Editing North West England (section)

===Metropolitan areas===
{{See also|List of metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom}}
The five largest metropolitan areas in the North West are as follows:
*Greater Manchester metropolitan area – 2,556,000<ref name=j>{{cite web |url=http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Projects/ESPON2006Projects/StudiesScientificSupportProjects/UrbanFunctions/fr-1.4.3_April2007-final.pdf#page=119 |title=British urban pattern: population data |access-date=22 February 2010 |date=March 2007 |work=ESPON project 1.4.3 Study on Urban Functions |publisher=[[European Spatial Planning Observation Network]] |page=119 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924002318/http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Projects/ESPON2006Projects/StudiesScientificSupportProjects/UrbanFunctions/fr-1.4.3_April2007-final.pdf#page=119 |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>
*Liverpool/Birkenhead metropolitan area – 2,241,000<ref name=j/>
*[[Blackburn]]/[[Burnley]] – 391,000<ref name=j/>
*[[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] – 354,000<ref name=j/>
*[[Blackpool]] −304,000<ref name=j/>

Liverpool and Manchester are sometimes considered parts of a single large polynuclear [[metropolitan area]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:89997 |title=Shrinking cities and growing regions – emerging trends of new rural-urban relationships in the UK and Germany (Manchester eScholar – The University of Manchester) |publisher=Escholar.manchester.ac.uk |access-date=17 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425150854/https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/uk-ac-man-scw:89997 |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1122670315&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-81&srt=pnan&col=adhoq&msz=1500&va=&pt=a |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105182544/http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1122670315&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-81&srt=pnan&col=adhoq&msz=1500&va=&pt=a |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 January 2013 |title=World Gazetteer: United Kingdom – largest cities (per geographical en...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Martin Wainwright |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/23/ruralaffairs.britishidentity |title=Seeking peace and quiet? Here's where to find it {{pipe}} UK news |work=The Guardian |access-date=17 May 2012 |location=London |date=23 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215220517/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/23/ruralaffairs.britishidentity |archive-date=15 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> or [[megalopolis]] but are usually treated as separate metropolitan areas.<ref name=j/> In some studies, part of [[Wigan]] in Greater Manchester is considered part of the Liverpool metropolitan area.<ref name=j/>