Key Difference: A metropolitan city refers to a densely populated city that is well linked with its suburban areas whereas a metro or metropolitan area  consists of a a metropolitan city  and also includes its associated suburbs and exurbs.

A metropolitan city refers to a densely populated city that is economically and socially well linked with its suburban areas whereas a metro or metropolitan area consists of a densely populated urban core city (a metropolitan city) and also includes its associated suburbs and exurbs. To put in simple words a metro consists of metropolitan city and its suburbs or can be defined as; a metropolitan city along with its suburbs is known as metro. A city is a large and permanent settlement covering a significant area of land. Thus a metro or metropolitan area consists of a densely populated urban core area known as metro city and also includes its associated suburbs and exurbs. Denoting metropolitan city and metro are ways of defining important cities and areas of any country. It is a method of managing the land’s resources and the population. It is also a way to delegate responsibility. A metro’s core area must possess high degree of economic and social integration with adjacent communities.

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 acquire 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 let us consider the example of Newark that is a city in New Jersey.   Newark forms the suburbs of New York city and is well associated with the activities of New York city. Now to clear the terms, recalling the stated definition in this article, one can easily identify as New York a metropolitan city but the New York metropolitan area comprises of New York city as well as many suburbs like Newark. 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.

Image Courtesy: twitter.com, residentadvisor.net