The Cities Portal
A city is a human settlement of 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 and densely settled 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 significant negative consequences, such as forming urban heat islands, concentrating pollution, and stressing water supplies and other resources. (Full article...)
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Nuuk (Greenlandic pronunciation: [nuːk] ; Danish: Nuuk, formerly Godthåb [ˈkʌtˌhɔˀp]) is the capital of and most populous city in Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. The major cities from other countries closest to the capital are Iqaluit and St. John's in Canada and Reykjavík in Iceland. Nuuk contains a third of Greenland's population and its tallest building. Nuuk is also the seat of government for the Sermersooq municipality. In January 2023, it had a population of 19,604. Nuuk is considered a modernized city after the policy began in 1950.
The city was founded in 1728 by the Dano-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede when he relocated from the earlier Hope Colony (Haabets Koloni) where he arrived in 1721. The governor Claus Paarss was part of the relocation. The new colony was placed at the Inuit settlement of Nûk and was named Godthaab ("Good Hope"). "Nuuk" is the Greenlandic word for "cape" (Danish: næs) and is commonly found in Greenlandic place names. It is so named because of its position at the end of the Nuup Kangerlua fjord on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea. Its latitude, at 64°11' N, makes it the world's northernmost capital, only a few kilometres farther north than the Icelandic capital Reykjavík. When home rule was established in 1979, the authorization of place names was transferred to Greenlandic authorities, who subsequently preferred Greenlandic names over Danish ones. The name Godthåb mostly went out of use over the next two decades. (Full article...)Did you know -
- ... that when the Yale Club of New York City Building was completed in 1901, a Yale Club member said "it will be an easy matter to look down upon" the Harvard Club?
- ... that the Green Guerillas threw "seed grenades" into abandoned lots in New York City?
- ... that Red Blanchard, the owner of Iowa radio station KSMN, commuted 800 miles (1280 km) by plane from Mason City each week to host a radio show in Chicago?
- ... that in 2006, half a million people used a temporary New York City public toilet sponsored by a toilet paper brand?
- ... that unlike other armories in New York City, the 69th Regiment Armory was designed in the Beaux-Arts style because its architect did not want it to look like a "mediaeval castle"?
- ... that in the 1909 election to the city council of Surabaya, less than 1 percent of the population was enrolled to vote?
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San Diego (/ˌsæn diˈeɪɡoʊ/ SAN dee-AY-goh, Spanish: [san ˈdjeɣo]) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast in Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.3 million residents, the city is the eighth-most populous in the United States and the second-most populous in the state of California after Los Angeles. The city is the seat of San Diego County, which has a population of nearly 3.3 million people . San Diego is known for its mild year-round Mediterranean climate, extensive beaches and parks, its long association with the United States Navy, and its recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center.
Historically home to the Kumeyaay Native Americans, San Diego has been referred to as the Birthplace of California, as it was the first site visited and settled by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain, forming the basis for the settlement of Alta California 200 years later. The Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá, founded in 1769, formed the first European settlement in what is now California. In 1821, San Diego became part of the newly declared Mexican Empire, which reformed as the First Mexican Republic two years later. California was conquered by the U.S. in 1848 following the Mexican–American War and was admitted to the union as a state in 1850. (Full article...)Selected article -
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