The Cologne Bonn Region (German: Region Köln/Bonn) is a metropolitan area in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, covering the cities of Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen, as well as the districts of Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, Oberbergischer Kreis, Rhein-Erft-Kreis and Rhein-Sieg-Kreis. The region covers an area of 3,839 km2 with 3.13 million inhabitants (population density 815/km2). The city centres of Cologne and Bonn are 24 kilometres apart. At the outer city limits, there are only eight kilometres between Cologne-Libur and Bonn-Geislar.
The Cologne/Bonn Region was established by local governments within the Cologne Government Region in 1992, to promote common policies in regional and urban planning, traffic management, environment and investment. Among the most prominent co-operative projects are the Cologne/Bonn Airport, the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg and the former Bonn–Cologne Railway Company. Also the Stadtbahn of both cities are connected, so there are light rail trains from Cologne Stadtbahn in Bonn and the Bonn Stadtbahn in Cologne. The largest local banks, Sparkasse KölnBonn and Volksbank Köln Bonn, operate in both cities. Both cities are directly connected by the autobahn A555.
The Cologne/Bonn region lies within the larger Rhine-Ruhr region, and forms a counterbalance to the more integrated Ruhr area, which also lies within the Rhine-Ruhr. Since 2008, studies have been undertaken to incorporate cities of the Lower Rhine region (most notably the city of Düsseldorf) into the alliance, in order to form a Rhineland metropolitan region (Metropolregion Rheinland).
Larger Urban Zones Eurostat's Urban Audit splits the Cologne/Bonn region into two Larger Urban Zones (LUZ). These two Urban Zones do not cover the district of Oberbergischer Kreis.
Larger Urban Zone major cities area population Cologne Larger Urban Zone 1,627 km2 1,994,524 Cologne 405 km2 1,085,664 Bergisch Gladbach 83 km2 111,966 Leverkusen 79 km2 163,838 Bonn Larger Urban Zone 1,295 km2 924,546 Bonn 141 km2 327,258 Cologne/Bonn Region 2,922 km2 2,919,070 Population figures for 2012
See also Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region Ruhr Metropolitan Region Metropolitan regions in Germany
References
External links Region Köln/Bonn Regional Marketing Cologne Bonn Ltd