Detailed Instructions: In this task, you are given a question and a context passage. You have to answer the question based on the given passage.
Problem:What word means the action, process, or result of combining or uniting?, Context: Local associations of a special kind are an amalgamation of one or more Landkreise with one or more Kreisfreie Städte to form a replacement of the aforementioned administrative entities at the district level. They are intended to implement simplification of administration at that level. Typically, a district-free city or town and its urban hinterland are grouped into such an association, or Kommunalverband besonderer Art. Such an organization requires the issuing of special laws by the governing state, since they are not covered by the normal administrative structure of the respective states.
Solution:
amalgamation