The Cities Portal
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agreed definition of the lower boundary for their size. In a narrower sense, a city can be defined as a permanent and densely populated place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work primarily on non-agricultural tasks. Cities generally have extensive systems for housing, transportation, sanitation, utilities, land use, production of goods, and communication. Their density facilitates interaction between people, government organizations, and businesses, sometimes benefiting different parties in the process, such as improving the efficiency of goods and service distribution.
Historically, city dwellers have been a small proportion of humanity overall, but following two centuries of unprecedented and rapid urbanization, more than half of the world population now lives in cities, which has had profound consequences for global sustainability. Present-day cities usually form the core of larger metropolitan areas and urban areas—creating numerous commuters traveling toward city centres for employment, entertainment, and education. However, in a world of intensifying globalization, all cities are to varying degrees also connected globally beyond these regions. This increased influence means that cities also have significant influences on global issues, such as sustainable development, climate change, and global health. Because of these major influences on global issues, the international community has prioritized investment in sustainable cities through Sustainable Development Goal 11. Due to the efficiency of transportation and the smaller land consumption, dense cities hold the potential to have a smaller ecological footprint per inhabitant than more sparsely populated areas. Therefore, compact cities are often referred to as a crucial element in fighting climate change. However, this concentration can also have some significant negative consequences, such as forming urban heat islands, concentrating pollution, and stressing water supplies and other resources. (Full article...)
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Valletta (/vəˈlɛtə/ və-LET-ə; Maltese: il-Belt Valletta, pronounced [vɐlˈlɛttɐ]) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital city, it is a commercial centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. It is also the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just 0.61 square kilometres (0.24 sq mi), it is the European Union's smallest capital city.
Valletta's 16th-century buildings were constructed by the Knights Hospitaller. The city was named after the Frenchman Jean Parisot de Valette, who succeeded in defending the island against an Ottoman invasion during the Great Siege of Malta. The city is Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture, though the Second World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of the Royal Opera House. The city was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980. The city has 320 monuments, all within an area of 0.55 square kilometres (0.21 sq mi), making it one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. Sometimes called an "open-air museum", Valletta was chosen as the European Capital of Culture in 2018. Valletta was also listed as the sunniest city in Europe in 2016. (Full article...)
Did you know -
- ... that the adjacent Jennings and Sloane Houses comprise New York City's largest single-family residence?
- ... that Joshua George Beard was a member of the first Toronto City Council and the first Toronto School Board of Trustees?
- ... that despite a career writing queer literature, Chen Xue's 2019 novel Fatherless City had a "putatively straight premise"?
- ... that Gloria Gould, the manager of New York City's Embassy Theatre, wanted an all-woman staff because women "were more efficient than men"?
- ... that the socialite Lucy Drexel Dahlgren's New York City house was designed by a neighbor whom Dahlgren met in Paris?
- ... that Donald H. Elliott's efforts as the director of New York's planning department helped change the city's skyline?
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Bristol (/ˈbrɪstəl/ ) is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. The county is in the West of England combined authority area, which includes the Greater Bristol area (eleventh most populous urban area in the United Kingdom) and nearby places such as Bath.
Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon. Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became a county corporate. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts. A major port, Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. At the height of the Bristol slave trade, from 1700 to 1807, more than 2,000 slave ships carried an estimated 500,000 people from Africa to slavery in the Americas. The Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock. (Full article...)
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The history of London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, extends over 2000 years. In that time, it has become one of the world's most significant financial and cultural capital cities. It has withstood plague, devastating fire, civil war, aerial bombardment, terrorist attacks, and riots.
The City of London is the historic core of the Greater London metropolis, and is today its primary financial district, though it represents only a small part of the wider metropolis. (Full article...)
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Constantinople, the largest and wealthiest city in Europe from the 9th through the 12th century (from History of cities) -
The Avenue of the Dead in Teotihuacan originates with the Pyramid of the Moon, forming the basis of the city grid. (from History of cities) -
New York City, one of the largest urban areas in the world (from Urban geography) -
Cain founding the city of Enoch (from History of cities) -
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Mohenjo-daro, a World Heritage Site that was part of the Indus Valley civilization (from History of cities) -
Palmanova, Italy, constructed in 1593 according to the defensive ideal of the star fort, today retains its distinctive geometry. (from History of cities) -
Extent and major sites of the Indus Valley civilization of ancient India (from History of cities) -
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This woodcut shows Nuremberg as a prototype of a flourishing and independent city in the 15th century. (from History of cities) -
The city of Arbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has a radial urban structure centred on an ancient fortress (from Urban structure) -
View of the Agora of Athens with the temple of Hephaestus to the left and the Stoa of Attalos to the right (from History of cities) -
Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of cities) -
Aerial photograph shows the remains of the Sumerian city Ur, near Nasiriyah, Iraq. (from History of cities) -
A poster from the EPA entitled "Soak Up the Rain with Green Infrastructure." The poster depicts various green infrastructure that can be effective in preventing floods. (from Urban geography) -
Gdańsk in the 17th century (from History of cities) -
A map showing the world energy consumption per capita based on 2013 data from the World Bank. (from Urban geography) -
The Round city of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq (from History of cities) -
Excavated foundations of Çatalhöyük, Turkey. An Anatolian town dated to 7000 BCE. (from History of cities)
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