Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centers that grow into a single conurbation, or narrowly separated urban areas, over time. Twin cities are generally comparable in status and size, though not necessarily equal. Although there are no formal criteria, a city and a substantially smaller suburb would not typically qualify, even if they were once separate. Tri-cities and quad cities are similar groups of three or four municipalities, respectively.
A common but not universal scenario is two cities that developed concurrently on opposite sides of a river. For example, Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota—one of the most widely known pairs of "Twin Cities"—were founded several miles apart on opposite sides of the Mississippi River and competed for prominence as they grew.
In some cases, twin cities are separated by a state border, such as Albury (New South Wales) and Wodonga (Victoria) in Australia, on opposite sides of the Murray River. In Pakistan, Islamabad and Rawalpindi are twin cities located in the northwestern Punjab region; Islamabad is administratively part of the Islamabad Capital Territory, and Rawalpindi is in the province of Punjab. Cities on opposite sides of international borders sometimes share enough cultural and historical identity to be seen as twins, such as Haparanda (Sweden) and Tornio (Finland), Leticia (Colombia) and Tabatinga (Brazil), or Valga (Estonia) and Valka (Latvia).
In some cases, twin cities eventually merge into a single legal municipality, such as Buda and Pest merging in 1873 into Budapest, Hungary; Brooklyn and New York City being consolidated in 1898; and the three ancient cities of Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang joining in 1927 into Wuhan. As a single urban area, twin cities may share an airport whose airport codes include both cities' initials, e.g., DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth), LBA (Leeds–Bradford), MSP (Minneapolis–Saint Paul), RDU (Raleigh and Durham), and CAK (Akron–Canton).
Twin cities
List of international and regional border towns and cities
Africa Border towns CountriesKinshasa and Brazzaville / Goma and Gisenyi / Kousséri and N'Djamena / Aflao and Lomé / Victoria Falls and Livingstone /
Asia
Border towns CountriesAstara and Astara / Erenhot and Zamyn-Üüd / Dandong and Sinuiju / Changbai and HyesanJi'an and ManpoManzhouli and Zabaykalsk / Heihe and BlagoveshchenskDongxing and Mong Cai / Hekou and Lao CaiJohor Bahru and Singapore / Vientiane and Nong Khai / Dansavan and Lao Bao / Al Ain and Al Buraimi / Agartala and Akhaura / Eilat and Aqaba / Jincheng and Xiamen / Hong Kong and Shenzhen /
Europe Border towns CountriesVienna and BratislavaThis is an example of capital cities of neighboring nations being twin cities of one another. / Bad Radkersburg and Gornja Radgona / Comines and Comines / Mouscron and TourcoingWervik and Wervicq-SudHrvatska Kostajnica and Kostajnica / Slavonski Brod and BrodČeský Těšín and Cieszyn / Copenhagen and Malmö / Helsingør and HelsingborgValga and Valka / Narva and Ivangorod / Imatra and Svetogorsk / Tornio and Haparanda / Strasbourg and Kehl / Hendaye and Irun / Frankfurt (Oder) and Słubice / Görlitz and ZgorzelecGuben and GubinHeringsdorf and ŚwinoujścieKonstanz and Kreuzlingen / Laufenburg (Baden) and Laufenburg, AargauSeparated by the Rhine River (used to be one city until 1801/1802).Esztergom and Štúrovo / Komárno and KomáromStrabane and Lifford / Gorizia and Nova Gorica / Kerkrade and Herzogenrath / La Línea de la Concepción and Gibraltar / Basel, Weil am Rhein and Saint Louis / / Sarp and Sarpi / Tui and Valença / Aubange, Longwy and Pétange / / Notes
North America Border towns Bordering countries Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York / Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Stanstead, Quebec and Derby Line, Vermont North Portal, Saskatchewan and Portal, North DakotaTecate, Baja California and Tecate, California / Boquillas del Carmen, Coahuila and Boquillas, Texas Naco, Sonora and Naco, Arizona Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora and San Luis, Arizona Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and Laredo, Texas Nuevo Progreso, Río Bravo, Tamaulipas and Progreso, Texas Calexico, California and Mexicali, Baja California (Calexico–Mexicali) Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas and Ayutla, San Marcos / Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario (Detroit–Windsor) / International Falls, Minnesota and Fort Frances, Ontario Douglas, Arizona and Agua Prieta, Sonora / Yuma, Arizona and San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora San Diego, California and Tijuana, Baja California see San Diego–Tijuana Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Tamaulipas see Brownsville–Matamoros Del Rio, Texas and Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila Eagle Pass, Texas and Piedras Negras, Coahuila El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua see El Paso–Juárez Presidio, Texas and Manuel Ojinaga, Chihuahua
South America Border town CountriesSant'Ana do Livramento and Rivera / Chuí and Chuy / Puerto Iguazú, Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este, and Presidente Franco / / Posadas and Encarnación / Concordia and Salto / Salvador Mazza and Yacuiba /
List of internal border towns and cities Africa
Twin towns Country Cairo and Giza. Triple cities if counting Shubra El Kheima.Port Said and Port Fuad Sekondi-Takoradi Asaba and OnitshaJimeta and Yola Johannesburg and Pretoria, Gauteng Province
Asia Twin towns CountryDhaka and NarayanganjGuangzhou and FoshanXi'an and XianyangBeijing and LangfangWuxi and SuzhouChaozhou and ShantouHaifeng and LufengAhmedabad and Gandhinagar, GujaratAllahabad and Naini, Uttar PradeshBangalore, Karnataka and Hosur, Tamil NaduBishangarh and Jalore, RajasthanChümoukedima and Dimapur, NagalandCuttack and Bhubaneswar, OdishaDurg and Bhilai, ChhattisgarhHubli and Dharwad, KarnatakaMysore and Srirangapatna, KarnatakaKankroli and Rajsamand, RajasthanKochi and Ernakulam, KeralaWeather story from 2006 The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 2006-12-31Kolkata and Howrah, West BengalMumbai and Navi Mumbai, MaharashtraKalyan and Dombivli, MaharashtraMira and Bhayandar, MaharashtraVasai and Virar, MaharashtraAmbarnath and Badlapur, MaharashtraPimpri and Chinchwad, MaharashtraSangli and Miraj, MaharashtraMunger and Jamalpur, BiharNoida and Greater Noida, Uttar PradeshPondicherry and CuddaloreRanchi and Hatia, JharkhandSurat and Navsari, GujaratSumerpur and Sheoganj, RajasthanThrissur and Guruvayur, KeralaVijayawada and Guntur, Andhra PradeshBangarpet and Kolar Gold Fields, KarnatakaHarihar and Davangere, KarnatakaShivamoga and Bhadravati, KarnatakaTiruchirappalli and Srirangam, Tamil NaduTirunelveli and Palayamkottai, Tamil NaduMarthandam and Kuzhithurai, Tamil NaduHyderabad and Secunderabad, TelanganaWarangal and Hanamkonda, TelanganaAsansol and Durgapur, West BengalBarrackpore and Barasat, West BengalCoochbehar and Alipurduar, West BengalJalpaiguri and Mainaguri, West BengalSiliguri and Jalpaiguri, West BengalBerhampore and Murshidabad, West BengalErbil and MosulSeleucia and CtesiphonRamla and LodAomori and HakodateKamisu and KashimaKitakyushu and ShimonosekiKyoto and OtsuMaebashi and TakasakiNasushiobara and OtawaraOkayama and KurashikiOsaka and SakaiSanjo and TsubameToyohashi and ToyokawaTsukuba and TsuchiuraYokkaichi and SuzukaKaragandy and TemirtauBeirut and Jounieh, LebanonKuala Lumpur and Putrajaya,Bharatpur and GaindakotButwal and TilottamaNepalgunj and KohalpurRason and ChongjinJhelum and Sarai AlamgirPeshawar and MardanRawalpindi and IslamabadRamallah and al-BirehAngeles and MabalacatBaguio and La TrinidadBantay and ViganBayombong and SolanoDagupan and LingayenDaraga and LegazpiDipolog and DapitanGeneral Santos and AlabelLaoag and San NicolasLemery and TaalPalo and TaclobanSanto Tomas and TanauanDammam and KhobarSeoul and Incheon, South KoreaBusan and Ulsan, South KoreaSejong City and Daejeon, South KoreaYangyang and Sokcho, South KoreaTaipei and New Taipei, TaiwanKaohsiung and Tainan, TaiwanZhubei and Hsinchu, TaiwanBangkok and Nonthaburi, ThailandChiang Mai and Lamphun, ThailandSongkhla and Hatyai, ThailandHo Chi Minh City and Binh DuongPhan Rang-Tháp Chàm
Historic Twin towns Country Victoria and Kowloon, colonial Hong Kongalthough, in both colonial Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Victoria is the only city recognised by law; they were widely considered to be separate cities until at least the mid-1970s. Wuhan (merger of Wuchang, Hankou, Hanyang) Chirala-PeralaBangalore Cantonment and Bengaluru Pete along with their suburbs merged to form modern BangaloreJaffa and the rapidly-growing Tel Aviv merged to form one municipality, Tel Aviv-Yafo, in April 1950. Fukuoka (merger of east side of Naka river, Hakata, and the west side, Fukuoka) Ise (merger of Uji, Yamada) Joetsu (merger of Takada, Naoetsu) Naha and Shuri, Okinawa, once separate cities. Shuri became integrated as a district of Naha. Iloilo and Jaro, once separate cities, were consolidated into Iloilo City. Zhongli and Taoyuan, merged into Taoyuan City. Saigon and Cholon, merged into Saigon-Cholon, now Ho Chi Minh City.
Europe
Twin towns Country Nørresundby and AalborgKotka and Hamina Frejus and Saint-Raphaël Lyon and VilleurbanneGöteborg and Mölndal Düsseldorf and Neuss Frankfurt and Offenbach Ludwigshafen and Mannheim Mainz and Wiesbaden Mönchengladbach and Rheydt Nuremberg and Fuerth Sindelfingen and Böblingen Ulm and Neu-Ulm Villingen-SchwenningenBallybofey and Stranorlar, in County Donegal, Ireland are often called the Twin Towns.They form the built up area of Ballybofey and Stranorlar. Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg Porsgrunn and Skien. Together with Tollnes, Gulset and Åfoss they form the Grenland urban area. Sandnes and StavangerBydgoszcz and Toruń Kalisz and Ostrów WielkopolskiPorto and Vila Nova de Gaia Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do CondeAlcobendas and San Sebastián de los Reyes Aldaia and Alaquàs Coslada and San Fernando de Henares Elda and Petrer Llombai and Catadau Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de la Laguna Ferrol and NarónJönköping and HuskvarnaDonetsk and Makiivka Kramatorsk and SlovianskSievierodonetsk and LysychanskPokrovsk and Myrnohrad Brighton and Hove Chatham and Rochester"It's a wise man who knows where Chatham ends and Rochester begins." Charles Dickens Leeds and Bradford Manchester and Salford Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead Liverpool and Birkenhead Warwick and Leamington Spa
Historic Twin towns CountryKnokke and Heist-aan-Zee. United into Knokke-HeistFrýdek and Místek. United into Frýdek-MístekBarmen and Elberfeld. United into Wuppertal. Bonn and Beuel. United into Bonn.Kouvola and Kuusankoski. United into Kouvola. Äänekoski and Suolahti. United into Äänekoski.West Berlin, West Germany and East Berlin. United into Berlin.Buda and Pest. United into Budapest.Bielsko and Biała. United into Bielsko-Biała.Skanör and Falsterbo. United into Skanör med Falsterbo.City of London and City of Westminster. Absorbed into London. Berwick-upon-Tweed and Tweedmouth, until the former was taken by England from Scotland. Novi Sad and Petrovaradin, merged into Novi Sad on 9 October 1929.
North America