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The fascinating city of Sheffield – South Yorkshire, England can boast of a current population of at least 535,000 residents living in this attractive metropolitan borough. In and of itself, the Sheffield Urban Area can count more than 650,000 people and the area as a whole has continued to grow apace over the centuries. It has gradually shifted from being mostly industrial in nature to now being economically more diverse than ever before.

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.

This success is made evident through the fact of the diversification of its economy, which has also helped to contribute to a 5 percent annual growth rate over the last several years. The city’s rate of growth actually exceeds that of the wider Yorkshire and Humber region in which it is located, in fact. In terms of monetary valuation, Sheffield can boast of a gross added value of more than 7 million British pounds.

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.

The metropolitan county of South Yorkshire — in which Sheffield resides — has a current population exceeding 1. 3 million people. It is a landlocked county, and its modern history dates to its formation in 1974 as part of a wider nationwide effort to redesignate counties and other regions. It is also made up of four different metropolitan boroughs, including that of Sheffield.

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