City

A city is an settlement with a particularly important status which differentiates it from a.

City is primarily used to designate an urban settlement with a large population. However, city may also indicate a special administrative, legal, or historical status.

In the United States of America, "city" is primarily a legal term meaning an urban area with a degree of autonomy (i.e. a ), rather than meaning an entire large settlement. Outside the United States, "city" implies an entire settlement or metropolitan area, although there are notable exceptions, e.g. the term. In the UK, a city is a settlement with a charter ("") from the crown.

Overview
Present-day cities are products of the and are generally distinguished by land area and population. Large, industrialized cities generally have advanced organizational systems for, , land distribution, , and.

A big city, or, is usually accompanied by a subcity; for example, is a subcity of. Such cities also contain large amounts of, creating large amounts of business commuters. Once a city sprawls far enough to reach another city, this region can be deemed a, or a cluster of urban areas.

Geography
Older cities appear to be jumbled together, seemingly without a structural plan. This quality is a legacy of earlier unplanned or organic development, and is often perceived by today's s to be picturesque. In contrast, cities founded after the advent of the and planned accordingly tend to have expansive s impractical to navigate on foot.

Modern city planning has seen many different schemes for how a city should look. The most commonly seen pattern is the, favoured by the Romans, almost a rule in parts of the , and used for thousands of years in. was the first ever in Ireland, begun in 1613, with the walls being completed 5 years later in 1618. The central diamond within a walled city with four gates was thought to be a good design for defence. The grid pattern chosen was widely copied in the colonies of British North America. However, the grid has been around for far longer than the British Empire. The Ancient Greeks often gave their colonies around the Mediterranean a grid plan. One of the best examples is the city of. This city even had its different districts, much like modern city planning today. Also in Medieval times we see a preference for linear planning. Good examples are the cities established in the south of France by various rulers and city expansions in old Dutch and Flemish cities.



Other forms may include a radial structure in which main roads converge on a central point, often the effect of successive growth over long time with concentric traces of s and s - recently supplemented by ring-roads that take traffic around the edge of a town. Many cities are structured this way: a central square surrounded by concentric canals. Every city expansion would imply a new circle (canals + town walls). In cities like and, and elsewhere, such as in , this pattern is still clearly visible.

History
Towns and cities have a long history, although opinions vary on whether any particular settlement can be considered to be a city. Cities formed as central places of trade for the benefit of the members living there. Benefits include reduced transport costs, exchange of ideas, and sharing of natural resources. The first true towns are sometimes considered to be large settlements where the inhabitants were no longer simply farmers of the surrounding area, but began to take on specialized occupations, and where trade, food storage and power was centralized. In  attempted to define a historic city with 10 general metrics. These are: This categorisation is descriptive, and not all ancients cities fit into this well, but it is used as a general touchstone when considering ancient cities.
 * 1) Size and density of the population should be above normal.
 * 2) Differentiation of the population. Not all residents grow their own food leading to specialists.
 * 3) Payment of taxes to a deity or king.
 * 4) Monumental public buildings.
 * 5) Those not producing their own food are supported by the king.
 * 6) Systems of recording and practical science.
 * 7) A system of writing.
 * 8) Development of symbolic art.
 * 9) Trade and import of raw materials.
 * 10) Specialists craftsman from outside the kin-group.

One characteristic that can be used to distinguish a small city from a large town is organized government. A town accomplishes common goals through informal agreements between neighbors or the leadership of a chief. A city has professional administrators, regulations, and some form of taxation (food and other necessities or means to trade for them) to feed the government workers. The governments may be based on heredity, religion, military power, work projects (such as canal building), food distribution, land ownership, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, finance, or a combination of those. Societies that live in cities are often called s. A city can also be defined as an absence of physical space between people and firms.

Ancient times
By this definition, the first cities we know of were located in, such as , , and , and in along the , the  and. Before this time it was rare for settlements to reach significant size, although there were exceptions such as, and. Among the early cities, of the Indus Valley Civilization was one of the largest, with an estimated population of 41,250, as well as one of the most developed in many ways, as it was the first to use, s, s, , s, urban  systems, and. The growth of the population of ancient civilizations, the formation of ancient s concentrating political power, and the growth in commerce and manufacturing led to ever greater cities and centres of commerce and industry, with,  and  of the ,  (now ) in ,  (now ) in , , , its eastern successor  (later ), and successive Chinese, Indian and  capitals approaching or exceeding the half-million population level. It is estimated that ancient Rome had a population of about a million people by the end of the first century BC, after growing continually during the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st centuries BCE. And it is generally considered the largest city before 19th century London. 's population was also close to Rome's population at around the same time, the historian Rostovtzeff estimates a total population close to a million based on a census dated from 32 CE that counted 180,000 adult male citizens in Alexandria. Similar administrative, commercial, industrial and ceremonial centres emerged in other areas, most notably, which to some urban historians, later became the first city to exceed a population of one million by the 8th century instead of Rome.

Middle Ages
During the European, a town was as much a political entity as a collection of houses. City residence brought freedom from customary rural obligations to lord and community: "Stadtluft macht frei" ("City air makes you free") was a saying in Germany. In cities with a legislature of their own were not unheard of, the laws for towns as a rule other than for the countryside, the lord of a town often being another than for surrounding land. In the some cities had no other lord than the emperor. In, s had quite a statelike power. In exceptional cases like, or , cities themselves became powerful states, sometimes taking surrounding areas under their control or establishing extensive maritime empires. Similar phenomena existed elsewhere, as in the case of, which enjoyed a considerable autonomy in late medieval Japan.

Early Modern
While the s, or, of the and  languished from the 16th century, Europe's larger capitals benefited from the growth of commerce following the emergence of an  trade. By the late 18th century, had become the largest city in the world with a population of over a million, while  rivaled the well-developed regionally-traditional capital cities of, ,  and. During the Spanish colonization of the old Roman city concept was extensively used. Cities were founded in the middle of the newly conquered territories, and were bound to several laws about administration, finances and urbanism.

Most towns remained far smaller places, so that in 1500 only some two dozen places in the world contained more than 100,000 inhabitants: as late as 1700 there were fewer than forty, a figure which would rise thereafter to 300 in 1900. A small city of the early modern period might contain as few as 10,000 inhabitants, a town far fewer still.

Industrial Age
The growth of modern from the late 18th century onward led to massive  and the rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of  into urban areas. In the United States from 1860 to 1910, the invention of railroads reduced transportation costs, and large manufacturing centers began to emerge, thus allowing migration from rural to city areas. However, cities during those periods of time were deadly places to live in, due to health problems resulting from contaminated water and air, and communicable diseases. In the of the 1930s, especially those with a base in heavy industry. In the U.S. urbanization rate increased forty to eighty percent during 1900-1990. Today the world's population is slightly over half urban, with millions still streaming annually into the growing cities of, and. There has also been a shift to suburbs, perhaps to avoid crime and traffic, which are two costs of living in an urban area.

External Effects
Modern cities are known for creating their own s. This is due to the large clustering of hard surfaces that heat up in and that channel water into underground ducts.

and are two major problems for cities, as is  coming from s (see ). The impact of cities on places elsewhere, be it hinterlands or places far away, is considered in the notion of (ecological footprint). Other negative external effects include health consequences such as communicable diseases, crime, and high traffic and commuting times. Cities cause more interaction with more people than rural areas, thus a higher probability to contracting contagious diseases. However, many inventions such as inoculations, vaccines, and water filtration systems have also lowered health concerns. is also a concern in the cities. Studies have shown that crime rates in cities are higher and the chance of punishment after getting caught is lower. In cases such as burglary, the higher concentration of people in cities create more items of higher value worth the risk of crime. The high concentration of people also create problems and higher commute times, causing less time to be spent on more valuable activities.

The difference between towns and cities
The difference between towns and cities is differently understood in different parts of the. There is no one standard international definition of a city: the term may be used either for a town possessing city status; for an urban locality exceeding an arbitrary population size; for a town dominating other towns with particular regional economic or administrative significance. Although city can refer to an including an and satellite areas, the term is not usually applied to a  (cluster) of distinct urban places, nor for a wider  including more than one city, each acting as a focus for parts of the area.

United Kingdom
In the, a city is a town which has been known as a city since , or which has received city status by &mdash; which is normally granted on the basis of size, importance or royal connection (the traditional test was whether the town had a ). In the United Kingdom, when people talk about cities, they generally include the in that. Some cathedral cities, such as in  and  in, are quite small, and may not be known as cities in common parlance. became England's newest city in the year 2002 to mark the Queen's jubilee, as did in,  in , and  and  in.

A Review of Scotland's Cities led to the Fair City of, losing city status.

By both legal and traditional definition, a town may be of any size, but must contain a. A village must contain a church. A small village without a church is called a hamlet.

Australia and New Zealand
In and, city is used to refer both to units of local government, and as a synonym for urban area. For instance the City of South Perth is part of the urban area known as, commonly described as a city.

In New Zealand, according to Statistics New Zealand (the government statistics agency), "A city [...] must have a minimum population of 50,000, be predominantly urban in character, be a distinct entity and a major centre of activity within the region." . For example, purported to be the first city to see the sun, has a population of only 44,500 (2006) and is therefore administered by a district council, not a city council.

United States
In the United States, the definition of cities (and town, villages, townships, etc.) is a matter of state laws and the definitions vary widely by state. A city may be, in some places, be run by an elected mayor and city council, while a town is governed by people, select board (or board of trustees), or open town meeting. There are some very large towns (such as, with a population of 755,785 in 2004) and some very small cities (such as , with a population of 326 in 2000), and the line between town and city, if it exists at all, varies from state to state. Cities in the United States do have many oddities, like, the smallest city in the country, has only 5 inhabitants, but is still incorporated. It does not have an active government, and the mayoral hand changes frequently (due to the lack of city laws).

In some U.S. states, any incorporated town is also called a city. If a distinction is being made between towns and cities, exactly what that distinction is often depends on the context. The context will differ depending on whether the issue is the legal authority it possesses, the availability of shopping and entertainment, and the scope of the group of places under consideration. Intensifiers such as "small town" and "big city" are also common, though the flip side of each is rarely used.

Some states make a distinction between and other forms of municipalities. In some cases, villages combine with larger other communities to form larger towns; a well-known example of an urban village is New York City's famed, which started as a quiet country settlement but was absorbed by the growing city. The word has often been co-opted by enterprising developers to make their projects sound welcoming and friendly.

In, cities must have a minimum population of 2,500 but in Nebraska, cities must have a minimum of only 800 residents. In, all incorporated municipalities are cities. In, a municipality automatically becomes a city if it has 5,000 residents counted in a federal census but it reverts to a village if its population drops below 5,000. In, 5,000 residents is the minimum for a city of the first class while 800 is the minimum for a city of the second class.

In all the states, city status is conferred by the form of government, not population. Town government has a board of for the  branch, and a  for the  branch. New England cities, on the other hand, have a for the executive, and a legislature referred to as either the city council or the board of.

In, all incorporated municipalities designated as cities are of the adjacent or surrounding county while a town is an incorporated municipality which remains a part of an adjacent or surrounding county. The largest incorporated municipalities by population are all cities, although some smaller cities have a smaller population than some towns. For example, the smallest city of has a population of 3,904 and the largest town of  has a population of 39,573.

In any municipality with more than 10 persons can incorporate as a Borough. Any Township or Borough with at least 10,000 population can ask the legislature to charter as a city. In a village is simply an unincorporated community within a township.

Germany
In many other languages, there is no difference between city and town. The German word for both is Stadt, while a town with more than 100,000 inhabitants is called a Großstadt (major city), which is the most adequate equivalence for city (in terms of differentiating it from a town). On the other hand, most towns are communities belonging to a Landkreis (county), but there are some cities, usually with at least 50000 inhabitants, that are counties by themselves (kreisfreie Städte).

China
There is a formal definition of city in provided by the Chinese government. For an urban area that can be defined as a city, there should be at least 100,000 non-agricultural population. City with less than 200,000 non-agricultural population refers to a Small city, 200,000-500,000 non-agricultural population is a Medium city, 500,000-1,000,000 non-agricultural population is a Large city and >1,000,000 non-agricultural population is an Extra-large city. Also, there is an administrative definition based on the city boundary too and a city has its legal city limits. In 1998, there were 668 cities in China - China has the largest urban population in the world.

Chile
's Department of National Statistics defines a city (ciudad in Spanish) as an entity with more than 5,000 inhabitants. A town (pueblo), is an urban entity with 2,001 to 5,000 persons, however, if the area has some economic activity, the designation may include populations as small as 1,001. The department also defines Major Cities as provincial or regional capitals with populations of 100,001 to 500,000; Great Urban Areas which are comprised of several entities without any appreciable limit between them and populations which total between 500,001 and 1,000,000. A is the largest urban area in the country where there are more than one million inhabitants. The "urban entity" is defined as a concentration of habitations with more than 2,000 persons living in them, or more than 1,000 persons if more than half of those persons are in some way gainfully employed. and areas with more than 250 living units may be considered as urban areas.

Global cities
A, also known as a world city, is a prominent centre of , ing, , innovations, and s. The term "global city", as opposed to , was coined by in a seminal  work. Whereas "megacity" refers to any city of enormous size, a global city is one of enormous power or influence. Global cities, according to Sassen, have more in common with each other than with other cities in their host nations. Examples of such cities include, , and. The notion of global cities is rooted in the concentration of and capabilities within all cities. The city is seen as a container where skills and resources are concentrated: the better able a city is to concentrate its skills and resources, the more successful and powerful the city. This makes the city itself more powerful in the sense that it can influence what is happening around the world. Following this view of cities, it is possible to. Other global cities include which is a, , , ,  and  which are all classed as "Alpha World Cities" and , , , , ,  and  which are "Beta World Cities". A third tier containing, , , , , , and , among others is called "Gamma world cities".

Critics of the notion point to the different realms of power. The term global city is heavily influenced by economic factors and, thus, may not account for places that are otherwise significant. For example, cities like, , , , , , and  are powerful in  and  terms but would not be considered "global cities". Additionally, it has been questioned whether the city itself can be regarded as an actor.

In 1995, Kanter argued that successful cities can be identified by three elements. To be successful, a city needs to have good thinkers (concepts), good makers (competence) or good traders. The interplay of these three elements, Kanter argued, means that good cities are not planned but managed.

Inner city
In the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term "inner city" is sometimes used with the connotation of being an area, perhaps a, where people are less wealthy and where there is more crime. These connotations are less common in other Western countries, as deprived areas are located in varying parts of other Western cities. In fact, with the of some formerly run-down central city areas the reverse connotation can apply. In Australia, for example, the term "outer suburban" applied to a person implies a lack of sophistication. In, the inner city is the richest part of the metropolitan area, where housing is the most expensive, and where elites and high-income individuals dwell. In the developing world, economic modernization brings poor newcomers from the countryside to build haphazardly at the edge of current settlement (see, s and ).

The United States, in particular, has a culture of anti-urbanism that dates back to colonial times. The American architecture movement of the late 1800s was a reaction to perceived urban decay and sought to provide stately civic buildings and boulevards to inspire civic pride in the motley residents of the urban core. Modern anti-urban attitudes are to be found in America in the form of a planning profession that continues to develop land on a low-density suburban basis, where access to amenities, work and shopping is provided almost exclusively by car rather than on foot.

However, there is a growing movement in North America called "" that calls for a return to traditional city planning methods where mixed-use zoning allows people to walk from one type of land-use to another. The idea is that housing, shopping, office space, and leisure facilities are all provided within walking distance of each other, thus reducing the demand for road-space and also improving the efficiency and effectiveness of.