A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.
For example, in the American state of Massachusetts an article of incorporation approved by the local state legislature distinguishes a city government from a town. In the United Kingdom and parts of the Commonwealth of Nations, a city is usually a settlement with a royal charter. Historically, in Europe, a city was understood to be an urban settlement with a cathedral. This distinction also applies in England (but not to the entire United Kingdom), where the presence of a cathedral church distinguishes a 'city' from a 'town' (which has a parish church).
Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, and transportation. The concentration of development greatly facilitates interaction between people and businesses, benefiting both parties in the process. A big city or metropolis usually has associated suburbs and exurbs. Such cities are usually associated with metropolitan areas and urban areas, creating numerous business commuters traveling to urban centers for employment. Once a city expands far enough to reach another city, this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis.
Read more about City: Origins, Geography, History, External Effects, Distinction Between Cities and Towns, Global Cities, Inner City, 21st Century
Other articles related to "city":
... at Fort Pontchartrain, which later becomes the city of Detroit, Michigan ... pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City. 1910 – The Ottoman Empire captures the city of Shkodër, putting down the Albanian Revolt of 1910 ...
... i/kwɪˈbɛk/ or /kəˈbɛk/ French Québec ), also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City (French Ville de Québec), is the capital of the Canadian province of ... As of 2011, the city has a population of 516,622, and the metropolitan area has a population of 765,706, making it the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about 233 kilometres (145 mi) to ... narrowing of the Saint Lawrence River proximate to the city's promontory, Cap-Diamant (Cape Diamond), and Lévis, on the opposite bank, provided the name given ...
... See also List of events in Quebec City and Media in Quebec City Quebec City is known for its Winter Carnival, its summer music festival and for its Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations ... Tourist attractions located near Quebec City include Montmorency Falls, the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort, and ... sites, art galleries and museums in Quebec City, such as Citadelle of Quebec, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Ursulines of Quebec, and Musée de la civilisation ...
... networks, and broadband services are driving forces of a new city planning paradigm towards intelligent cities ... Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, India Nano City, India Putrajaya, Malaysia King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia Sejong City, South Korea Songdo International Business District ...
... Quincy, known as Illinois' "Gem City," is a river city along the Mississippi River and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States ... As of the 2010 census the city held a population of 40,633 ... The city anchors its own micropolitan area and is the economic and regional hub of West-central Illinois, catering a trade area of well over 300,000 people ...
Famous quotes containing the word city:
“... Washington was not only an important capital. It was a city of fear. Below that glittering and delightful surface there is another story, that of underpaid Government clerks, men and women holding desperately to work that some political pull may at any moment take from them. A city of men in office and clutching that office, and a city of struggle which the country never suspects.”
—Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958)
“The city is all right. To live in one
Is to be civilized, stay up and read
Or sing and dance all night and see sunrise
By waiting up instead of getting up.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“half-way up the hill, I see the Past
Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,—
A city in the twilight dim and vast,
With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights,—
And hear above me on the autumnal blast
The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1809–1882)