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":
... 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 ...
... 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 ... Tourist attractions located near Quebec City include Montmorency Falls, the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort, and the Ice Hotel ... There are a number of historic 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 ...
... at Fort Pontchartrain, which later becomes the city of Detroit, Michigan ... resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City. 1910 – The Ottoman Empire captures the city of Shkodër, putting down the Albanian Revolt of 1910 ...
... 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 ...
... or /kəˈbɛk/ French Québec ), also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City (French Ville de Québec), is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec ... 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 ... The 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 to the city, Kébec, an Algonquin ...
Famous quotes containing the word city:
“Blind Beggar: How do you know so much about city ordinances?
Inspector Clouseau: What sort of stupid question is that? Are you blind?
Blind Beggar: Yes.”
—Blake Edwards (b. 1922)
“San Francisco is where gay fantasies come true, and the problem the city presents is whether, after all, we wanted these particular dreams to be fulfilled—or would we have preferred others? Did we know what price these dreams would exact? Did we anticipate the ways in which, vivid and continuous, they would unsuit us for the business of daily life? Or should our notion of daily life itself be transformed?”
—Edmund White (b. 1940)
“Not to find one’s way in a city may well be uninteresting and banal. It requires ignorance—nothing more. But to lose oneself in a city—as one loses oneself in a forest—that calls for a quite different schooling. Then, signboard and street names, passers-by, roofs, kiosks, or bars must speak to the wanderer like a cracking twig under his feet in the forest.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)