A continuous belt of urban population that progressively links several cities and towns into one large built up region is called what?

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of settlement geography and urban terminology. As cities expand, they can grow into each other, forming large continuous urban regions. Geographers use specific terms like metropolis, conurbation, and megalopolis to describe different scales and patterns of this growth. The question focuses on the situation where several cities and towns merge into one continuous belt of urban population.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The phrase continuous belt of urban population is used.
• Several cities and towns are progressively linked into one large region.
• The options include metropolis, megalopolis, conurbation, and city sprawl.
• Standard definitions from urban geography are applied.

Concept / Approach:
A conurbation is generally defined as a group of neighbouring towns and cities that have grown and merged into a continuous built up area. A megalopolis, however, is a still larger concept, referring to a long, continuous belt of urban areas formed when several large metropolitan regions link together, such as the famous BosWash corridor in the United States. City sprawl refers more loosely to the spread of a city into surrounding rural land. A single metropolis is usually a major large city or urban region but not necessarily a long continuous chain of multiple cities.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Examine the key phrase continuous belt of urban population progressively linking several cities. Step 2: Recall that a metropolis refers to a single large city and its surrounding suburbs, not a chain of many cities. Step 3: Recall that conurbation describes several cities and towns that have merged into a single built up area, usually on a somewhat smaller regional scale. Step 4: Understand that megalopolis refers to a huge urban region formed by the merging of several large metropolitan areas, creating a long continuous band of urbanisation. Step 5: Recognise that city sprawl is a general process of outward expansion and not a specific term for a massive multi city belt.

Verification / Alternative check:
Think of classic examples used in textbooks. The stretch from Boston to Washington in the United States, known as BosWash, is described as a megalopolis because it links multiple metropolitan areas into one huge urban corridor. Similarly, regions in parts of Europe and Japan have been described as megalopolis. Conurbations, in contrast, are smaller clusters like the merging of towns around a single large city. Since the question mentions a continuous belt linking several cities, the term megalopolis fits best.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, metropolis, is too limited because it refers to one major city rather than an extended chain of cities. Option C, conurbation, describes a merged urban area but usually on a smaller scale and without the idea of a very long continuous belt of multiple metropolitan regions. Option D, city sprawl, is not a formal term for a specific type of multi city region; it just refers to the spread of urban areas into the countryside. Thus, these options do not match the description as precisely as megalopolis does.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes confuse conurbation and megalopolis because both involve several cities. The key difference is scale and linear extension. A megalopolis is larger and often stretches along a major transport axis, linking many big cities. Remembering at least one example of a megalopolis and one conurbation helps fix the distinction in your mind and avoid confusion during exams.

Final Answer:
A long continuous belt of urban population linking several cities and towns is called a megalopolis.