Taking a look at Sheffield – South Yorkshire reveals a dynamic city of more than 535,000 people living in what the English classify as a metropolitan borough. The Sheffield Urban Area itself boasts of over 650,000 people in its population base, and the town has grown nicely through the centuries, gradually making the change from primarily being industrialized in nature to a much more broadly-based economic entity.
Sheffield’s name actually is derived from the name given to the river that runs through its center; the River Sheaf. It came to perhaps its greatest prominence in the past in the 19th century, when it was known for the production facilities and skill of its workforce in producing high-quality steel and the products made from that metal. It is also the city that gave birth to stainless steel, and it experienced much growth during the Industrial Revolution.
Gradually, improvements in iron and steel production (along with competition) in other parts of the globe saw Sheffield lose its primacy in the making of iron and steel by the 1970s and 1980s. This happened to occur at the same time that coal mining as an industry began to diminish in the area and in the wider country, though Sheffield seems to have come through the hard times — especially in this new century — better than most.
In fact, Sheffield has experienced steady economic growth attributed to diversification of its base economy to the tune of 5 percent annual growth. This growth exceeds that of the wider Yorkshire and Humber region in which the city is located. Sheffield has a current gross added value in the multiple billions of British pounds even during the current troubled economic climate.
Sheffield is also known as being particularly fond of trees, with more of them per person than in any other city in Europe. The town has filled over 61% of its land area with trees, and more are planted every day with the help of local residents and under careful planning by the city council. It is also an area of scenic interest, being built up on several different hillsides which provide the opportunity for scenic vistas all about.
Historically, there is evidence of humans in the area going back nearly 13,000 years to the Upper Paleolithic era. Sheffield itself is the result of the merging of several communities of Anglo-Saxons and Danes at some point late in the second half of the first millennium. The town eventually gained the right to hold a market, which it did starting in 1296. By the 14th century, it had gained a sterling reputation for production of quality knives.
The city sits within the metropolitan county of South Yorkshire and has more than 1. 3 million residents that call the county home. It is also landlocked and has no access to the sea. It is the product of a 1974 reconfiguration of most local governing regions by the national government in an effort to streamline counties and the like. The county is made up of four different metropolitan areas, including Sheffield’s.
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