Key Difference: A city is a large and permanent settlement covering a significant area of land whereas a metro or metropolitan area consists of a densely populated urban core area and also includes its associated suburbs and exurbs.

The words city and metro creates a picture of a permanent settlement and specially when we talk about metro than it is something related to big cities. Well in a way this is correct but to understand them properly we should start with the basic definition of a city and a metro. Denoting cities and metros are ways of dividing up land geographically for various reasons. It is a method of managing the land’s resources and the population. It is also a way to delegate responsibility. While, there are various ways to distinguish between a city and a metro, but we can easily define a densely populated urban area with its suburbs and exurbs as a metro.

A city is a large and permanent settlement. It covers a significant area of land that has a shared historical background. Cities may have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law. Cities usually have their own court systems, law enforcement, fire departments, sanitation services and medical care centers. The chief executive of a city is the Mayor. Geographically, the largest city in the world is Tokyo, Japan, while the largest city in the United States is Los Angeles, California.

If we refer to metro city than it is primarily a city therefore, it naturally acquires all the traits of a city but has some additional specifications to be termed as a metro city. Metropolitan word has been derived from Greek word metropolis, meaning “mother city”. Therefore metros are associated with urban areas and are known for providing numerous opportunities of employment. Thus, many people from other cities migrate to metro in order to find a job or to get better job facilities. A metro area is a big area and hence it involves a lot of business activities. Thus, the development is also fast paced in metros than compared to other cities. To understand it better one can consider the example of Newark, that is a city in New Jersey, but it is part of the New York City metropolitan area. Countries have their own perimeters to declare an area as metro and it affects many political issues too. Still, the similarities between all the metros in the world are the key factors like, more developed in comparison to other cities, densely populated and better infrastructure, better services, and greater options etc. than compared to other cities.

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