Portal:Cities
The Cities Portal
A city is a large human settlement. It 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 organisations and businesses, sometimes benefiting different parties in the process, such as improving 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 towards city centres for employment, entertainment, and education. However, in a world of intensifying globalisation, 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, global warming 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 of 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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Portland (/ˈpɔːrtlənd/, PORT-lənd) is a city of regional importance to the Pacific Northwest and the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Within Oregon it is the sub-regional seat of power for Multnomah County, the largest county in Oregon by population. It is also an inland port city in the Willamette Valley region of the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in Northwestern Oregon. As of 2020, Portland had a population of 652,503, making it the 25th-most populated city in the United States, the sixth-most populous on the West Coast, and the second-most populous in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle. Approximately 2.5 million people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area (MSA), making it the 25th most populous in the United States. Its combined statistical area (CSA) ranks 19th-largest with a population of around 3.2 million. Approximately 47% of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metropolitan area.
Named after Portland, Maine, the Oregon settlement began to be populated in the 1830s, near the end of the Oregon Trail. Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, and the timber industry was a major force in the city's early economy. At the turn of the 20th century, the city had a reputation as one of the most dangerous port cities in the world, a hub for organized crime and racketeering. After the city's economy experienced an industrial boom during World War II, its hard-edged reputation began to dissipate. Beginning in the 1960s, Portland became noted for its growing progressive political values, earning it a reputation as a bastion of counter-culture. (Full article...)Did you know -
- ... that the Japanese mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura, who appeared as Fricka at the Bayreuth Festival in 2002, toured Mahler's Resurrection Symphony with the CBSO conducted by Andris Nelsons?
- ... that the fin de siècle photographer James Reuel Smith rode his bike all over Manhattan and the Bronx to photograph the natural springs and wells of New York City before they disappeared?
- ... that the steel-framed Church Missions House in New York City predates the city's first steel skyscraper?
- ... that the B46 has been called "the most dangerous bus route" in New York City?
- ... that an extension of New York City's Q27 bus route was discontinued because it was losing $120 a day?
- ... that when Fred Stewart was appointed the manager of Cardiff City F.C., he paid the transfer fee of his first signing himself?
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Cluj-Napoca (Romanian: [ˈkluʒ naˈpoka] (
listen)), or simply Cluj (Hungarian: Kolozsvár [ˈkoloʒvaːr] (listen), German: Klausenburg), is the fourth-most populous city in Romania. It is the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (445 kilometres (277 miles)), Budapest (461 km (286 mi)) and Belgrade (483 km (300 mi)). Located in the Someșul Mic river valley, the city is considered the unofficial capital of the historical province of Transylvania. From 1790 to 1848 and from 1861 to 1867, it was the official capital of the Grand Principality of Transylvania.
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The economy of Dubai represents a gross domestic product as of 2018 of US$102.67 billion. The Great Recession slowed the construction boom.
The International Herald Tribune has described it as "centrally-planned free-market capitalism." Oil production, which once accounted for 50% of Dubai's gross domestic product, contributes less than 1% today. In 2018, wholesale and retail trade represented 26% of the total GDP; transport and logistics, 12%; banking, insurance activities and capital markets, 10%; manufacturing, 9%; real estate, 7%; construction, 6%; tourism, 5%. (Full article...)General images -
Constantinople, the largest and wealthiest city in Europe from the 9th through the 12th century (from History of the city)
Aerial photograph shows the remains of the Sumerian city Ur, near Nasiriyah, Iraq. (from History of the city)
The Round city of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq (from History of the city)
View of the Agora of Athens with the temple of Hephaestus to the left and the Stoa of Attalos to the right (from History of the city)
The Avenue of the Dead in Teotihuacan originates with the Pyramid of the Moon, forming the basis of the city grid. (from History of the city)
Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of the city)
Palmanova, Italy, constructed in 1593 according to the defensive ideal of the star fort, today retains its distinctive geometry. (from History of the city)
Extent and major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization of ancient India (from History of the city)
New York City, one of the largest urban areas in the world (from Urban geography)
The city of Arbil in Kurdistan has a radial urban structure centred on an ancient fortress (from Urban structure)
This woodcut shows Nuremberg as a prototype of a flourishing and independent city in the 15th century. (from History of the city)
Mohenjo-daro, a World Heritage Site that was part of the Indus Valley Civilization (from History of the city)
Cain founding the city of Enoch (from History of the city)
Excavated foundations of Çatalhöyük, Turkey. An Anatolian town dated to 7000 BC. (from History of the city)
Glasgow slum in 1871 (from History of the city)
Gdańsk in the 17th century (from History of the city)
The "Great Colonnade" marks the cardo maximus of Apamea, Syria. (from History of the city)
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