Greater Buenos Aires

Greater Buenos Aires (Spanish: Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (Spanish: Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA), and the adjacent 24 partidos (counties) in the Province of Buenos Aires (together known as "Conurbano"). Thus, it does not constitute a single administrative unit. The conurbation spreads south, west and north of Buenos Aires city. To the east, the River Plate serves as a natural boundary. The term is also related to other expressions that are not necessarily well defined: the "Buenos Aires conurbation" (Conurbano Bonaerense); the "Greater Buenos Aires Agglomeration" (Aglomerado Gran Buenos Aires); and the "Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires" (Área Metropolitana Buenos Aires, AMBA). Colloquially, Argentines refer to the Conurbano Bonaerense as the set of 30 counties that surround the City of Buenos Aires and which are mostly populated by working-class or middle-class communities.