Portal:Cities

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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 harmful effects, such as forming urban heat islands, concentrating pollution, and stressing water supplies and other resources. (Full article...)

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Downtown Seattle skyline with Mount Rainier in the background

Seattle (/siˈætəl/ ^ⓘ see-AT-əl) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 755,078 in 2023, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the county seat of King County, the most populous county in Washington. The Seattle metropolitan area's population is 4.02 million, making it the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 made it one of the country's fastest-growing large cities.

Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and Lake Washington. It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Canadian border. A gateway for trade with East Asia, the Port of Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2021^[update]. (Full article...)

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... that a New York City office building was nicknamed for its resemblance to a lipstick tube?
... that the men's winner of the 2022 New York City Marathon was almost hit by a vehicle during the race?
... that Frederick Prigg and his predecessor as secretary of the Provisional Government of Oregon were both doctors who drowned in a river at Oregon City just three years apart?
... that Winchester United Church, a place of worship in the City of Winchester District, Hampshire, was built into the walls of the former county jail?
... that writer Malcolm Neesam was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Harrogate, England, by the town council for services to local history?
... that the Hotel Normandie supported the Leaders of the World?

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Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Aerial view of southern Central Park in September 2014

Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the sixth-largest park in the city, containing 843 acres (341 ha), and the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42 million visitors annually as of 2016^[update]. It is also one of the most filmed locations in the world.

The creation of a large park in Manhattan was first proposed in the 1840s, and a 778-acre (315 ha) park approved in 1853. In 1858, landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition for the park with their "Greensward Plan". Construction began in 1857; existing structures, including a majority-Black settlement named Seneca Village, were seized through eminent domain and razed. The park's first areas were opened to the public in late 1858. Additional land at the northern end of Central Park was purchased in 1859, and the park was completed in 1876. After a period of decline in the early 20th century, New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses started a program to clean up Central Park in the 1930s. The Central Park Conservancy, created in 1980 to combat further deterioration in the late 20th century, refurbished many parts of the park starting in the 1980s. (Full article...)

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Ebenezer Howard's three magnets diagram, which addressed the question, "Where will the people go?", with three choices being: "Town", "Country", or "Town-Country".

The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and agriculture. Ebenezer Howard first posited the idea in 1898 as a way to capture the primary benefits of the countryside and the city while avoiding the disadvantages presented by both. In the early 20th century, Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City were built near London according to Howard's concept and many other garden cities inspired by his model have since been built all over the world. (Full article...)

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Image 1Palmanova, Italy, constructed in 1593 according to the defensive ideal of the star fort, today retains its distinctive geometry. (from History of cities)
Image 2Gdańsk in the 17th century (from History of cities)
Image 3Mohenjo-daro, a World Heritage Site that was part of the Indus Valley Civilization (from History of cities)
Image 4The city of Arbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has a radial urban structure centred on an ancient fortress (from Urban structure)
Image 5Cain founding the city of Enoch (from History of cities)
Image 6A map showing the world energy consumption per capita based on 2013 data from the World Bank. (from Urban geography)
Image 7The Round city of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq (from History of cities)
Image 8This woodcut shows Nuremberg as a prototype of a flourishing and independent city in the 15th century. (from History of cities)
Image 9Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of cities)
Image 10Excavated foundations of Çatalhöyük, Turkey. An Anatolian town dated to 7000 BCE. (from History of cities)
Image 11View 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)
Image 12Constantinople, the largest and wealthiest city in Europe from the 9th through the 12th century (from History of cities)
Image 13Extent and major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization of ancient India (from History of cities)
Image 14The Avenue of the Dead in Teotihuacan originates with the Pyramid of the Moon, forming the basis of the city grid. (from History of cities)
Image 15The "Great Colonnade" marks the cardo maximus of Apamea, Syria. (from History of cities)
Image 16A 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)
Image 17New York City, one of the largest urban areas in the world (from Urban geography)
Image 18Glasgow slum in 1871 (from History of cities)
Image 19Aerial photograph shows the remains of the Sumerian city Ur, near Nasiriyah, Iraq. (from History of cities)

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