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 numerical boundary for their size. In a more specific 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 had 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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Melbourne skyline

Melbourne (/ˈmɛlbərn/ MEL-bərn, locally [ˈmæɫbən] ^ⓘ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: Narrm or Naarm) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria and the second-most populous city in Australia. The city's name generally refers to a 9,993-square-kilometre (3,858 sq mi) area, comprising an urban agglomeration of 30 local government areas. The name is also used specifically to refer to the local government area, also named the City of Melbourne, whose administrative area is centred on the Melbourne central business district and some immediate surrounds.

As of June 2025, the population of the city was 5.435 million, or 19% of the population of Australia. The city occupies much of the northern and eastern coastlines of Port Phillip Bay, it is claimed to be the southernmost city in the world with a population exceeding one million. Its inhabitants are known as "Melburnians". (Full article...)

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... that St. Pat's for All, founded after LGBTQ groups were barred from the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade, takes its motto from the 1916 proclamation of the Easter Rising?
... that New York City's Central Synagogue has hosted churches and a mosque?
... that The Anxious City introduced a recurring figure in Paul Delvaux's paintings: a man who is ignorant of the pretty women and disasters around him?
... that the Chapel of St. Cornelius the Centurion in New York City was designed by Charles C. Haight, whose father had previously served in the clergy of the chapel's parish?
... that William Jenkins Wilcox Jr. was given a Citizen Archivist award at a symposium titled "Secret City in the Tennessee Hills: From Dogpatch to Nuclear Power"?
... that New York City's Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch once had a puppet library?

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

Aerial view of the town

Wigan (/ˈwɪɡən/ WIG-ən) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town lies midway between the cities of Manchester, 16 miles (25.7 km) to the south-east, and Liverpool, 17 miles (27 km) to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town has a population of 107,732 and the wider borough of 330,714. Wigan was part of the historic county of Lancashire.

The town was in the territory of the Brigantes, an ancient Celtic tribe that ruled much of what is now Northern England. The Brigantes were subjugated in the Roman conquest of Britain and the Roman settlement of Coccium was established where Wigan lies. Wigan was incorporated as a borough in 1246, following the issue of a charter by King Henry III of England. At the end of the Middle Ages, it was one of four boroughs in Lancashire established by royal charter. The Industrial Revolution saw a dramatic economic expansion and rapid rise in population. Wigan became a major mill town within a large coal mining district; there were estimated to be 1,000 pit shafts in total within 5 miles (8 km) of Wigan town centre. Coal mining ceased in the later 20th century. (Full article...)

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Times Square is one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, tourist destinations, and entertainment hubs. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Together with adjacent Duffy Square, Times Square is a bowtie-shaped plaza five blocks long between 42nd and 47th Streets. As an epicenter of the world's entertainment industry and as the physical hub of the Theater District, where most Broadway theaters are located, Times Square is constantly illuminated by numerous digital billboards and advertisements as well as businesses offering 24/7 service.

Times Square is one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually. Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily, many of them tourists, while over 460,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square on its busiest days. The Times Square–42nd Street and 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal stations have consistently ranked as the busiest in the New York City Subway system, transporting more than 200,000 passengers daily. The Times Square neighborhood takes its name after the intersection. (Full article...)

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

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