City

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A city is a place where many people live together. Cities have many big buildings and streets, and often many cars. One of the most important reasons why people live in cities is because it is easier for them to find and do the things they want there.

A city usually has houses for people to live, factories where people make things, and business buildings.

What makes a town or a city is different in different parts of the English speaking world. There is no one standard international way to say what a city is. "City" can be a town which has city status, a place with a special number of people, or a place with special powers. "City" can mean a place with a centre and other smaller parts outside the centre, but it can not be a group of places which are not together.

In the United Kingdom, a city is a town which people have always called a city, or which has got the name "city" status by royal charter (a special paper from the king or queen). Cities usually get this because they have a special number of people or are important. In the past, cities got that name if they had a cathedral or a university. Some cathedral cities, for example St. David's in Wales, are small, and people do not normally call them cities.

In Europe, in the Middle Ages, being a city was a special privilege, granted by nobility. Cities that fall into this category, usually had (or still have) city walls. The people who lived in the city were privileged over those who did not.

In modern Europe, any settlement with at least 10.000 people in it can call itself city. Many cities that have their status from the Middle Ages are actually smaller than 10.000 people.

In American English, people often call all places cities. On forms (papers asking for information), we can often read "City", when the person who wants to write in the form could live in a city, a town, or a village or hamlet (a very small village). Perhaps this is because, when the first European people went to America, they gave the name "city" to new places. They hoped the places would be great cities in the future. For example, Salt Lake City was a village of 148 people. When they started building the town they made street plans and called it Great Salt Lake City (for the nearby Great Salt Lake). 150 years later, it really is a big city.

Many Americans often talk of "City Halls" when thinking of to town halls in quite small European towns and villages.

The first cities were made in ancient times, as soon as people began to create civilization. Famous ancient cities include Babylon, Athens, and Rome.

Benaras in northern India is one among the ancient cities which has a history of more 3000 years

In modern times cities have grown bigger and bigger. In the world today, there are twenty cities with more than 10 million people:

• Tokyo, Japan - 28 million
• Mexico City, Mexico - 18 million
• Mumbai, India - 18 million
• São Paulo, Brazil - 18 million
• New York City, USA - 17 million
• Shanghai, China - 14 million
• Lagos, Nigeria - 13 million
• Los Angeles, USA - 13 million
• Calcutta, India - 13 million
• Buenos Aires, Argentina - 12 million
• Seoul, South Korea - 12 million
• Beijing, China - 12 million
• Karachi, Pakistan - 11 million
• Delhi, India - 11 million
• Dhaka, Bangladesh - 11 million
• Manila, Philippines - 11 million
• Cairo, Egypt - 11 million
• Osaka, Japan - 11 million
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 11 million
• Tianjin, China - 10 million
• Moscow, Russia - 10 million

These giant cities can be exciting places to live, and many people can find good jobs there, but modern cities also have many problems. Many people cannot find jobs in the cities and have to get money by begging or by crime. Cars, factories, and garbage create a lot of pollution that makes people sick.