Cartogram of the Central Belt depicting the populations of its constituent local authorities, contrasting with its area which is far smaller than the sparsely-populated areas to its north and south
Despite the name, it is not geographically central[a] but is nevertheless at the "waist" of Scotland on a conventional map and the term "central" is used in many local government, police and NGO designations.
It was formerly known as the Midlands or Scottish Midlands but this term has fallen out of fashion.
In the early 21st century, predictions were made that due to economic migration indicators, the urban areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh, whose centres are approximately 41 miles (66 km) apart, could merge to create a megalopolis over the coming decades.[3][4]
The Central Belt area with urban areas (pink), including Glasgow to the west and Edinburgh to the east
The area is often considered[citation needed] as the "triangle" defined by the M8, M80 and M9 motorways stretching from Greenock and Glasgow in the west to Edinburgh in the east, encompassing towns such as Paisley, Cambuslang, Hamilton, Stirling, Falkirk, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Bathgate. It has been referred to as the Lowland Triangle. The population of the local authority areas which are wholly within this territory and have no extensive unpopulated areas[b] was approximately 2.39 million in 2018.[5]
Larger Central BeltEdit
The larger Central Belt area with urban areas (pink), including Ayrshire in the south-west and Tayside to the north-east
The larger Central Belt is a trapezoid, not precisely defined, but essentially encompassing the generally low-lying areas from Helensburgh to Montrose (the Highland Boundary Fault) and from Girvan to Dunbar (the Southern Uplands Fault). This also takes in fairly densely populated regions such as Ayrshire and East Lothian, and encompasses all the major cities of Scotland, except for Aberdeen and Inverness which are located in the north of the country, as well as the bulk of Scotland's industrial works. Including rural parts of the council areas involved,[c] the total population was around 4.28 million in 2018.[5]
Similar termsEdit
There are several terms in common usage in a Scottish context with a similar meaning to "Central Belt".
The Central Lowlands is geologically defined and covers an area that stretches further to the north east than the Central Belt.
The "Midland Valley" is a less commonly used expression synonymous with "Central Lowlands".
^The geographical centre of Scotland lies far to the north of the modern population heartlands. Various locations have been suggested including White Bridge on the B846 east of Schiehallion[1] and a site near the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch.[2]
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Not to be confused with Central Lowlands which includes this area 55 57 04 N 3 51 47 W 55 951 N 3 863 W 55 951 3 863 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Central Belt news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Cartogram of the Central Belt depicting the populations of its constituent local authorities contrasting with its area which is far smaller than the sparsely populated areas to its north and southThe Central Belt of Scotland is the area of highest population density within Scotland Depending on the definition used it has a population of between 2 4 and 4 2 million the country s total was around 5 4 million in 2019 including Greater Glasgow Ayrshire Falkirk Edinburgh Lothian and Fife Despite the name it is not geographically central a but is nevertheless at the waist of Scotland on a conventional map and the term central is used in many local government police and NGO designations It was formerly known as the Midlands or Scottish Midlands but this term has fallen out of fashion The Central Belt lies between the Highlands to the north and the Southern Uplands to the south In the early 21st century predictions were made that due to economic migration indicators the urban areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh whose centres are approximately 41 miles 66 km apart could merge to create a megalopolis over the coming decades 3 4 Contents 1 Smaller Central Belt 2 Larger Central Belt 3 Similar terms 4 See also 5 Notes 6 Citations 7 External linksSmaller Central Belt Edit nbsp The Central Belt area with urban areas pink including Glasgow to the west and Edinburgh to the eastThe area is often considered citation needed as the triangle defined by the M8 M80 and M9 motorways stretching from Greenock and Glasgow in the west to Edinburgh in the east encompassing towns such as Paisley Cambuslang Hamilton Stirling Falkirk Cumbernauld Livingston and Bathgate It has been referred to as the Lowland Triangle The population of the local authority areas which are wholly within this territory and have no extensive unpopulated areas b was approximately 2 39 million in 2018 5 Larger Central Belt Edit nbsp The larger Central Belt area with urban areas pink including Ayrshire in the south west and Tayside to the north eastThe larger Central Belt is a trapezoid not precisely defined but essentially encompassing the generally low lying areas from Helensburgh to Montrose the Highland Boundary Fault and from Girvan to Dunbar the Southern Uplands Fault This also takes in fairly densely populated regions such as Ayrshire and East Lothian and encompasses all the major cities of Scotland except for Aberdeen and Inverness which are located in the north of the country as well as the bulk of Scotland s industrial works Including rural parts of the council areas involved c the total population was around 4 28 million in 2018 5 Similar terms EditThere are several terms in common usage in a Scottish context with a similar meaning to Central Belt The Central Lowlands is geologically defined and covers an area that stretches further to the north east than the Central Belt The Midland Valley is a less commonly used expression synonymous with Central Lowlands The Scottish Lowlands are topographically and culturally defined and include all of Scotland outside of the Highlands and Islands including the Southern Uplands Central Scotland is a less well defined term used to mean various things including Central Lowlands and Central Belt See also EditThe Centre of Scotland Dublin Belfast corridor population 3 3 millionNotes Edit The geographical centre of Scotland lies far to the north of the modern population heartlands Various locations have been suggested including White Bridge on the B846 east of Schiehallion 1 and a site near the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch 2 West Dunbartonshire Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire East Dunbartonshire Glasgow North Lanarkshire Falkirk West Lothian Edinburgh and Midlothian Argyll amp Bute Inverclyde North Ayrshire South Ayrshire East Ayrshire South Lanarkshire Fife East Lothian Stirling Perth amp Kinross Dundee and Angus 1 89 million plus the smaller belt Citations Edit Where is the centre of mainland Scotland Ordnance Survey Retrieved 11 December 2010 See The Where Are We page Archived 2005 12 01 at the Wayback Machine highlandhostel co uk Retrieved 22 September 2007 Central belt to meld as megacity The Sunday Times 9 November 2014 Leader comment Central belt megacity The Scotsman 28 December 2017 a b Scotland Scottish Government StatisticsExternal links EditCentral Belt Way VisitScotland Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Central Belt amp oldid 1117760040, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
