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.

Developments in other parts of the world in iron and steel production since the 1800s meant that Sheffield would eventually lose pride of place in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of this can also be attributed to the decline in coal mining in England and especially in the local region during the same time period. Sheffield has always been a resilient town, and the 21st century has seen great effort at redevelopment.

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.

The city is also teeming with green space, having more trees per person than practically any other city in all of Europe. At present, over 61 percent of Sheffield is considered to be covered by such green space and the residents and city busily go about making sure as much space as possible is planted with at least one tree. It is also a very attractive town, being built up onto several hillsides that allow for scenic vistas all around.

Sheffield is truly ancient in terms of human activity in the area, which can be traced back nearly 13,000 years to the Upper Paleolithic era, though the town itself is the amalgamation of several Anglo-Saxon and Danish communities in the latter half of the first millennium. By 1296, Sheffield had become a market town and by the 1300\’s it had become a center of knife making, gaining a good name for the quality of its cutlery and other blades.

Sheffield resides in the metropolitan county of South Yorkshire, which boasts a current population of more than 1. 3 million residents. The county is also landlocked, having no access to the sea, and can trace its modern history to 1974 when it was created as a result of a national effort to streamline local governing areas. Four separate metropolitan boroughs make up the county, including that of Sheffield\’s.

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