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 Las Vegas

Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-largest in the Southwestern United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had 641,903 residents in 2020, with a metropolitan population of 2,227,053, making it the 24th-most populous city in the United States. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. It has most venues centered on downtown Las Vegas and more to the Las Vegas Strip, located outside city limits in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester. The Las Vegas Valley serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center in Nevada.

Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, it was the most populated North American city founded within that century (a similar distinction was earned by Chicago in the 19th century). Population growth has accelerated since the 1960s and into the 21st century, and between 1990 and 2000 the population increased by 85.2%. (Full article...)

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... that the book A City on Mars covers sex in space, raising children in low gravity, space law, and space cannibalism?
... that New York City's unbuilt River Walk development was delayed due to a $2 million study of striped bass?
... that two days after it had ignited, the Tiger Fire had already burned 5,567 acres (2,253 ha) of land near Black Canyon City, Arizona?
... that the parked vehicle of one candidate in a 2024 Mexico City borough election was shot five times to "give her a scare"?
... that Sigismund Mohr lit the first electric street lamps in Quebec City to a crowd of 20,000 spectators?
... that La La Land's composer initially wanted "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" to be the film's "award song" instead of "City of Stars"?

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

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north.

In its early history, Singapore was a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to British control as a Crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and, in 1963, became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers. (Full article...)

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The demographics of Chicago show that it is a very large, and ethnically and culturally diverse metropolis. It is the third largest city and metropolitan area in the United States by population. Chicago was home to over 2.7 million people in 2020, accounting for over 25% of the population in the Chicago metropolitan area, home to approximately 9.6 million.

The racial makeup of the city in 2020 was 29.2% Black, 35.9% White, 7.0% Asian, 0.1% Native American or Alaska Native, 10.8% from two or more races, and 15.8% from some other race. The ethnic makeup of the population is 29.8% Hispanic or Latino, with 70.2% belonging to a non-Hispanic or Latino background. English is the primary language of the city. Christianity is the predominant faith. (Full article...)

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

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