Atlas Trail
Nine Cities from Urbana to Uppsala in Order of Population
These nine smaller cities of North America and Europe are laid out from the smallest to the largest by their most recent recorded population, from 38,336 people in Urbana to 177,074 in Uppsala. Each stop note uses only the figures and founding years the atlas already records for that city, so the path reads as a quick comparison of how size, area and age fit together.
Stop 1 of 9.
Cities
Urbana is the smallest stop, with 38,336 people at the 2020 census across 30.83 square kilometres. It is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, and its recorded founding year is 1833.
Stop 2 of 9.
Cities
State College is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, with 40,501 people at the 2020 census in just 11.86 square kilometres. Its recorded founding year is 1896, and it is the largest borough in Pennsylvania.
Stop 3 of 9.
Cities
Charlottesville is an independent city in Virginia, known colloquially as C'ville. It had 46,553 people at the 2020 census over 26.6 square kilometres, and its recorded founding year is 1762.
Stop 4 of 9.
Cities
Chapel Hill lies in both Orange and Durham counties in North Carolina and had 61,960 people at the 2020 census, making it the 17th most populous municipality in the state. It covers 56.32 square kilometres and has a recorded founding year of 1793.
Stop 5 of 9.
Cities
Champaign is the twin city of Urbana and had 88,302 people at the 2020 census, more than double its neighbour. It covers 59.9 square kilometres and its recorded founding year is 1860.
Stop 6 of 9.
Cities
Waterloo, Ontario, is one of three cities in its regional municipality and had 121,436 people at the 2021 census. It covers 64.06 square kilometres and its recorded founding year is 1857.
Stop 7 of 9.
Cities
Leiden in South Holland is a city whose municipality had 124,093 people as of January 2021 packed into a compact 23.27 square kilometres. The atlas records its elevation as 0 metres.
Stop 8 of 9.
Cities
Heidelberg is the fifth-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, with 155,756 people recorded at the end of 2024 over 108.83 square kilometres. Roughly a quarter of its population consists of students, and its recorded founding year is 1196.
Stop 9 of 9.
Cities
Uppsala ends the path as the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, with 177,074 inhabitants at the end of 2019 over 48.77 square kilometres.
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