Portal:Cities
The Cities Portal

A city is a human settlement of notable size. 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 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, 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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Tel Aviv-Yafo (Hebrew: תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, romanized: Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō [tel aˈviv ˈjafo]; Arabic: تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, romanized: Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 460,613, it is the economic and technological center of the country. If East Jerusalem is considered part of Israel, Tel Aviv is the country's second most populous city after Jerusalem; if not, Tel Aviv is the most populous city ahead of West Jerusalem.
Tel Aviv is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, headed by Mayor Ron Huldai, and is home to many foreign embassies. It is a beta+ world city and is ranked 57th in the 2022 Global Financial Centres Index. Tel Aviv has the third- or fourth-largest economy and the largest economy per capita in the Middle East. The city currently has the highest cost of living in the world. Tel Aviv receives over 2.5 million international visitors annually. A "party capital" in the Middle East, it has a lively nightlife and 24-hour culture. The city is gay-friendly, with a large LGBT community. Tel Aviv has been called "The World's Vegan Food Capital", as it possesses the highest per capita population of vegans in the world, with many vegan eateries throughout the city. Tel Aviv is home to Tel Aviv University, the largest university in the country with more than 30,000 students. (Full article...)Did you know -
- ... that the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine (design shown) in New York City has been nicknamed "St. John the Unfinished"?
- ... that Elks Lodge 878, which boasted a peak membership of 6,600, controlled politics in the New York City borough of Queens for many years?
- ... that Central City College was established as an African American-led alternative to the historically black Atlanta Baptist College?
- ... that New York City's Equitable Building, completed just before the 1916 Zoning Resolution, was described as being "more famous for what it caused than what it is"?
- ... that one of the 11 museums and art installations maintained by the Dia Art Foundation is a room in New York City filled with 250 cubic yards (190 m3) of soil?
- ... that the Beacon Theatre, once described as "a true bit of Bagdad on Broadway", later gained a reputation as a rock venue?
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Indigenous tribals have inhabited Mumbai (Bombay) since the Stone Age. The Kolis and Aagri (a Marathi-Konkani people) were the earliest known settlers of the islands. The Maurya Empire gained control of the islands during the 3rd century BCE and transformed them into a centre of Hindu-Buddhist culture and religion. Later, between the 2nd century BCE and 10th century CE, the islands came under the control of successive indigenous dynasties: the Satavahanas, Abhiras, Vakatakas, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Silharas& Cholas.
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A closed city or closed town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied so that specific authorization is required to visit or remain overnight. Such places may be sensitive military establishments or secret research installations that require much more space or internal freedom than is available in a conventional military base. There may also be a wider variety of permanent residents, including close family members of workers or trusted traders who are not directly connected with clandestine purposes.
Many closed cities existed in the Soviet Union from the mid-1940s until its dissolution in 1991. After 1991, a number of them still existed in the CIS countries, especially in Russia. In modern Russia, such places are officially known as "closed administrative-territorial formations" (закрытые административно-территориальные образования, zakrytye administrativno-territorial'nye obrazovaniya, or ЗАТО ZATO for short). (Full article...)General images -
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