Delimitation and Hierarchization of Metropolitan Areas: An Exercise in Adaptation and Application for the Colombian Case

This paper presents methodological approaches that have been applied to define metropolitan areas in Spain in which commuting has been taken as the key variable. An explanatory exercise is carried out through the application and adaptation of one of these methods for the Colombian context. An analysis is made of the decisions and procedures applied, highlighting the particularities and the differences with similar delimitation processes carried out in other countries. Finally, an exercise is performed to measure and characterize the spatial mobility of the population in the defined metropolitan areas as a result of the applied methodology. The article seeks to describe, analyze and apply the decisions and procedures carried out to reach the metropolitan delimitation, while trying to prove its consistency through the characterization of population movements between metropolitan units in contexts and territorial settings different from those of Spain.