Twin cities

Neighboring cities that become a conurbation

This article is about the general concept. For town governments establishing official links, see Sister city. For the area typically called the "Twin Cities" in the United States, see Minneapolis–Saint Paul. For other uses, see Twin city.

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File:Cedar-Riverside and Saint Paul skyline seen from the Foshay Tower observation deck, May 2018.jpg

High-rise buildings in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, with the Downtown Saint Paul skyline visible in the background. Minneapolis' city limits border those of Saint Paul, the capital of Minnesota. From Downtown Minneapolis to Downtown Saint Paul is only 10 miles in length. This gave birth to the nickname of the region, the "Twin Cities" metropolitan area.

File:View from Suensaari water tower Tornio 20150806 04.JPG

A view of the town of Tornio (Finland), which forms a twin city with Haparanda (Sweden).

Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in status and size, though not necessarily equal; a city and a substantially smaller suburb would not typically qualify, even if they were once separate. Tri-cities and quad cities are similar phenomena involving three or four municipalities.

A common – but not universal – scenario is two cities that developed concurrently on opposite sides of a river. For example, Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota – one of the most widely known "Twin Cities" – were founded several miles apart on opposite sides of the Mississippi River, and competed for prominence as they grew.

In some cases, twin cities are separated by a state border, such as Albury (New South Wales) and Wodonga (Victoria) in Australia, on opposite sides of the Murray River. Cities on opposite sides of international borders sometimes share enough cultural and historical identity to be seen as twins, such as Haparanda (Sweden) and Tornio (Finland), Leticia (Colombia) and Tabatinga (Brazil), or Valga (Estonia) and Valka (Latvia).

In some cases twin cities eventually merge into a single legal municipality, such as Buda and Pest merging in 1873 into Budapest, Hungary, Brooklyn being annexed by New York City in 1898, or the three ancient cities of Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang joining in 1927 into Wuhan, China.

As a single urban area, twin cities may share an airport whose airport codes include both cities' initials, e.g., DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth), LBA (Leeds-Bradford), MSP (Minneapolis–Saint Paul), RDU (Raleigh and Durham), and CAK (Akron–Canton).

## Contents

* 1 Examples
* 1.1 Africa
* 1.1.1 Ghana
* 1.1.2 Zambia / Zimbabwe
* 1.1.3 South Africa
* 1.1.4 International
* 1.2 North America
* 1.2.1 Canada
* 1.2.2 United States
* 1.2.3 International
* 1.2.4 Historic
* 1.3 South America
* 1.3.1 Argentina
* 1.3.2 Brazil
* 1.3.3 Chile
* 1.3.4 Peru
* 1.3.5 Venezuela
* 1.4 Asia
* 1.4.1 Current
* 1.4.2 Historic
* 1.5 Europe
* 1.5.1 Current
* 1.5.2 International
* 1.5.3 Historic
* 1.6 Oceania
* 2 Tri-cities
* 3 Quad cities
* 4 More than four cities
* 5 Examples of cities formed by amalgamation
* 5.1 Asia
* 5.2 Europe
* 5.3 North America
* 6 Fictional twin cities
* 7 See also
* 8 Notes
* 9 References

## Examples[edit | edit source]

File:Obelisco - Plaza Internacional - Frontera de la Paz - Livramento - Rivera.jpeg

Cross-border example of twin cities: Plaza Internacional of the Frontera de la Paz. On the left, Santana do Livramento (Brazil); on the right, Rivera (Uruguay).

This article may contain indiscriminate, excessive, or irrelevant examples. Please improve the article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples. See Justapedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions. (November 2009)

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See also: Border town

### Africa[edit | edit source]

#### Ghana[edit | edit source]

* Sekondi-Takoradi

#### Zambia / Zimbabwe[edit | edit source]

* Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Livingstone, Zambia[n 1]

#### South Africa[edit | edit source]

Johannesburg and Pretoria, Gauteng Province

#### International[edit | edit source]

* Kinshasa and Brazzaville

### North America[edit | edit source]

#### Canada[edit | edit source]

* Halifax and Dartmouth in Nova Scotia[n 2]
* Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario
* Battleford and North Battleford, Saskatchewan "The Battlefords" [n 3]

#### United States[edit | edit source]

* Texarkana, Arkansas and Texarkana, Texas[n 4]
* Hartford and New Britain, Connecticut
* Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
* Fort Myers and Cape Coral, Florida
* St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida[n 5]
* Champaign and Urbana, Illinois[n 6]
* Bloomington and Normal, Illinois
* Lewiston and Auburn, Maine[n 7]
* Houghton and Hancock, Michigan.
* Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin[n 8]
* Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota[n 9]
* Natchez, Mississippi and Vidalia, Louisiana[n 10]
* Crystal City, Missouri and Festus, Missouri
* Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina
* Winston-Salem and Greensboro, North Carolina (Winston-Salem itself was formerly a pair of twin cities, until the two merged)
* Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota[n 11]
* Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota
* Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington
* Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania[n 12]
* Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina[n 13]
* Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia
* Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas[n 14]
* Midland and Odessa, Texas[n 15]
* Bluefield, Virginia and Bluefield, West Virginia
* Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas
* Fort Collins and Loveland, Colorado

#### International[edit | edit source]

Examples, sharing names or similar names, across an international border include:

Canada–United States border

* Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Niagara Falls, New York, United States
* Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States
* North Portal, Saskatchewan, Canada; Portal, North Dakota, United States

Mexico–United States border

* Tecate, Baja California, Mexico; Tecate, California, United States
* Boquillas del Carmen, Coahuila, Mexico; Boquillas, Texas, United States
* Naco, Sonora, Mexico; Naco, Arizona, United States
* Nogales, Sonora, Mexico; Nogales, Arizona, United States
* San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Mexico; San Luis, Arizona, United States
* Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico; Laredo, Texas, United States
* Nuevo Progreso, Río Bravo, Tamaulipas, Mexico; Progreso, Texas, United States
* Calexico, California, United States; Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico; see Calexico–Mexicali

Pairs with unrelated names:

Mexico–Guatemala border

* Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, Mexico and Ayutla, San Marcos, Guatemala

United States–Canada border

* Detroit, Michigan, United States and Windsor, Ontario, Canada; see Detroit–Windsor
* International Falls, Minnesota, United States and Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada

United States–Mexico border

* Douglas, Arizona, United States and Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico
* Yuma, Arizona, United States and San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Mexico
* San Diego, California, United States and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico; see San Diego–Tijuana
* Brownsville, Texas, United States and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico; see Brownsville–Matamoros
* Del Rio, Texas, United States and Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico
* Eagle Pass, Texas, United States and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico
* El Paso, Texas, United States and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico; see El Paso–Juárez
* Presidio, Texas, United States and Manuel Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico

#### Historic[edit | edit source]

* Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan, Canada[n 16]
* Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada[n 17]
* Saginaw and East Saginaw, Michigan, United States[n 18]
* Brooklyn and New York City, New York, United States[n 19]

### South America[edit | edit source]

#### Argentina[edit | edit source]

* Carmen de Patagones and Viedma
* Paraná, Entre Ríos and Santa Fe

#### Brazil[edit | edit source]

* Americana, São Paulo and Santa Bárbara d'Oeste
* Juazeiro and Petrolina
* Olinda and Recife
* Vila Velha and Vitória

#### Chile[edit | edit source]

* Concepción and Talcahuano
* Coquimbo and La Serena
* Valparaiso and Viña del Mar

#### Peru[edit | edit source]

* Callao and Lima

#### Venezuela[edit | edit source]

* Acarigua and Araure
* Guarenas and Guatire

### Asia[edit | edit source]

#### Current[edit | edit source]

Bangladesh

* Dhaka and Narayanganj, Bangladesh

Mainland China

* Guangzhou and Foshan, China
* Xi'an and Xianyang, China
* Beijing and Langfang, China
* Wuxi and Suzhou, China
* Chaozhou and Shantou, China
* Haifeng and Lufeng, China

Hong Kong

* Sheung Shui and Fanling
* Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung

India

* Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, India[1]
* Allahabad and Naini, India[1]
* Aurangabad and Jalna, India
* Bangalore and Hosur, India
* Chümoukedima and Dimapur, India
* Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, India[2]
* Durg and Bhilai, India[2]
* Hubli and Dharwad, India[2]
* Mysore and Srirangapatna, Karnataka, India
* Kankroli and Rajsamand, India[2]
* Kochi and Ernakulam, India[2][3]
* Coimbatore and Tiruppur
* Kolkata and Howrah, India[2]
* Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India[2]
* Mumbai and Thane, Maharashtra, India[2]
* Munger and Jamalpur, India[2]
* Noida and Greater Noida, India[2]
* Pondicherry and Cuddalore, India
* Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, Maharashtra, India[2]
* Ranchi and Hatia, India[2]
* Sangli and Miraj, Maharashtra, India
* Surat and Navsari, India
* Thrissur and Guruvayur, India[2]
* Varanasi and Mughalsarai, India
* Vijayawada and Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India[2]
* Bangarpet and Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka, India
* Harihar and Davangere, Karnataka, India
* Shivamoga and Bhadravati, Karnataka, India
* Arcot and Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India
* Attur and Narasingapuram, Tamil Nadu, India
* Bhavani and Komarapalayam, Tamil Nadu, India
* Dharmapuri and Nallampalli, Tamil Nadu, India
* Erode and Pallipalayam, Tamil Nadu, India
* Namakkal and Karur, Tamil Nadu, India
* Pallavaram and Chromepet, Tamil Nadu, India
* Tiruchirappalli and Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India
* Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu, India[2]
* Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Telangana state, India
* Asansol and Durgapur, West Bengal, India
* Barrackpore and Barasat, West Bengal, India
* Coochbehar and Alipurduar, West Bengal, India
* Jalpaiguri and Mainaguri, West Bengal, India
* Siliguri and Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India

Iraq

* Erbil and Mosul, Iraq
* Seleucia and Ctesiphon, Iraq[n 20]

Israel

* Ramla and Lod, Israel
* Tel Aviv and Jaffa, Israel

Japan

* Aomori and Hakodate, Japan
* Kamisu and Kashima, Japan[n 21]
* Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki, Japan
* Kyoto and Otsu, Japan
* Maebashi and Takasaki, Japan
* Nasushiobara and Otawara, Japan[n 22]
* Okayama and Kurashiki, Japan[n 23]
* Osaka and Sakai, Japan[n 24]
* Sanjo and Tsubame, Japan
* Toyohashi and Toyokawa, Japan
* Tsukuba and Tsuchiura, Japan[n 25]
* Yokkaichi and Suzuka, Japan

Lebanon

* Beirut and Jounieh, Lebanon

Nepal

* Bharatpur and Gaindakot, Nepal
* Butwal and Tilottama, Nepal
* Nepalgunj and Kohalpur, Nepal

North Korea

* Rason and Chongjin

Pakistan

* Jhelum and Sarai Alamgir, Pakistan
* Peshawar and Mardan, Pakistan
* Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan

Palestine

* Ramallah and al-Bireh, Palestine

Philippines

* Dipolog and Dapitan, Philippines

Saudi Arabia

* Dammam and Khobar, Saudi Arabia

South Korea

* Seoul and Incheon, South Korea
* Busan and Ulsan, South Korea
* Sejong City and Daejeon, South Korea
* Yangyang and Sokcho, South Korea

Taiwan

* Taipei and New Taipei, Taiwan

Thailand

* Bangkok and Nonthaburi, Thailand
* Chiang Mai and Lamphun, Thailand
* Songkhla and Hatyai, Thailand

Vietnam

* Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong, Vietnam

International

* Dandong, China and Sinuiju, North Korea
* Manzhouli, China and Zabaykalsk, Russia
* Heihe, China and Blagoveshchensk, Russia

#### Historic[edit | edit source]

* Victoria and Kowloon, colonial Hong Kong—although, in both colonial Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Victoria is the only city recognised by law; they were widely considered to be separate cities until at least the mid-1970s[4]
* Chirala-Perala, India
* Ise, Japan (merger of Uji, Yamada)
* Joetsu, Japan (merger of Takada, Naoetsu)
* Naha and Shuri, Okinawa, Japan, once separate cities, Shuri became integrated as a district of Naha
* Wuhan, China (merger of Wuchang, Hankou, Hanyang)
* Saigon and Cholon, Vietnam, merged into Saigon-Cholon, now Ho Chi Minh City.

### Europe[edit | edit source]

#### Current[edit | edit source]

Denmark

* Nørresundby and Aalborg, Denmark

France

* Frejus and Saint-Raphaël, France
* Lyon and Villeurbanne, France

Germany

* Frankfurt and Offenbach, Germany
* Ludwigshafen and Mannheim, Germany
* Mainz and Wiesbaden, Germany
* Nuremberg and Fuerth, Germany
* Sindelfingen and Böblingen, Germany
* Ulm and Neu-Ulm, Germany

Ireland

* Ballybofey and Stranorlar, in County Donegal, Ireland are often called the Twin Towns and form the census town, Ballybofey and Stranorlar

Norway

* Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg, Norway
* Porsgrunn and Skien, Norway
* Sandnes and Stavanger, Norway

Poland

* Bydgoszcz and Toruń, Poland
* Kalisz and Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland

Portugal

* Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
* Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde, Portugal

Serbia

* Novi Sad and Petrovaradin, Serbia
* Temerin and Bački Jarak, Serbia
* Zemun and New Belgrade, Serbia

Spain

* Alcobendas and San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain
* Aldaia and Alaquàs, Spain
* Coslada and San Fernando de Henares, Spain
* Elda and Petrer, Spain
* Llombai and Catadau, Spain
* Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de la Laguna, Spain

Sweden

* Jönköping and Huskvarna, Sweden

Ukraine

* Donetsk and Makiivka, Ukraine

United Kingdom

* Bournemouth and Poole, United Kingdom
* Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom
* Chatham and Rochester, United Kingdom[5]
* Chester, England and Saltney, Wales
* Leeds and Bradford, United Kingdom
* Manchester and Salford, United Kingdom
* Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, England
* Liverpool and Birkenhead, England
* Kingston upon Hull and Grimsby, England

#### International[edit | edit source]

Austria–Slovakia border

* Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia

Austria–Slovenia border

* Bad Radkersburg, Austria and Gornja Radgona, Slovenia

Belgium–France border

* Comines, Belgium and Comines, France
* Mouscron, Belgium and Tourcoing, France
* Wervik, Belgium and Wervicq-Sud, France

Croatia–Bosnia and Herzegovina border

* Slavonski Brod, Croatia and Bosanski Brod, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Czech Republic–Poland border

* Těšín, Czech Republic and Cieszyn, Poland

Denmark–Sweden border

* Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden

Estonia–Latvia border

* Valga, Estonia and Valka, Latvia

Estonia–Russia border

* Narva, Estonia and Ivangorod, Russia

Finland–Russia border

* Imatra, Finland and Svetogorsk, Russia

Finland–Sweden border

* Tornio, Finland and Haparanda, Sweden

France–Germany border

* Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany

France–Spain border

* Hendaye, France and Irun, Spain

Germany–Poland border

* Frankfurt (Oder), Germany and Słubice, Poland
* Görlitz, Germany and Zgorzelec, Poland
* Guben, Germany and Gubin, Poland
* Heringsdorf, Germany and Świnoujście, Poland

Germany–Switzerland border

* Konstanz, Germany and Kreuzlingen, Switzerland

* Laufenburg (Baden), Germany and Laufenburg,_Aargau, Switzerland, separated between the Rhine River (used to be one city until 1801/1802).

Hungary–Slovakia border

* Esztergom, Hungary and Štúrovo, Slovakia
* Komárno, Slovakia and Komárom, Hungary

Ireland–United Kingdom border

* Strabane, Northern Ireland and Lifford, Ireland

Italy–Slovenia border

* Gorizia, Italy and Nova Gorica, Slovenia

The Netherlands–Germany border

* Kerkrade, The Netherlands and Herzogenrath, Germany

Spain–Gibraltar border

* La Línea de la Concepción, Spain and Gibraltar

Switzerland–Germany-France border

* Basel, Switzerland and Weil am Rhein, Germany and Saint Louis, France

#### Historic[edit | edit source]

* Knokke and Heist-aan-Zee. United into Knokke-Heist, Belgium.
* Gradec and Kaptol. United into Zagreb, Croatia.
* Frýdek and Místek. United into Frýdek-Místek, Czech Republic.
* Barmen and Elberfeld, Germany. United into Wuppertal.
* West Berlin, West Germany and East Berlin, East Germany. United into Berlin, Germany.
* Buda and Pest. United into Budapest, Hungary.
* Bielsko and Biała, Poland. United into Bielsko-Biała.
* City of London and City of Westminster, England. Absorbed into London, United Kingdom.
* Berwick-upon-Tweed and Tweedmouth, until the former was taken by England from Scotland.

### Oceania[edit | edit source]

* Albury and Wodonga, Australia
* Canberra and Queanbeyan, Australia
* Darwin and Palmerston, Australia
* Forster and Tuncurry, Australia
* Gold Coast and Tweed Heads, Australia
* Harden and Murrumburrah, Australia
* Kalgoorlie and Boulder, Australia
* Napier and Hastings, New Zealand
* Perth and Fremantle, Australia
* Townsville and Thuringowa, Australia

## Tri-cities[edit | edit source]

Main article: Tri-Cities (disambiguation)

Australia

* Brisbane; Gold Coast; and Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia — see South East Queensland
* Sydney; Wollongong; and Newcastle, Australia in the geological region known as the Sydney Basin

Canada

* The Tri-cities of British Columbia consist of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody
* The Tri-citites of Kitchener; Waterloo; and Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, the cities' collective metropolitan area is often called the K-W Tri-City Area
* Tri-Town, Ontario, Canada - Cobalt, Haileybury and New Liskeard

China

* Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Fujian

India

* Chandigarh; Mohali; and Panchkula, India[6]
* Vijayawada; Amaravati; and Guntur, India
* Warangal; Hanamkonda; Kazipet in India — see Warangal Tri-City

Japan

* Kyoto; Osaka; Kobe \- see Keihanshin

Malaysia

* Parit Buntar, Perak; Nibong Tebal, Penang; and Bandar Baharu, Kedah

Mexico

* Guadalajara; Tlaquepaque; Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico

Nepal

* Bhaktapur; Kathmandu; and Patan, Nepal
* Tricity, Nepal, consisting of the cities of Baglung, Beni and Kushma

Philippines

* Cebu City; Mandaue; and Lapu-Lapu City, the Philippines

Poland

* Gdańsk; Gdynia; and Sopot, Poland — see Tricity, Poland
* Wejherowo; Rumia; and Reda, Poland — see Kashubian Tricity

Saudi Arabia

* The Dammam metropolitan area, consisting of Dammam; Dhahran; and Khobar, Saudi Arabia

South Africa

* The metropolitan municipalities of Johannesburg, Tshwane (Pretoria) and Ekurhuleni (East Rand), Gauteng Province
* Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Kariega (Uitenhage) and Despatch in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province
* East London, Bhisho and Qonce (King William's Town) in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province

Sudan

* Khartoum; North Khartoum; and Omdurman, Sudan

Sweden

* Stockholm; Solna; and Sundbyberg, Sweden
* Trollhättan; Uddevalla; and Vänersborg, Sweden

United Arab Emirates

* The Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area, consisting of Dubai; Sharjah; and Ajman, United Arab Emirates

United States

* Burbank; Glendale; and Pasadena, in Los Angeles County, California, United States
* Fremont; Newark; and Union City, in Alameda County, California, United States
* Oceanside; Vista; and Carlsbad, in San Diego County, California, United States
* Riverside; San Bernardino; and Ontario, California, United States, the cities' collective metropolitan area is often called the Inland Empire
* San Jose; San Francisco; and Oakland, California, United States[n 26]
* College Park; East Point; and Hapeville, Georgia, United States, all of which are near Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
* Geneva; Batavia; and St. Charles, in Kane County, Illinois, United States, also known as Tri-Cities, Illinois
* Bay City; Saginaw; and Midland, Michigan, United States, the cities' collective metropolitan area is often called the Greater Tri Cities, the Great Lakes Bay Region or the MBS region
* Ferrysburg; Grand Haven; and Spring Lake, Michigan, United States
* Iron River, Caspian, and Gaastra, Michigan, United States
* Ironwood; Bessemer; and Wakefield, Michigan, United States
* Grand Island; Kearney; and Hastings, in south-central Nebraska, United States, also known as Tri-Cities, Nebraska
* Rochester; Dover; and Somersworth, New Hampshire, United States
* Farmington; Bloomfield; and Aztec, New Mexico, United States
* Albany, Troy, and Schenectady, New York, United States, in the region known as the Capital District
* Binghamton; Endicott; and Johnson City, New York, United States, the cities' collective metropolitan area is often called the Triple Cities
* New York, New York; Newark; and Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
* Greensboro; Winston-Salem; and High Point, North Carolina, United States, the cities' collective metropolitan area is often called the Piedmont Triad
* Raleigh; Durham; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, the cities' collective metropolitan area is often called the Research Triangle
* Tuttle; Newcastle; and Blanchard, Oklahoma, United States, also known as the Tri-City Area
* Johnson City; Kingsport; and Bristol, Tennessee/Bristol, Virginia, United States, also known as Tri-Cities, Tennessee
* Beaumont; Port Arthur; and Orange, Texas, United States, also known as the Golden Triangle (Texas)
* Dallas; Fort Worth; and Arlington, Texas, United States
* Petersburg; Colonial Heights; and Hopewell, Virginia, United States, also known as Tri-Cities, Virginia
* Pasco; Richland; and Kennewick, Washington, United States, also known as Tri-Cities, Washington

## Quad cities[edit | edit source]

China

* Xinhui, Taishan, Kaiping, and Enping together formed Siyi area in Jiangmen, Guangdong

Finland

* Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa in Uusimaa, Finland; together form the largest metropolis in the country and its actual capital area.

Thailand

* Pattaya-Chonburi Metropolitan Area consists of the City of Pattaya, Town of Chonburi, Portal town of Laem Chabang and Town of Sattahip on the west coast of Chonburi Province, Thailand

United Kingdom

* The West Yorkshire Built-up Area consists of the cities of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield, and the large town of Huddersfield, United Kingdom.

United States

* The Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Area in Alabama, United States, is locally referred to as "the Quad Cities", with Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia, Alabama. Formerly, when Muscle Shoals was a mere village, this region was known as "Tri-Cities", Alabama. In fact, all except Florence are incorporated as towns.
* Quad Cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, and Rock Island and Moline, Illinois, United States. It also includes a fifth member, East Moline, Illinois.
* Allentown/Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Easton, Pennsylvania/Phillipsburg, New Jersey, United States; the collective area is often called the Lehigh Valley
* The Quad Cities of Minnesota, United States, consist of Virginia, Eveleth, Gilbert, and Mountain Iron.
* The cities of Pullman, Washington, Moscow, Idaho, Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington, United States, have marketed themselves as "Quad Cities."[7]

## More than four cities[edit | edit source]

Denmark

* The Triangle Region (Denmark), consisting of Billund, Fredericia, Haderslev, Kolding, Middelfart, Vejen and Vejle, Denmark.

Germany

* The Ruhr district (Germany): consisting of Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, Bochum, Oberhausen, Mülheim, Bottrop, Gelsenkirchen and Herne in its core.

India

* In India: the cities of New Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad have formed a huge metropolitan area known as National Capital Region (India).

Malaysia

* In Malaysia: the cities of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Puchong, Shah Alam, Klang, Port Klang, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, and Kajang have formed a huge metropolitan area (around the size of Singapore) known as Greater Kuala Lumpur.

Kazakhstan

* In Kazakhstan: the cities of Karaganda, Temirtau, Shakhtinsk, Abai, Saran, Topar, Dolinka, Shahan, Kokpekty, and Novodolinsky form an industrial-mining area known since Soviet times as Karbass (Karaganda coal basin).

United States

* In the US states of Illinois and Iowa: The cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa; Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in Illinois form a metropolitan area known as the Quad Cities.
* The Michiana area, in the states of Indiana and Michigan, consisting of the cities of South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, Granger, Michigan City, Goshen, La Porte (Indiana), New Buffalo, Buchanan, Niles, Berrien Springs, St. Joseph, Benton Harbor, and Dowagiac (Michigan)
* In the US states of Michigan and Wisconsin sit the 6 cities of Iron Mountain, Kingsford, Quinnesec, Norway (in Michigan), Aurora, and Niagara (in Wisconsin). The area is collectively known as the Iron Mountain Area.
* In the US state of Virginia: Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach; the cities' collective metropolitan area is often called Hampton Roads

## Examples of cities formed by amalgamation[edit | edit source]

### Asia[edit | edit source]

China

* Wuhan in China consists of the towns of Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang in Hubei Province.

India

* Delhi, India: What used to be Old Delhi, New Delhi, and a collection of smaller villages has now grown into the current megalopolis that is seen today, also known as the National Capital Region (NCR)
* In Telangana, India, the cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad are merged to form Greater Hyderabad.

Japan

* Fukuoka in Japan, a city of 1.4 million people, formerly the twin cities of Hakata and Fukuoka until the late 19th century.
* Kitakyushu in Japan, a city of 900,000 people, created in 1963 by the merger of Yahata, Kokura, Moji, Wakamatsu, and Tobata. Yahata and Kokura had formerly been major cities in their own right.
* Saitama in Japan, a city of 1.2 million people, created in 2001 by the merger of the cities of Urawa, Omiya, Yono, and later Iwatsuki. Urawa and Omiya could formerly have been considered twin cities.

Pakistan

* Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, has been expanded to include smaller towns including Rawat in its territory.
* Lahore, the second largest city of Pakistan, has, as of 2013, grown out so much that small towns by this giant city, such as Shahdara, have been absorbed in its city limits.

Taiwan

* The former cities of Taoyuan and Zhongli, Taiwan, which merged along with the entire county in 2014 to form a single municipality city of Taoyuan, the two cities sit directly next to each other and shares almost the same population.

Thailand

* Bangkok, the capital and largest city of Thailand, was created in 1971, when the previous Bangkok province (Phra Nakhon) was merged with Thonburi province.

Vietnam

* The cities of Saigon and Cholon merged in 1931 to form a single city named Saigon-Cholon; in 1956, the name Cholon was dropped and the city became known as Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam.

### Europe[edit | edit source]

Germany

* Berlin (Berlin and Cölln), in Germany
* Duisburg (Duisburg and Hamborn, 1929–1935 called Duisburg-Hamborn), in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
* Wuppertal (Barmen and Elberfeld), in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Greece

* Athens incorporated dozens of villages and towns and absorbed whole of Athens basin and parts outside of it, notably Piraeus.

Hungary

* Budapest, Hungary is the amalgamation of Buda, Pest and Óbuda.

The Netherlands

* Eindhoven, the Netherlands, merged with five neighbouring municipalities (Woensel, Tongelre, Stratum, Gestel en Blaarthem and Strijp) into the new Groot-Eindhoven ("Greater Eindhoven") in 1920. The prefix "Groot-" was later dropped.

Spain

* Madrid, Spain, evolved by absorption of other towns (like Tetuán de las Victorias, Vallecas, Chamartín de la Rosa or Aravaca)[8]

United Kingdom

* Edinburgh, Scotland, absorbed a number of surrounding villages, but most notably the separate burgh of Leith.
* London, England, grew from its cores in the City of London and the City of Westminster to encompass many other towns and villages within neighbouring counties and absorbed almost the whole of Middlesex county.
* Manchester and the city of Salford, England in the Metropolitan County of Greater Manchester (formerly in Lancashire).
* Stoke-on-Trent, England was created in 1910 from the towns of Burslem, Hanley, Tunstall, Longton, Fenton and Stoke, taking its name from the latter. Neighbouring Newcastle-under-Lyme remains a separate town.

### North America[edit | edit source]

Canada

* Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada, was formed in 1967 when Alberni and Port Alberni, merged to become one city.
* Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, amalgamated with 12 surrounding municipalities and its metropolitan corporation in 1971 under what was referred to as unicity reforms in local government restructuring.
* Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, were merged in 1996 along with Bedford and Halifax County to create the Halifax Regional Municipality.
* Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, was formed in 2001 by the amalgamation of the former Regional Municipality of Sudbury, comprising the municipalities of Sudbury, Nickel Centre, Valley East, Capreol, Rayside-Balfour, Onaping Falls and Walden, plus a number of previously unamalgamated townships. The amalgamation made it the most populous city in the Northern Ontario region.
* Kingston, Ontario, Canada, was amalgamated in 1998 with the neighboring Kingston and Pittsburgh Townships.
* Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, was given its large area by the amalgamation in 2001 of the old City of Ottawa, the suburbs of Nepean, Kanata, Gloucester, Rockcliffe Park, Vanier and Cumberland, Orleans, and the rural townships of West Carleton, Osgoode, Rideau, and Goulbourn
* Toronto, Ontario, Canada, formed by an amalgamation of the Old Toronto with East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York, which were themselves products of earlier amalgamations.
* Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada (Fort William and Port Arthur).
* Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, formed by the amalgamation of the old City of Gatineau, City of Hull, City of Aylmer, City of Buckingham and the Municipality of Masson-Angers all facing the City of Ottawa, Ontario from the north shore of the Ottawa River.
* Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was merged with the other 27 communities on the Island of Montreal by an act in the Quebec Parliament in 2002. Following a change in the provincial government, several communities later voted via referendum to de-merge and there are now a total of 15, leaving Montreal merged with the other 12.
* Saguenay, Quebec, Canada (Chicoutimi, Jonquière, et al.)
* Lloydminster, Canada, on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border, was formed as a single entity in 1903, when both future provinces were part of the Northwest Territories, but was divided into two separate entities in 1905 because the border between the newly created provinces bisected the community. In 1930, the two towns were reunited as a single town under the shared jurisdiction of both provinces, and Lloydminster was reincorporated as a single city in 1958.

United States

* Helena–West Helena, Arkansas was formed in 2006 by the merger of the previous cities of Helena and West Helena.
* Fremont, California was formed in 1956 by the combination of the five towns of Centerville, Irvington, Niles, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs, California. The town of Newark has always refused to merge into Fremont, and Newark is completely surrounded by Fremont.
* Boston, Massachusetts is made up of the former towns of Boston, Dorchester, Brighton, Roxbury, Charlestown, and Hyde Park.
* Iron River, Michigan absorbed the nearby city of Stambaugh and village of Mineral Hills in July 2000.
* Minneapolis, Minnesota. St. Anthony (not to be confused with St. Anthony Village, a modern city which is a suburb) was a twin city to Minneapolis in the two cities' youth. Minneapolis annexed St. Anthony in the late 1800s.
* Park Hills, Missouri was formed in 1994 by a four-way municipal merger involving the cities of Flat River, Elvins, and Esther, plus the village of Rivermines.
* Jersey City, New Jersey, was incorporated in 1820, and slowly grew by annexing surrounding municipalities: Van Vorst Twp. (1851), Bergen City (1869), Hudson City (1869), Bergen Twp. (1869) and finally Greenville Twp. (1873).
* New York City, New York (five boroughs, historically especially between Manhattan and Brooklyn)
* What is now the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina was once two separate towns called Winston and Salem that were combined into one.[n 27]
* Cleveland (Cleveland and Ohio City) in Ohio
* Lincoln City, Oregon was formed in 1965 by merging the extant seaside towns of Oceanlake, Delake, and Taft, with the adjoining unincorporated areas of Nelscott and Cutler City.
* Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which absorbed the cities of South Bethlehem, and West Bethlehem. The former Bethlehem and South Bethlehem are situated in Northampton County, and West Bethlehem is in Lehigh County. As a result, present-day Bethlehem straddles the county line.
* Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, annexed Allegheny City, which is now the quarter of the city that lies north of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers. Also annexed was Birmingham, now referred to as the "South Side".
* Richmond (Richmond and Manchester) in central Virginia
* Bellingham, Washington was formed from four cities, Fairhaven, Sehome, Bellingham and Whatcom.

## Fictional twin cities[edit | edit source]

* Ankh-Morpork, from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, is referred to as "the twin cities of proud Ankh and pestilent Morpork"[9]
* Besźel and Ul Qoma in China Miéville's novel The City & the City are intertwined twin city-states in Eastern Europe whose inhabitants have trained themselves to only see the city they live in and unsee the city they don't.
* Central City and Keystone City, from the current Flash comics, are shown as twin cities. Before the 1985-86 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, Central and Keystone are presented as located in the same space but on different parallel Earths.[10]
* Duckburg and St. Canard were depicted in the cartoon Darkwing Duck as sister cities connected by a bridge, very similar to Oakland and San Francisco.[11][12]
* Gotham City (the home of Batman) and Metropolis (the home of Superman) have sometimes been presented as twin cities, mainly in 1970s and 1980s stories by DC Comics. In stories presenting them as twin cities, Gotham City and Metropolis are located on opposite sides of a large bay (identified as Delaware Bay in 1990's The Atlas of the DC Universe), with both cities linked by the Metro-Narrows Bridge,[13] a suspension bridge resembling New York City's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.[14][15]
* Helium, from the Barsoom series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, consists of the twin cities Greater Helium and Lesser Helium.[16]

## See also[edit | edit source]

* List of divided cities
* Cross-border town naming
* Megacity
* List of metropolitan areas that overlap multiple countries
* Ecumenopolis
* Metropolis
* Megalopolis
* Sister city

## Notes[edit | edit source]

1. ^ Separated by the Zambezi River at the location of Victoria Falls, each city benefits from tourism created by Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world as measured by combined height and width (see Victoria Falls Size). The primary airport of the region, Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport, is located in Livingstone and brings tourists from all over the world. The two cities share an international border that is located halfway across the Victoria Falls Bridge, which was completed in 1905.
2. ^ Main cities of Metropolitan Halifax, they are geographically separated by Halifax Harbour
3. ^ Separated by the North Saskatchewan River. While the communities are commonly referred to by the collective "The Battlefords," they retain distinctive identities.
4. ^ The cities meet at the border between Texas and Arkansas, and their name is a portmanteau of those states' names as well as that of Louisiana, whose border lies approximately 25 miles to the south. See Texarkana metropolitan area and Ark-La-Tex.
5. ^ Main cities of the Tampa Bay Area.
6. ^ Champaign was originally known as West Urbana but has since outgrown its neighbor. See Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area.
7. ^ Also called the Twin Cities or L–A. See Lewiston–Auburn
8. ^ Nicknamed the Twin Ports, these form the world's largest freshwater port.
9. ^ Also known as the Twin Cities
10. ^ The cities are connected by two twin cantilever bridges which merge the two cities together as sister cities. The cities meet on the Mississippi and Louisiana state border and along the Mississippi River adjacent to each other. They both share long history together. Natchez, Mississippi is also a historical part of Concordia Parish, Louisiana, to which Vidalia is the seat of Concordia Parish. See Natchez–Vidalia Bridge, Concordia Parish and Adams County, Mississippi.
11. ^ See Fargo–Moorhead.
12. ^ The core cities of the Wyoming Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania.
13. ^ The two largest cities of Upstate South Carolina. Their shared international airport is named after both cities (Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport).
14. ^ Twin cores of the Metroplex of northern Texas.
15. ^ Nicknamed the Petroplex in a nod to the DFW region's nickname, as well as its strong reliance on the oil industry.
16. ^ Until 1930, the community, divided by the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, was two separate, adjacent towns. However, with the Town of Lloydminster Acts in administration the large town became integrated while still bi-provincial.
17. ^ Formed by the amalgamation of Fort William and Port Arthur, Ontario in 1970.
18. ^ East Saginaw annexed by Saginaw in 1889.
19. ^ Prior to their consolidation into a single city in 1898 - as noted in the poem "The New Colossus", which is inscribed on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty.
20. ^ Formed historic Al-Mada'in.
21. ^ Co-centers of a shared micropolitan area.
22. ^ Co-centers of a shared micropolitan area.
23. ^ Kurashiki is somewhat more of a suburb
24. ^ Co-centers of a shared major metropolitan area. See Keihanshin
25. ^ Co-centers of a shared major metropolitan area.
26. ^ the principal cities of the San Francisco Bay area.
27. ^ Nicknamed the Twin City.

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ a b "10 Twin Towns and Sister Cities of Indian States". walkthroughindia.com. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "10 Twin Towns and Sister Cities of Indian States". walkthroughindia.com. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
3. ^ Weather story from 2006 The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 2006-12-31
4. ^ [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
5. ^ "It's a wise man who knows where Chatham ends and Rochester begins." Charles Dickens
6. ^ "Tricity residents to get Emaar MGF's Central Plaza soon". The Financial Express. Jan 6, 2014.
7. ^ "Quad Cities too generic a name for ID, WA cities". The Seattle Times. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
8. ^ "Juan Manuel Grijalvo - Madrid - Barrios desaparecidos y actuales - Antiguos municipios independientes".
9. ^ See e.g. the introduction of The Hogfather q:Terry Pratchett's Hogfather
10. ^ The Flash (volume 1) #123, DC Comics, September 1961
11. ^ Starr, Joe (2015-08-05). "Nerd Rabbit Hole: A Guide To Disney's Duck Universe". Pajiba. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
12. ^ "San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge". www.visitcalifornia.com. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
13. ^ Action Comics #451, DC Comics, September 1975
14. ^ New Adventures of Superboy #22, DC Comics, October 1981
15. ^ World's Finest Comics #259, DC Comics, October–November 1979
16. ^ Burroughs, Edgar Rice (1917). A Princess of Mars. A. C. McClurg & Co. pp. 279–80, 305, 313–14.

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