Twin cities

A common – but not universal – scenario is two cities that developed concurrently on opposite sides of a river.

For example, Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota – one of the most widely known pairs of "Twin Cities" – were founded several miles apart on opposite sides of the Mississippi River, and competed for prominence as they grew.

In some cases, twin cities are separated by a state border, such as Albury (New South Wales) and Wodonga (Victoria) in Australia, on opposite sides of the Murray River.

Cities on opposite sides of international borders sometimes share enough cultural and historical identity to be seen as twins, such as Haparanda (Sweden) and Tornio (Finland), Leticia (Colombia) and Tabatinga (Brazil), or Valga (Estonia) and Valka (Latvia).

As a single urban area, twin cities may share an airport whose airport codes include both cities' initials, e.g., DFW (Dallas–Fort Worth), LBA (Leeds–Bradford), MSP (Minneapolis–Saint Paul), RDU (Raleigh and Durham), and CAK (Akron–Canton).

High-rise buildings in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, with the Downtown Saint Paul skyline visible in the background ten miles away. Minneapolis' city limits border those of Saint Paul , the capital of Minnesota. This gave birth to the nickname of the region, the " Twin Cities " metropolitan area.
A view of the town of Tornio ( Finland ), which forms a twin city with Haparanda ( Sweden )
Cross-border example of twin cities: Plaza Internacional of the Frontera de la Paz . On the left, Santana do Livramento (Brazil); on the right, Rivera (Uruguay).