Can you describe the cities?

CITIES

Cities have existed since ancient times, when they functioned as trading hubs, often at the heart of sprawling empires. By the early 20th century, one in 10 people lived in a city. Industrialization has led to massive urbanization, and more than half the world’s population are now city-dwellers. Modern cities are centres of commerce, culture, and government.

CITY-STATE

In Ancient Greece, it was common for cities to establish themselves as independent states, with their own political systems. By the 5th century BCE, there were hundreds of city-states, and Athens was one of the most important. Today, Athens is the Greek capital.

HIGH-RISE

The first high-rise buildings, now known as “skyscrapers”, were constructed in the 1880s. With limited space in city centres, building upwards became the solution. Today, more than 7,000 skyscrapers tower above the city of Hong Kong.

RIVER LIVING

Towns and cities were often built next to rivers, to take advantage of the trading opportunities and transport links they offered. Founded by the Romans, the city of London now spreads far and wide on both sides of the River Thames.

RELIGIOUS CENTRE

Some cities are important religious sites. Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, is sacred to Muslims as the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. All Muslims should make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime.

CONURBATION

When a city expands to merge with neighbouring towns, it becomes one huge urban area called a conurbation. The world’s largest conurbation is Tokyo, Japan, with currently 37 million inhabitants.

PURPOSE-BUILT

Until 1960, the capital of Brazil was Rio de Janeiro on the east coast. However, the government wanted to encourage growth and development in the centre of the country, and so a brand new capital was purpose-built in the interior – the modern capital of Brasília.

POPULATION GROWTH

Until recently, the majority of the world’s population lived in rural areas. Today, most people live in cities, where they have migrated in search of work and opportunity. In many cities, such as Mumbai in India, this has led to overcrowding as temporary shelters spring up on the outskirts.

WORLD HERITAGE

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has listed sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance in order to preserve them. Called World Heritage Sites, these include cities such as Djenne in Mali, with its large mud brick mosque.

DESERT CITY

At night, the lights of Las Vegas shine out across the Nevada Desert, USA. Las vegas means “the meadows” because the vast city was once just a place where travellers stopped for water as they crossed America.

CITY WITHIN A CITY

Few city-states remain today, but one exception is the Vatican City in Rome, Italy, home of the Pope and the centre of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican remains a city-state with its own flag, coins, national anthem, and postage stamps.

Picture Credit : Google

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