Concept and the main cities of the world

We explain to you that it is a city and some of its characteristics, besides, the main cities of the world and information about them.

A city can have hundreds of inhabitants or millions of them.

What is a city?

A city is the name of the urban settlements of the human population of a nation, that is, the densely populated and artificially modified urban spaces to house human communities, endowed with both political, economic and administrative functions and attributions.

Every city distinguishes itself from rural centers in, fundamentally, the presence of activities industrial, economic and bureaucratic other than agricultural, of developments in the prevailing vertical buildings (buildings or skyscrapers), and especially of the administrative centers of political power (such as capital).

There is NO unique criteria to define what a city is and what is not, at least from the number of inhabitants.A city can have hundreds of inhabitants, or millions of them , such as large American megalopolis with more than 20 mi llones of resident citizens.

In many cases, in addition, cities encompass a more or less similar urban ring (the metropolitan area) of logistic, administrative and urbanistically integrated "dormitory" populations to the "heart" of the city.

In fact, the big cities have had to organize themselves based on smaller geographical and political units, in order to be governed.Reason why are divided into municipalities or municipalities , equipped with mayors and local or neighborhood representatives.

This classification also had its impact on the constitution of republican democracy, since the inhabitants had to be censored and organized to be able to exercise the vote in an orderly manner.

Another characteristic of cities is their permanence in time, that is, they do not change location .Instead, they usually expand, covering more and more territory as their population grows , phenomenon known as the expansion of the urban spot .

The phenomenon of expansion of the urban march began centuries ago, when the end of the Middle Ages (approximately 15th century) brought about the emergence of urban life as a dominant model, above life in agriculture, causing considerable exodus from the countryside to the different western cities.This coincided with the emergence of the bourgeoisie as a new ruling class, instead of the feudal lords (landowners).

Currently, the highest percentage (54%) of the world's population is located in different cities existentes.Paradojicamente, such urban population requires, from the agricultural world, increasingly large food production as in the cities The primary sector of the industry is not usually found , but the secondary, the transport sector and the services sector.

See also: Population.

The main cities of the world

Tokyo is the capital of Japan, and has more than 13 million inhabitants.

The largest and most important cities in the world today are capitals (historical or economic) and usually house millions of people.those of greater popularity and economic and population importance are:

• Tokyo.The capital of Japan, has a population of more than 13 million inhabitants (37 million counting the metropolitan area) in a total area of ​​2187 km2.It is densely populated (6300.89 inhabitants/km2) and it is the main city in the world in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).


• New York.The famous "capital of the world" in the United States is the most populous city in the country and the second most populous on the continent (after Mexico City).It has a total population of more than 22 million people counting its metropolitan area, in a total area of ​​1214 km2.


• Seoul.The capital of South Korea since its creation in 1948 (after the Korean War), is the fourth largest metropolitan economy in the world according to its GDP and has 24.5 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area.Its area of ​​605.25 km2 is crossed by the river They have, in which there are important global economic ports.


• London.Founded by the Roman Empire almost two millennia ago with the name of Londinium , the capital of England is a city of enormous historical and cultural background, home to important museums and the oldest underground in the world.The area of ​​1572 km2 is inhabited by 13,879,757 inhabitants (counting the metropolitan area) and is the largest financial center in the world.


• Paris.The capital and most populous city in France, it was also founded by the Romans in the 52nd century BC Its surface area of ​​105.4 km2 is home to almost 13 million people (counting its metropolitan area).Together with London, it was during the 19th century and part of the XX an important city in the technological and industrial development of Europe, being host of numerous scientific and technological exhibitions.It is considered an epicenter of fashion, gastronomy and luxury.


• Shanghai.It is the most populous city in China and one of the most populous in the world, with more than 23 million people in an area of ​​6340 km2.Located in East China, in the Yangtse River Delta, it is a tourist center of importance given its temples and monuments, besides being the star of the development of the People's Republic of China, which is why it is considered its economic capital.