name, the conurbation does not include parts of the county such as Coventry, but does include parts of the surrounding counties of Staffordshire (e.g. Little Aston, Perton), Warwickshire (specifically Coleshill and Water Orton) and Worcestershire (Hagley).
According to the 2001 Census the area had a population of 2,284,093, making it the second largest conurbation in the United Kingdom.
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 Urban Area as including the urban areas (in decreasing size) of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, and Walsall amongst others. These settlements are not coterminous with the Metropolitan Boroughs of the same name, and the ONS takes its settlement boundaries within the conurbation as the pre-1974 local authorities.
