Editing City (section)

{{Short description|Large permanent human settlement}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{CS1 config|mode=cs1}}
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 350px
| perrow            = 1/2/3/2
| image1            = Palace of Westminster from the dome on Methodist Central Hall (cropped).jpg
| alt1              = London skyline with Palace of Westminster in midground
| image2            = Tokyo Shibuya Scramble Crossing 2018-10-09.jpg
| alt2              = People cross busy Shibuya intersection lined with electronic billboards at dusk
| image3            = Camille Pissarro - Boulevard Montmartre, Spring - Google Art Project.jpg
| alt3              = Impressionist painting of wide tree-lined Boulevard Montmartre with horse-drawn carts in the 1890s
| image4            = 1 rocinha night 2014 panorama (vertical cropped).jpg
| alt4              = Informal settlements built into the hillside in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at dusk
| image5            = Fast-Paced Streets of New York City.jpg
| alt5              = Skyscrapers line a busy sidewalk along 6th Avenue in New York City
| image6            = 20191205 Targ przypraw w Starym Delhi 0703 6755 (cropped).jpg
| alt6              = Vendors and signs along a busy dirt street in Old Delhi
| image7            = Hong Kong Harbour Night 2019-06-11.jpg
| alt7              = Hong Kong skyline
| image8            = Metro de São Paulo, Luz Station, Brazil (square cropped).jpg
| alt8              = An underground train in the São Paulo Metro
| footer            = <!-- CAUTION: The images in the collage have been deliberately selected for geographic, visual, and aspectual balance. DO NOT make changes unless there is talk page consensus to do so. -->From top, left to right: [[Westminster Palace]] in London; [[Shibuya Crossing]] in Tokyo; [[Le Boulevard de Montmartre, Matinée de Printemps|painting of Boulevard Montmartre]] in Paris by [[Camille Pissarro]]; the [[Rocinha]] [[favela]] in Rio de Janeiro; [[6th Avenue (Manhattan)|6th Avenue in Manhattan]]; spice market in [[Old Delhi]]; [[Hong Kong]]; and the [[São Paulo Metro]]
}}
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.<ref name="Goodall">{{cite book|last=Goodall|first=B. |year=1987 |title=The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography |location=London |publisher=Penguin}}</ref><ref name="Kuper and Kuper">{{cite book|editor-last1=Kuper|editor-first1=A. |editor-last2=Kuper|editor-first2=J. |year=1996|title=The Social Science Encyclopedia|edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Routledge}}</ref> In a narrower sense, a city can be defined as a permanent and [[Urban density|densely]] populated place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work primarily on non-agricultural tasks.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the City|last=Caves|first=R. W.|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|pages=99}}</ref> Cities generally have extensive systems for [[housing]], [[transport]]ation, [[sanitation]], [[Public utilities|utilities]], [[land use]], [[Manufacturing|production of goods]], and [[communication]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glaeser |first1=Edward |title=Cities, Productivity, and Quality of Life |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |year=2011 |volume=333 |issue=6042 |pages=592–594 |doi=10.1126/science.1209264|pmid=21798941 |bibcode=2011Sci...333..592G |s2cid=998870 |issn=0036-8075 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bettencourt |first1=Luis |last2=West |first2=Geoffrey |title=A unified theory of urban living |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |year=2010 |volume=467 |issue=7318 |pages=912–913 |doi=10.1038/467912a |pmid=20962823 |bibcode=2010Natur.467..912B |doi-access=free}}</ref> Their density facilitates interaction between people, [[government organisations|government organizations]], and [[business]]es, 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 [[sustainability|global sustainability]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url= https://ourworldindata.org/urbanization|title= Urbanization|journal= Our World in Data|date= 13 June 2018|access-date= 14 February 2021|last1= Ritchie|first1= Hannah|author1-link= Hannah Ritchie |last2= Roser|first2= Max|author2-link= Max Roser |archive-date= 29 October 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201029185610/https://ourworldindata.org/urbanization|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=James|first1=Paul|url=https://www.academia.edu/9294719|title=Urban Sustainability in Theory and Practice: Circles of Sustainability|last2=with Magee|first2=Liam|last3=Scerri|first3=Andy|last4=Steger|first4=Manfred B.|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|location=London|isbn=978-1315765747|author-link=Paul James (academic)|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=1 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301210732/https://www.academia.edu/9294719|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Rise of the City |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |year=2016 |volume=352 |issue=6288 |pages=906–907 |doi=10.1126/science.352.6288.906 |pmid=27199408 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Cities: The century of the city |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |year=2010 |volume=467 |issue=7318 |pages=900–901 |doi=10.1038/467900a|pmid=20962819 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Liqun |last2=Chen |first2=Ji |last3=Li |first3=Qinglan |last4=Huang |first4=Dian |title=Dramatic uneven urbanization of large cities throughout the world in recent decades |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |year=2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=5366 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19158-1 |pmid=33097712 |pmc=7584620 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5366S |doi-access=free}}</ref> Present-day cities usually form the core of larger [[metropolitan area]]s and [[urban area]]s—creating numerous [[Commuting|commuters]] traveling toward [[city centre]]s 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 cities|climate change]], and [[global health]]. Because of these major influences on global issues, the international community has prioritized investment in [[Sustainable city|sustainable cities]] through [[Sustainable Development Goal 11]]. Due to the efficiency of transportation and the smaller [[land consumption]], [[Urban density|dense]] cities hold the potential to have a smaller [[ecological footprint]] per inhabitant than more sparsely populated areas.<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 September 2019|title=Cities: a 'cause of and solution to' climate change|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/09/1046662|access-date=20 March 2021|publisher=UN News|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304125023/https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/09/1046662|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Merite |first1=Gabrielle |last2=Vitorio |first2=Andre |title=How megacities could lead the fight against climate change |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/04/28/1023236/how-megacities-fight-climate-change/ |website=[[MIT Technology Review]]}}</ref> Therefore, [[Compact city|compact cities]] are often referred to as a crucial element in fighting climate change.<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 June 2011|title=Sustainable cities must be compact and high-density|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2011/jun/30/sustainable-cities-urban-planning|access-date=20 March 2021|website=The Guardian|archive-date=9 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309124623/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2011/jun/30/sustainable-cities-urban-planning|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Angelo |first1=Hillary |last2=Wachsmuth |first2=David |title=Why does everyone think cities can save the planet? |journal=[[Urban Studies (journal)|Urban Studies]] |year=2020 |volume=57 |issue=11 |pages=2201–2221 |doi=10.1177/0042098020919081 |bibcode=2020UrbSt..57.2201A |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bibri |first1=Simon Elias |last2=Krogstie |first2=John |last3=Kärrholm |first3=Mattias |title=Compact city planning and development: Emerging practices and strategies for achieving the goals of sustainability |journal=Developments in the Built Environment |year=2020 |volume=4 |pages=100021 |doi=10.1016/j.dibe.2020.100021 |doi-access=free|hdl=11250/2995024 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> However, this concentration can also have some significant harmful effects, such as forming [[urban heat island]]s, concentrating [[pollution]], and stressing water supplies and other resources.