Portal:Cities
The Cities Portal
Acityis ahuman settlementof a notable 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 more narrow sense, a city can be defined as a permanent anddenselysettled place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work primarily on non-agricultural tasks. Cities generally have extensive systems forhousing,transportation,sanitation,utilities,land use,production of goods,andcommunication.Their density facilitates interaction between people,government organizations,andbusinesses,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 rapidurbanization,more than half of theworld populationnow lives in cities, which has had profound consequences forglobal sustainability.Present-day cities usually form the core of largermetropolitan areasandurban areas—creating numerouscommuterstraveling towardcity centresfor employment, entertainment, and education. However, in a world of intensifyingglobalization,all cities are to varying degrees also connected globally beyond these regions. This increased influence means that cities also have significant influences onglobal issues,such assustainable development,climate change,andglobal health.Because of these major influences on global issues, the international community has prioritized investment insustainable citiesthroughSustainable Development Goal 11.Due to the efficiency of transportation and the smallerland consumption,densecities hold the potential to have a smallerecological footprintper inhabitant than more sparsely populated areas. Therefore,compact citiesare often referred to as a crucial element in fighting climate change. However, this concentration can also have significant negative consequences, such as formingurban heat islands,concentratingpollution,and stressing water supplies and other resources. (Full article...)
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Torontois themost populous city in Canadaand thecapital cityof theCanadian provinceofOntario.With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is thefourth-most populous city in North America.The city is the anchor of theGolden Horseshoe,an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end ofLake Ontario,while theGreater Toronto Areaproper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture and is one of the mostmulticulturalandcosmopolitancities in the world.
Indigenous peopleshave travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad slopingplateauinterspersed withrivers, deep ravines, and urban forest,for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputedToronto Purchase,when theMississaugasurrendered the area to theBritish Crown,the British established the town ofYorkin 1793 and later designated it as the capital ofUpper Canada.During theWar of 1812,the town was the site of theBattle of Yorkand suffered heavy damage byAmerican troops.York wasrenamedand incorporated in 1834 as thecity of Toronto.It was designated as the capital of the province of Ontario in 1867 duringCanadian Confederation.Thecity properhas since expanded past its original limits through bothannexationandamalgamationto its current area of 630.2 km2(243.3 sq mi). (Full article...)Did you know -
- ... that Broadway'sImperial Theatre,opened in 1924, was theShubert family's 50th theater in New York City?
- ... that New York City'sBartow–Pell Mansionbecame a museum after its operator was restricted from importing and exporting plants?
- ... that the2021 Seattle City Council 3rd district recall electionwas the first recall held in the city since 1975?
- ... that one ofBeverly Robertson'sbiggest accomplishments as CEO of theGreater Memphis Chamberwas attracting theFord Motor Company's US$5.6 billionBlue Oval Citycomplex to Memphis, Tennessee?
- ... thatThe Anxious Cityintroduced a recurring figure inPaul Delvaux's paintings: a man who is ignorant of the pretty women and disasters around him?
- ... that theHousatonic Railroadused to send 100,000 US quarts (95,000 litres) of milk to New York City per day?
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Burnsis a city in and thecounty seatofHarney County,in theU.S. stateofOregon.According to the2020 census,the population was 2,730. Burns and the nearby city ofHinesare home to about 60 percent of the people in the sparsely populated county, by area the largest in Oregon and the ninth largest in the United States.
The Burns–Hines region has a high-desert climate but was much wetter in the recent geologic past. TheHarney Basinwas the largest of many depressions in which lakes formed in southeastern Oregon during the latePleistocene.Remnants of an ancient lake that reached as far north as Burns are at the center of theMalheur National Wildlife Refuge,south of the city. (Full article...)Selected article -
TheGreat Smog of London,orGreat Smog of 1952,was a severeair pollutionevent that affectedLondon,England,in December 1952. A period of unusually cold weather, combined with ananticycloneand windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants—mostly arising from the use ofcoal—to form a thick layer ofsmogover the city. It lasted from Friday 5 December to Tuesday 9 December 1952, then dispersed quickly when the weather changed.
The smog caused major disruption by reducing visibility and even penetrating indoor areas, far more severely than previous smog events, called "pea-soupers".Government medical reports in the weeks following the event estimated that up to 4,000 people had died as a direct result of the smog and 100,000 more were made ill by the smog's effects on the humanrespiratory tract.More recent research suggests that the total number of fatalities was considerably greater, with estimates of between 10,000 and 12,000 deaths. (Full article...)General images -
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View of theAgora of Athenswith thetemple of Hephaestusto the left and theStoa of Attalosto the right (fromHistory of cities) -
A poster from theEPAentitled "Soak Up the Rain with Green Infrastructure." The poster depicts various green infrastructure that can be effective in preventing floods. (fromUrban geography) -
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A map showing the world energy consumption per capita based on 2013 data from the World Bank. (fromUrban geography) -
This woodcut showsNurembergas a prototype of a flourishing and independent city in the 15th century. (fromHistory of cities) -
Extent and major sites of theIndus Valley civilizationof ancient India (fromHistory of cities) -
Daily life of people from theSongperiod at the capital, Bianjing, today'sKaifeng(fromHistory of cities) -
Palmanova,Italy, constructed in 1593 according to the defensive ideal of thestar fort,today retains its distinctive geometry. (fromHistory of cities) -
Gdańskin the 17th century (fromHistory of cities) -
The Avenue of the Dead inTeotihuacanoriginates with thePyramid of the Moon,forming the basis of the city grid. (fromHistory of cities) -
Aerial photograph shows the remains of theSumeriancityUr,nearNasiriyah,Iraq. (fromHistory of cities) -
Mohenjo-daro,aWorld Heritage Sitethat was part of theIndus Valley civilization(fromHistory of cities) -
Constantinople,the largest and wealthiest city in Europe from the 9th through the 12th century (fromHistory of cities) -
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New York City, one of the largest urban areas in the world (fromUrban geography) -
Cain founding the city of Enoch (fromHistory of cities) -
Excavated foundations ofÇatalhöyük,Turkey.An Anatolian town dated to 7000 BCE. (fromHistory of cities) -
TheRound city of Baghdad,the capital of Iraq (fromHistory of cities) -
The city ofArbilin the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has a radial urban structure centred on an ancient fortress (fromUrban structure)
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