In 1966 the concept of an “urban community” w'as created to address co-ordination problems associated with large metropolitan areas. An urban community (communaute urbairi) is a highly integrated form of co-operation for which a dozen different responsibilities are transferred from the individual constituent communes. Four urban communities were created by the national government without consultation for the large metropolitan areas of Bordeaux, Lille, Strasbourg and Marseille. More commonly however, intercommunality in France has been historically characterised by a voluntary linking of communes to accomplish a specific set of mutually agreed functions.