Editing Lancashire (section)

===Human geography===
{{further|North West Green Belt}}
[[File:North West Green Belt.svg|thumb|{{legend|#92F98B|The North West Green Belt|outline=#808080}}
{{Legend-line|2px solid #0024FF|Ceremonial county borders}}
{{Legend-line|2px solid #FD3EC4|District council borders}}
]]
The north of the ceremonial county is less densely populated than the south, especially inland. The [[The Fylde|Fylde]] coast is continuously built-up from [[Lytham St Annes]] to [[Fleetwood]], including [[Blackpool]], and further north [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]], [[Morecambe]], and [[Heysham]] form a conurbation. The rest of the region is characterised by small towns and villages in the flat farmland surrounding the lower reaches of the [[River Ribble|Ribble]], [[River Wyre|Wyre]], and [[River Lune|Lune]] and the sparsely populated uplands of the [[Forest of Bowland]].

The centre and south-east of Lancashire are relatively urbanised, especially around the major settlements of [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Blackburn]], and [[Burnley]] and near the border with Greater Manchester.<ref>{{cite web |title=- Rural and Urban Geographies |url=https://clickweb.lancashire.gov.uk/?siteid=4156&pageid=26524&e=e |access-date=13 February 2022 |website=clickweb.lancashire.gov.uk}}</ref> The [[Central Lancashire]] urban area includes the city of Preston and the towns of [[Penwortham]], [[Leyland, Lancashire|Leyland]] and [[Chorley, Lancashire|Chorley]]. A short distance east, Blackburn and [[Darwen]] are the first of several adjacent areas urban areas which continue east toward [[West Yorkshire]] and south into the valleys leading to Greater Manchester, the others being [[Accrington/Rossendale built-up area|Accrington and Rossendale]] and [[Burnley built-up area|Burnley]]. [[West Lancashire]] in the south-west is rural with the exception of [[Skelmersdale]], which forms part of [[Wigan urban area]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Moffitt |first1=Dominic |date=8 December 2019 |title=Manchester and Liverpool: How Lancashire lost its cities |language=en |work=LancsLive |url=https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/manchester-liverpool-how-lancashire-lost-17378502 |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Market Towns – Visit Lancashire |url=https://www.visitlancashire.com/explore/market-towns |access-date=13 February 2022 |website=visitlancashire.com}}</ref> 

The [[North West Green Belt]] covers a large part of the south and centre of the county to prevents the settlements there from converging both with each other and with the nearby [[Liverpool Urban Area|Merseyside]] and Greater Manchester conurbations. It includes all of the non-urban areas in the boroughs of West Lancashire and South Ribble and the majority of Chorley; elsewhere it is less extensive, but covers the areas between the major settlements. There is a further area of green belt in the north of the county between Lancaster, Morecambe, and [[Carnforth]].

The cities of [[Manchester]], [[Salford]], [[Liverpool]] and the following settlements within the historic county boundaries are currently in the ceremonial counties of [[West Yorkshire]], [[Cheshire]], [[Merseyside]], [[Greater Manchester]] and [[Cumbria]]:<ref name="George_D" />{{Full citation needed|date=October 2022}}<ref name="lga1972" /><ref name="lancs_ancient_boundaries">[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10173000&c_id=10001043 Vision of Britain] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001001412/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10173000&c_id=10001043|date=1 October 2007}} – Lancashire ancient county boundaries</ref><ref name="politics_uk" /><ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10097848&c_id=10001043 Vision of Britain] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001023302/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10097848&c_id=10001043|date=1 October 2007}} – Lancashire boundaries 1974</ref><ref name="chandler">Chandler, J., ''Local Government Today'', (2001)</ref><ref name="Youngs">Youngs. Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Volume 2. Northern England</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="border:0; text-align:left; line-height:150%;"
|-
! scope="column" | To ceremonial
! scope="column" | From historic Lancashire
|-
! scope="row" | Greater Manchester
| {{flatlist|
* [[Abram, Greater Manchester|Abram]]
* [[Ashton-in-Makerfield]]
* [[Ashton-under-Lyne]]
* [[Aspull]]
* [[Astley, Greater Manchester|Astley]]
* [[Atherton, Greater Manchester|Atherton]]
* [[Audenshaw]]
* [[Blackrod]]
* [[Bolton]]
* [[Boothstown]]
* [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]]
* [[Cadishead]]
* [[Chadderton]]
* [[Clifton, Greater Manchester|Clifton]]
* [[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]]
* [[Droylsden]]
* [[Eccles, Greater Manchester|Eccles]]
* [[Failsworth]]
* [[Farnworth]]
* [[Golborne]]
* [[Haughton Green]]
* [[Four Heatons|Heatons]]
* [[Heywood, Greater Manchester|Heywood]]
* [[Horwich]]
* [[Hindley, Greater Manchester|Hindley]]
* [[Ince-in-Makerfield]]
* [[Irlam]]
* [[Kearsley]]
* [[Lees, Greater Manchester|Lees]]
* [[Leigh, Greater Manchester|Leigh]]
* [[Littleborough, Greater Manchester|Littleborough]]
* [[Little Hulton]]
* [[Little Lever]]
* [[Lowton]]
* Manchester
* [[Middleton, Greater Manchester|Middleton]]
* [[Milnrow]]
* [[Mosley Common]]
* [[Mossley]] (part)
* [[Newhey]]
* [[Oldham]]
* [[Orrell, Greater Manchester|Orrell]]
* [[Pendlebury]]
* [[Platt Bridge]]
* [[Prestwich]]
* [[Radcliffe, Greater Manchester|Radcliffe]]
* [[Ramsbottom]]
* [[Reddish]]
* [[Rochdale]]
* [[Royton]]
* Salford
* [[Shaw and Crompton]]
* [[Shevington]]
* [[South Turton]]
* [[Standish, Greater Manchester|Standish]]
* [[Stalybridge]] (part)
* [[Stretford]]
* [[Swinton, Greater Manchester|Swinton]]
* [[Tottington, Greater Manchester|Tottington]]
* [[Tyldesley]]
* [[Urmston]]
* [[Walkden]]
* [[Westhoughton]]
* [[Whitefield, Greater Manchester|Whitefield]]
* [[Wigan]]
* [[Worsley]]
}}
|-
! scope="row" | Merseyside
| {{flatlist|
* [[Billinge, Merseyside|Billinge]]
* [[Bootle]]
* [[Crosby, Merseyside|Crosby]]
* [[Earlestown]]
* [[Eccleston, St Helens|Eccleston]]
* [[Formby]]
* [[Halewood]]
* [[Halsnead Garden Village|Halsnead]]
* [[Haydock]]
* [[Huyton]]
* [[Kirkby]]
* [[Litherland]]
* Liverpool
* [[Maghull]]
* [[Newton-le-Willows]]
* [[Prescot]]
* [[Rainford]]
* [[Rainhill]]
* [[Seaforth, Merseyside|Seaforth]]
* [[St Helens, Merseyside|St. Helens]]
* [[Southport]]
* [[Stockbridge Village]]
* [[Waterloo, Merseyside|Waterloo]]
* [[Whiston, Merseyside|Whiston]]
}}
|-
! scope="row" | Cumbria
| {{flatlist|
* [[Askam and Ireleth]]
* [[Barrow-in-Furness]]
* [[Broughton-in-Furness]]
* [[Cartmel]]
* [[Coniston, Cumbria|Coniston]]
* [[Dalton-in-Furness]]
* [[Grange-over-Sands]]
* [[Hawkshead]]
* [[Ulverston]]
* [[Walney Island]]
}}
|-
! scope="row" | Cheshire
| {{flatlist|
* [[Culcheth]]
* [[Birchwood, Cheshire|Birchwood]]
* [[Warrington]]
* [[Widnes]]
}}
|-
! scope="row" | West Yorkshire
| [[Todmorden]] (part)
|- style="border-top: 2px solid black;"
! scope="column" | From historic
! scope="column" | To ceremonial Lancashire
|-
! scope="row" | West Riding of Yorkshire
| | {{flatlist|
* [[Barnoldswick]]
* [[Bolton-by-Bowland]]
* [[Earby]]
* [[Slaidburn]]
}}
|-
|}

Boundary changes before 1974 include:<ref name="Youngs" />
*[[Todmorden]], split between Lancashire and Yorkshire then entirely to West Riding of Yorkshire in 1889
*[[Mossley]], split between Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire then entirely to Lancashire in 1889
*[[Stalybridge]], entirely to Cheshire in 1889
*Areas such as [[Wythenshawe]] and [[Latchford, Cheshire|Latchford]], former county boroughs of Manchester and Warrington both extended south of the Mersey into historic Cheshire
*areas such as [[Reddish]] and the [[Four Heatons|Heatons]] ([[Heaton Chapel]], [[Heaton Mersey]], [[Heaton Moor]] and [[Heaton Norris]]), former county borough of Stockport extended north into [[Lancashire County Palatine|historic Lancashire]].