# Degree of urbanisation of the communes

A thematic map of the Atlas of Switzerland, the national atlas published by ETH Zurich. The map is drawn in the browser; this file describes it and lists its variants and links, but not the data values shown on the map.

- Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/degree-of-urbanisation-of-the-communes/
- Short title: Degree of urbanisation
- Map id: 753
- Categories: Landscape and Space › Spatial development › Territorial typologies
- Keywords: Buildings, Industry, Inhabitants, Labour, Labour force, Settlement
- Published: 2020-09-30
- Last revised: 2021-06-14
- Content language: English
- Other languages: [Deutsch](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/de/thema/urbanisierungsgrad-der-gemeinden.md), [Français](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/fr/theme/degre-durbanisation-des-communes.md), [Italiano](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/it/tema/grado-di-urbanizzazione-dei-comuni.md)

## Description

Over the last 200 years, social change increasingly appears as an unprecedented process of urbanisation. While around 10% of the population of Switzerland lived in a city around 1800, by the beginning of the 21st century around 75% were already living in urban areas. This urbanisation was accompanied by a continuous and fundamental change in the ways of life and production as well as in their spatial patterns and networks. Two points of this dynamic in space can be distinguished. On the one hand, there is the rapid internal growth of existing cities, especially from the second half of the 19th century until 1914. On the other hand, urbanization since the interwar period also means the transformation of rural areas through increasing integration into urban value-added processes.

Degree of urbanisation
The degree of urbanisation is a classification by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) based on the following three categories:

- cities, otherwise referred to as densely populated areas
- towns and suburbs, otherwise referred to as intermediate density areas
- rural areas, otherwise referred to as thinly populated areas

The term "urban areas" refers both to densely populated cities and to cities and suburbs of medium density.

## Sources

- Eisinger (2015): [Urbanisierung](https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/007876/2015-01-22/). In: HLS/DHS/DSS
- Eurostat (2019): [Territorial typologies manual - degree of urbanisation](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Territorial_typologies_manual_-_degree_of_urbanisation)

## Data sources

- Atlas of Switzerland: [Administrative Einheiten 1:500.000 (Gemeinden, Bezirke, Kantone)](http://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/)
- FSO (2020): [Analyseregionen](https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/querschnittsthemen/raeumliche-analysen/raeumliche-gliederungen/analyseregionen.html)
- swisstopo [J160089] (2010): [Gemeindegrenzen GG25](https://shop.swisstopo.admin.ch/de/products/landscape/boundaries3D)
- swisstopo [J160089] (2010): [Landeskarte 1:500.000](https://shop.swisstopo.admin.ch/de/products/maps/national/lk500)

## Data owners

- [Atlas of Switzerland (AoS)](http://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/)
- [Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO)](https://www.bfs.admin.ch/)
- [Swiss Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo)](http://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/)

## Citation

The terms of use ask to name the Atlas of Switzerland and the data owners, and to keep the source references in exports, screenshots and embeds. Cite the map as:

> Atlas of Switzerland (2021): Degree of urbanisation of the communes. ETH Zürich. Map data © AoS, FSO, swisstopo. https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/degree-of-urbanisation-of-the-communes/

## Links

The map opens at its full extent; a link cannot set the map position.

- Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/degree-of-urbanisation-of-the-communes/
- Short link, stays valid when the title changes: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/t/753/
- Side by side with another map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/comparison/?lt=753&rt={id of the other map}&ru={u of the other map, or leave out}

Embed in another website (allowed by the terms of use, as long as the source references stay visible):

```html
<iframe src="https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/embed/?id=753&dm=e&ig=1" style="border:0;width:100%;height:600px;max-width:100%;" loading="lazy" title="Theme “Degree of urbanisation” in the Atlas of Switzerland" allowfullscreen sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups" allow="geolocation" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>
```

In the embed URL, `dm` sets what is shown: `e` the map with its title bar (default), `p` also the values of an object clicked on the map, `m` only the map with a button that opens it in the atlas. `ig=1` (default) lets the map react to scrolling and dragging only after a click into it, `ig=0` right away. The size can be changed in `style`.

## Maps to compare with

- [Major companies in Switzerland](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/major-companies-in-switzerland.md) (id 488)

For the use and citation of maps and data, see the [terms of use](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/terms-of-use/).