Portal:Cities
The Cities Portal

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 boundary for their size. In a narrower 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 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 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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Pristina or Prishtina (UK: /ˈpriːʃtɪnə, prɪʃˈtiːnə/ PREE-shtin-ə, prish-TEE-nə, US: /ˈprɪʃtɪnə/ PRISHT-in-ə) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district.
In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of the classical era is represented by the settlement of Ulpiana. After the Roman Empire was divided into a western and an eastern half, the area remained within the Byzantine Empire between the 5th and 9th centuries. In the middle of the 9th century, it was ceded to the First Bulgarian Empire, before falling again under Byzantine occupation in the early 11th century and then in the late 11th century to the Second Bulgarian Empire. The growing Kingdom of Serbia annexed the area in the 13th century and it remained under the Serbian Empire in the 14th century up to the start of the Ottoman era (1389–1455). The next centuries would be characterized by Ottoman rule. During this period, Pristina developed from a village to a major urban center of the region. Following the end of the First Balkan War in 1914, it became a part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbia. In 1948, it was chosen as the capital of the province SAP Kosovo under the statehood of Yugoslavia. Furthermore, Pristina would continue to serve as the capital of Kosovo after its 2008 independence from Serbia. (Full article...)
Did you know -
- ... that indie musician Sufjan Stevens composed the score for the 2014 ballet Everywhere We Go, choreographed by Justin Peck for the New York City Ballet?
- ... that Sigismund Mohr lit the first electric street lamps in Quebec City to a crowd of 20,000 spectators?
- ... that after the Great Savannah Fire of 1820, the city government rejected a donation from New York City because it was stipulated that the funds be allocated "without distinction of color"?
- ... that the radio program Radio City Music Hall of the Air employed approximately 10,000 musicians during the first eight years of its broadcast history?
- ... that New York City's Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch once had a puppet library?
- ... that Hurricane Henri, a minimal category 1 hurricane, set a rainfall record in New York City's Central Park?
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Odense (/ˈoʊdənsə/ OH-dən-sə, US also /ˈoʊθənsə/ OH-thən-sə, Danish: [ˈoðˀn̩sə] ⓘ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2024, the city proper had a population of 183,763 while Odense Municipality had a population of 209,078, making it the fourth largest municipality in Denmark (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus and Aalborg municipalities). Eurostat and OECD have used a definition for the Metropolitan area of Odense (referred to as a Functional urban area), which includes all municipalities in the Province (Danish: landsdel) of Funen (Danish: Fyn), with a total population of 504,066 as of 1 July 2022.
By road, Odense is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Svendborg, 144 kilometres (89 mi) to the south of Aarhus and 167 kilometres (104 mi) to the southwest of the capital Copenhagen. The city was the seat of Odense County until 1970, and Funen County from 1970 until 1 January 2007, when Funen County became part of the Region of Southern Denmark. Odense has close associations with Hans Christian Andersen who is remembered above all for his fairy tales. He was born in the city in 1805 and spent his childhood years there. (Full article...)
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The municipalities and cities (Serbian: општине и градови / opštine i gradovi) are the first-level administrative division and the basic level of local government of Serbia. The country is divided into 145 municipalities (42 in Šumadija and Western Serbia, 38 in Southern and Eastern Serbia, 37 in Vojvodina and 28 in Kosovo and Metohija) and 29 cities (9 in Southern and Eastern Serbia, 10 in Šumadija and Western Serbia, 8 in Vojvodina, 1 in Kosovo and Metohija and the City of Belgrade).
Municipalities and cities form 29 administrative districts in groups, except the City of Belgrade which is not part of any district. (Full article...)
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