Editing Essen (section)

=== General ===
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{| style="width: 400px; float: right; clear: right;"
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| style="text-align:right; width:25%; vertical-align:bottom;"| [[File:DEU Oberhausen COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Oberhausen]]
| style="text-align:center; width:10%; vertical-align:bottom;"| [[File:DEU Bottrop COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Bottrop]]
| style="text-align:left; width:15%; vertical-align:bottom;"| [[File:DEU Gladbeck COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Gladbeck]]
| style="text-align:left; width:25%; vertical-align:bottom;"| [[File:DEU Gelsenkirchen COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Gelsenkirchen]]
|-
| style="width:25%; text-align:right;"| [[File:DEU Mülheim an der Ruhr COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Mülheim|Mülheim an der Ruhr]]
| style="width:50%; text-align:center;" colspan="2"| [[File:Essen Stadtteile und Stadtbezirke.svg|100px|center|Map of the Districts and Boroughs of Essen]] Essen<br /><small>(map of districts and boroughs)</small>
| style="width:25%; text-align:left;"| [[File:DEU Bochum COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Bochum]]
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| style="text-align:right; width:25%; vertical-align:top;"| [[File:DEU Ratingen COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Ratingen]]
| style="text-align:right; width:25%; vertical-align:top;"| [[File:DEU Heiligenhaus COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Heiligenhaus]]
| style="text-align:center; width:25%; vertical-align:top;"| [[File:DEU Velbert COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Velbert]]
| style="text-align:left; width:25%; vertical-align:top;"| [[File:DEU Hattingen COA.svg|20px]]<br />[[Hattingen]]
|-
|}
Essen is located in the centre of the [[Ruhr]] area, one of the largest [[urban area]]s in Europe comprising eleven [[independent city|independent cities]] and four districts with some 5.3 million inhabitants into a [[megalopolis (city type)|megalopolis]]. The city limits of Essen itself are {{convert|87|km|mi|0}} long, and border ten cities{{snd}}five belonging to a district ({{lang|de|kreisangehörig}}) and five independent{{snd}}with a total population of approximately 1.4 million. The city extends over {{convert|21|km|mi|0}} from north to south and {{convert|17|km|mi|0}} from west to east, mainly north of the [[Ruhr (river)|River Ruhr]].

The Ruhr forms the {{ill |Lake Baldeney |de |Baldeneysee}} [[reservoir]] in the boroughs of Fischlaken, Kupferdreh, Heisingen and [[Essen-Werden|Werden]]. The lake, a popular recreational area, dates from 1931 to 1933, when some thousands of unemployed [[coal miner]]s dredged it with primitive tools. Generally, large areas south of the River Ruhr (including the suburbs of Schuir and [[Kettwig]]) are quite green and are often quoted as examples of rural structures in the otherwise relatively densely populated central Ruhr area. According to the [[Federal Statistical Office of Germany]], Essen with 9.2% of its area covered by recreational green is the greenest city in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-125300649.html|title=Kommunen: Der Tausendfüßler|date=October 2014|work=[[Der Spiegel]]|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-date=29 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429074540/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-125300649.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the third-greenest city in Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/panorama/reise-leben/top-ten-das-sind-deutschlands-gruenste-staedte/4369498.html|title=Top ten: Das sind Deutschlands grünste Städte|work=[[Handelsblatt]]|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-date=30 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430163200/http://www.handelsblatt.com/panorama/reise-leben/top-ten-das-sind-deutschlands-gruenste-staedte/4369498.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The city has been shortlisted for the title of [[European Green Capital]] two consecutive times, for 2016 and 2017, winning for 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/media-corner/press-releases/index.html|title=European Green Capital|website=ec.europa.eu|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-date=10 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510211112/http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/media-corner/press-releases/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The city was singled out for its exemplary practices in protecting and enhancing nature and biodiversity and efforts to reduce water consumption. Essen participates in a variety of networks and initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the city's resilience in the face of climate change.

The lowest point can be found in the northern borough of Karnap at {{convert|26.5|m|ft|1}}, the highest point in the borough of Heidhausen at {{convert|202.5|m|ft|0}}. The average elevation is {{convert|116|m|ft|0}}.