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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 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 negative consequences, such as forming urban heat islands, concentrating pollution, and stressing water supplies and other resources. (Full article...)

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Downtown Houston

Houston (/ˈhjuːstən/ ^ⓘ; HEW-stən) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County; as well as the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth. With a population of 2,314,157 in 2023, Houston is the fourth-most populous city in the United States after New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and the sixth-most populous city in North America. Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle.

Comprising a land area of 640.4 square miles (1,659 km²), Houston is the ninth-most expansive city in the United States (including consolidated city-counties). It is the largest city in the United States by total area whose government is not consolidated with a county, parish, or borough. Though primarily in Harris County, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, bordering other principal communities of Greater Houston such as Sugar Land and The Woodlands. (Full article...)

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... 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 Sharri MacDonald was removed from the Old Orchard Beach City Council after a controversial 4–3 vote put the entire council up for recall?
... that in 2018, 41 out of 45 members of the Malang city council were arrested for corruption?
... that Huntsville, Alabama, is nicknamed Rocket City?
... that the Lyceum Theatre is New York City's oldest continuously operating legitimate theater?
... that Balbuena metro station was flooded with sewage following a failure attributed to an unrelated fire?

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Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Downtown Minneapolis (from the Mississippi River)

Minneapolis, officially the City of Minneapolis, is a city in and the county seat of Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. With a population of 429,954, it is the state's most populous city as of the 2020 census. It occupies both banks of the Mississippi River and adjoins Saint Paul, the state capital of Minnesota. Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the surrounding area are collectively known as the Twin Cities, a metropolitan area with 3.69 million residents. Minneapolis is built on an artesian aquifer on flat terrain, and is known for cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers. Nicknamed the "City of Lakes", Minneapolis is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks, and waterfalls. The city's public park system is connected by the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway.

Dakota people originally inhabited the site of today's Minneapolis. European colonization and settlement began north of Fort Snelling along Saint Anthony Falls—the only natural waterfall on the Mississippi River. The city's early growth was attributed to its proximity to the fort and the falls providing power for industrial activity. Minneapolis was the 19th-century lumber and flour milling capital of the world, and as home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, it has preserved its financial clout into the 21st century. A Minneapolis Depression-era labor strike brought about federal worker protections. Work in Minneapolis contributed to the computing industry, and the city is the birthplace of General Mills, the Pillsbury brand, Target Corporation, and Thermo King mobile refrigeration. (Full article...)

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A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most cases, a conurbation is a polycentric urbanised area in which transportation has developed to link areas. They create a single urban labour market or travel to work area.

Patrick Geddes coined the term in his book Cities in Evolution (1915). He drew attention to the ability of the new technology at the time of electric power and motorised transport to allow cities to spread and agglomerate together, and gave as examples "Midlandton" in England, the Ruhr in Germany, Randstad in the Netherlands, and the Northeastern Seaboard in the United States. (Full article...)

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Image 1New York City, one of the largest urban areas in the world (from Urban geography)
Image 2Gdańsk in the 17th century (from History of cities)
Image 3Cain founding the city of Enoch (from History of cities)
Image 4Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of cities)
Image 5The Round city of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq (from History of cities)
Image 6The "Great Colonnade" marks the cardo maximus of Apamea, Syria. (from History of cities)
Image 7A map showing the world energy consumption per capita based on 2013 data from the World Bank. (from Urban geography)
Image 8A poster from the EPA entitled "Soak Up the Rain with Green Infrastructure." The poster depicts various green infrastructure that can be effective in preventing floods. (from Urban geography)
Image 9Aerial photograph shows the remains of the Sumerian city Ur, near Nasiriyah, Iraq. (from History of cities)
Image 10View of the Agora of Athens with the temple of Hephaestus to the left and the Stoa of Attalos to the right (from History of cities)
Image 11Extent and major sites of the Indus Valley civilization of ancient India (from History of cities)
Image 12Constantinople, the largest and wealthiest city in Europe from the 9th through the 12th century (from History of cities)
Image 13The city of Arbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has a radial urban structure centred on an ancient fortress (from Urban structure)
Image 14This woodcut shows Nuremberg as a prototype of a flourishing and independent city in the 15th century. (from History of cities)
Image 15The Avenue of the Dead in Teotihuacan originates with the Pyramid of the Moon, forming the basis of the city grid. (from History of cities)
Image 16Excavated foundations of Çatalhöyük, Turkey. An Anatolian town dated to 7000 BCE. (from History of cities)
Image 17Mohenjo-daro, a World Heritage Site that was part of the Indus Valley civilization (from History of cities)
Image 18Glasgow slum in 1871 (from History of cities)
Image 19Palmanova, Italy, constructed in 1593 according to the defensive ideal of the star fort, today retains its distinctive geometry. (from History of cities)

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v t e Cities
Urban geography	Urban area City centre Downtown Suburb Core city Twin cities Satellite city Edge city Commuter town City proper limits Conurbation Metropolitan area Metropolis Megalopolis Cities with the most skyscrapers Urbanization Suburbanization Shrinking cities Ghost town
Urban government	City status Municipality direct-controlled Independent city City-state Autonomous city Capital city
Urban economics	World's cities by GDP Global city Central business district Most expensive cities Cheapest cities Most livable cities Urban decay Urban renewal Municipal bond Habitat III
Urban planning	History of urban planning Theories of urban planning Technical aspects of urban planning Urban planners Zoning Mixed-use development Urban design Grid plan Concentric zone model Sector model Multiple nuclei model Linear city Land use Smart city
Urban population	World's largest cities throughout history Most densely populated cities Most populous national capitals Most populous satellite cities
Urbanism	Urban warfare Urban studies Urban morphology Urban culture Urban sociology Anti-urbanism Urban exploration Urban homesteading Unitary urbanism
Environment	Climate change Green urbanism Sustainable city Sustainable urbanism Sustainable Development Goal 11 Urban heat island Urban ecology

v t e World's largest cities
City proper	Capitals Americas (North Latin Central South) Asia (Arab world ASEAN Arabia East, South and Southeast Asia) Europe (European Union Nordic)
Metropolitan area	Americas (North South West Indies) Europe (European Union Nordic) Asia Africa Middle East
Urban area/agglomeration	Asia Africa Europe European Union Nordic North America Oceania Transborder
Historical	World Europe
Related articles	Arcology Ecumenopolis Global city Megacity Megalopolis Conurbation Satellite city population Primate city Secondary city