agglomeration - conurbation

Bit of a contentious one this. In a nutshell, many people use agglomeration to mean conurbation when they’re describing towns and cities, usually Katowice, Poznań and Gdańsk. Typical examples look something like these:

           

Common Usage          

1)  Green spaces in the urban agglomeration are plentiful and varied.   

2)  The ‘tri-city’ agglomeration of Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia is the crown of Poland’s coastline and the jewel of the Baltic.

3) The Poznań agglomeration continues to expand, with the recent inclusion of several small towns to the west.

Better Usage

1)  Green spaces in Katowice’s conurbation are plentiful and varied.

2)  The ‘tri-city’ conurbation of Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia is  the crown of Poland’s coastline and the jewel of the Baltic.

3) The Poznań conurbation continues to expand, with the recent inclusion of several small towns to the west.

So, lets go to the OED:           

1- agglomerate (vb) collect or form into a mass or group        

2- agglomeration (n) collection or mass of disparate parts       

1- conurbation (n) an extended urban area, typically consisting of several towns merging with a central city     

We can see that the two words share the meaning of ‘a collection of things lumped together’, but conurbation is specifically for urban elements of towns and cities. From a native point of view, agglomeration has a more organic feel. Common usage for agglomeration is in describing how food ingredients come together in a bowl, or how dirt and mud builds up around a wheel or something. I understand from various translators that the Polish aglomeracja has a (to me surprisingly) universal usage, so that’s probably why it ends up being used as much as it does.

Now the contentious part is that some pretty well-established Polish authorities use agglomeration to describe themselves, including UMP and various other city and regional authorities. Does this mean it’s correct usage? No, it just means that they got a bum deal to begin with and have clung to it intractably. I’ve worked with dozens of Urząd Miastas, Marszałkowskis and so on, and every time you tell them ‘Come on, let’s start from scratch and get it right,’ they just throw you their old, crusty glossary and say ‘This is how we like it :P’ (you really get a feel for a good :P when it comes from a Marshall’s Office!).

So, conurbation instead of agglomeration, which will lead to :) instead of :P, unless it’s already part of your client’s established glossary in which case the best you can do is make a note about it for them and let them decide.