A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.

For example, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts an article of incorporation approved by the local state legislature distinguishes a city government from a town. In the United Kingdom and parts of the Commonwealth of Nations, a city is traditionally a settlement with a royal charter. Historically, in Europe, a city was understood to be an urban settlement with a cathedral.

Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, and transportation. The concentration of development greatly facilitates interaction between people and businesses, benefiting both parties in the process. A big city or metropolis usually has associated suburbs and exurbs. Such cities are usually associated with metropolitan areas and urban areas, creating numerous business commuters traveling to urban centers for employment. Once a city expands far enough to reach another city, this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis.

Origins

There is insufficient evidence to assert what conditions gave rise to the first cities. Some theorists, however, have speculated on what they consider suitable pre-conditions, and basic mechanisms that might have been important driving forces.

Theories

Agricultural primacy

The conventional view holds that cities first formed after the Neolithic revolution. The Neolithic revolution brought agriculture, which made denser human populations possible, thereby supporting city development. The advent of farming encouraged hunter-gatherers to abandon nomadic lifestyles and to settle near others who lived by agricultural production. The increased population-density encouraged by farming and the increased output of food per unit of land created conditions that seem more suitable for city-like activities. In his book, ''Cities and Economic Development'', Paul Bairoch takes up this position in his argument that agricultural activity appears necessary before true cities can form.

According to Vere Gordon Childe, for a settlement to qualify as a city, it must have enough surplus of raw materials to support trade. Bairoch points out that, due to sparse population densities that would have persisted in pre-Neolithic, hunter-gatherer societies, the amount of land that would be required to produce enough food for subsistence and trade for a large population would make it impossible to control the flow of trade. To illustrate this point, Bairoch offers an example: "Western Europe during the pre-Neolithic, [where] the density must have been less than 0.1 person per square kilometer". Using this population density as a base for calculation, and allotting 10% of food towards surplus for trade and assuming that city dwellers do no farming, he calculates that "in order to maintain a city with a population of 1,000, and without taking the cost of transportation into account, an area of 100,000 square kilometers would have been required. When the cost of transportation is taken into account, the figure rises to 200,000 square kilometers...". Bairoch noted that this is roughly the size of Great Britain.

Urban primacy

Theorist Jane Jacobs claims that city-formation preceded the birth of agriculture though offers no support for this theory. Unfortunately, Jacobs does not lend her theory to any reasonably strict definition of a city, but her account suggestively or vaguely contrasts what could be thought of as primitive city-like activity to the activity occurring in neighboring hunter-gatherer settlements. To argue this view, she suggests a fictitious scenario where a valued natural resource leads to primitive economic activity - she takes obsidian as an example. The stock of obsidian is controlled and traded with neighboring hunting groups. Hunters who do not control the stock travel great distances to barter what they have, valuing obsidian because it "makes the sharpest tools to be had". This activity brings more people to the center as jobs are created and goods are being traded. Among the goods traded are seeds of all different sorts, stored in unprecedented combinations. In various ways, some accidental, the seeds are sown, and the variation in yields are observed more readily than they would be in the wild. The seeds that yield the most grain are noticed and trading them begins to occur within the city. Owing to this local dealing, the city dwellers find that their grain yields are the best, and for the first time make deliberate and conscious selection. The choices made now become purposeful, and they are made among various strains of already cultivated crosses, and their crosses, mutants and hybrids.

Causes of establishment

Theorists have suggested many possible reasons for why people would have originally decided to come together to form dense populations. In his book ''City Economics'', Brendan O'Flaherty asserts "Cities could persist—as they have for thousands of years—only if their advantages offset the disadvantages" . O'Flaherty illustrates two similar attracting advantages known as increasing returns to scale and economies of scale, which are concepts normally associated with firms. Their applications are seen in more basic economic systems as well. Increasing returns to scale occurs when "doubling all inputs more than doubles the output [and] an activity has economies of scale if doubling output less than doubles cost" . To offer an example of these concepts, O'Flaherty makes use of "one of the oldest reasons why cities were built: military protection" . In this example, the inputs are anything that would be used for protection (e.g.: a wall) and the output is the area protected and everything of value contained in it. O'Flaherty then asks that we suppose that the area to be protected is square and each hectare inside it has the same value of protection. The advantage is expressed as:

:(1) $O\; =\; s^2$, where O is the output (area protected) and s stands for the length of a side. This equation shows that output is proportional to the square of the length of a side.

The inputs depend on the length of the perimeter:

:(2) $I\; =\; 4s$, where I stands for the quantity of inputs. This equation shows that the perimeter is proportional to the length of a side.

So there are increasing returns to scale:

:(3) $O\; =\; I^2/16$. This equation (solving for $s$ in (1) and substituting in (2)) shows that with twice the inputs, you produce quadruple the output.

Also, economies of scale:

:(4) $I\; =\; 4O^\{1/2\}$. This equation (solving for $I$ in equation (3)) shows that the same output requires less input.

"Cities, then, economize on protection, and so protection against marauding barbarian armies is one reason why people have come together to live in cities..." .

Similarly, "Are Cities Dying?", a paper by Harvard economist Edward L. Glaeser, delves into similar reasons for city formation: reduced transport costs for goods, people, and ideas. Discussing the benefits of proximity, Glaeser claims that if you double a city size, workers have a ten-percent increase in earnings. Glaeser furthers his argument by stating that bigger cities do not pay more for equal productivity than in a smaller city, so it is reasonable to assume that workers become more productive if they move to a city twice the size as they initially worked in. However, the workers do not benefit much from the ten-percent wage increase, because it is recycled back into the higher cost of living in a bigger city. They do gain other benefits from living in cities, though.

Geography

City planning has seen many different schemes for how a city should look. The most commonly seen pattern is the grid, used for thousands of years in China, independently invented by Alexander the Great's city-planner Dinocrates of Rhodes and favoured by the Romans, while almost a rule in parts of pre-Columbian America. Derry begun in 1613, was the first planned city in Ireland, with the walls being completed five years later. The central diamond within a walled city with four gates was thought to be a good design for defence. The grid pattern was widely copied in the colonies of British North America.

The Ancient Greeks often gave their colonies around the Mediterranean a grid plan. One of the best examples is the city of Priene. This city had different specialized districts, much as is seen in modern city planning today. Fifteen centuries earlier, the Indus Valley Civilization was using grids in such cities as Mohenjo-Daro. In medieval times there was evidence of a preference for linear planning. Good examples are the cities established by various rulers in the south of France and city expansions in old Dutch and Flemish cities.

Grid plans were popular among planners in the 19th century, particularly after the redesign of Paris. They cut through the meandering, organic streets that followed old paths. The United States imposed grid plans in new territories and towns, as the American West was rapidly established, in places such as Salt Lake City and San Francisco.

Other forms may include a radial structure, in which main roads converge on a central point. This was often a historic form, the effect of successive growth over long time with concentric traces of town walls and citadels. In more recent history, such forms were supplemented by ring-roads that take traffic around the outskirts of a town. Many Dutch cities are structured this way: a central square surrounded by concentric canals. Every city expansion would imply a new circle (canals together with town walls). In cities such as Amsterdam, Haarlem, and also Moscow, this pattern is still clearly visible.

History

Towns and cities have a long history, although opinions vary on whether any particular ancient settlement can be considered to be a city. A city formed as central places of trade for the benefit of the members living in close proximity to others facilitates interaction of all kinds. These interactions generate both positive and negative externalities between others' actions. Benefits include reduced transport costs, exchange of ideas, sharing of natural resources, large local markets, and later in their development, amenities such as running water and sewage disposal. Possible costs would include higher rate of crime, higher mortality rates, higher cost of living, worse pollution, traffic and high commuting times. Cities will grow when the benefits of proximity between people and firms are higher than the cost.

The first true towns are sometimes considered to be large settlements where the inhabitants were no longer simply farmers of the surrounding area, but began to take on specialized occupations, and where trade, food storage and power was centralized. In 1950 Gordon Childe attempted to define a historic city with 10 general metrics. These are: # Size and density of the population should be above normal. # Differentiation of the population. Not all residents grow their own food, leading to specialists. # Payment of taxes to a deity or king. # Monumental public buildings. # Those not producing their own food are supported by the king. # Systems of recording and practical science. # A system of writing. # Development of symbolic art. # Trade and import of raw materials. # Specialist craftsmen from outside the kin-group. This categorisation is descriptive, and it is used as a general touchstone when considering ancient cities, although not all have each of its characteristics.

One characteristic that can be used to distinguish a small city from a large town is organized government. A town accomplishes common goals through informal agreements between neighbors or the leadership of a chief. A city has professional administrators, regulations, and some form of taxation (food and other necessities or means to trade for them) to feed the government workers. The governments may be based on heredity, religion, military power, work projects (such as canal building), food distribution, land ownership, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, finance, or a combination of those. Societies that live in cities are often called civilizations.

Ancient times

Early cities developed in a number of regions of the ancient world. Mesopotamia can claim the earliest cities, particularly Eridu, Uruk, and Ur. After Mesopotamia, this culture arose in Syria and Anatolia, as shown by the city of Çatalhöyük (7500-5700BC). It is the largest Neolithic site found to date. Although it has sometimes been claimed that ancient Egypt lacked urbanism, several types of urban settlements were found in ancient times.

The Indus Valley Civilization and ancient China are two other areas with major indigenous urban traditions. Among the early Old World cities, Mohenjo-daro of the Indus Valley Civilization in present-day Pakistan, existing from about 2600 BC, was one of the largest, with a population of 50,000 or more. At a somewhat later time, a distinctive urban tradition developed in the Khmer region of Cambodia, where Angkor grew into one of the largest cities (in area) of the world.

In the ancient Americas, early urban traditions developed in the Andes and Mesoamerica. In the Andes, the first urban centers developed in the Norte Chico civilization (also Caral or Caral-Supe civilization), Chavin and Moche cultures, followed by major cities in the Huari, Chimu and Inca cultures. The Norte Chico civilization included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru. It is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, flourishing between the 30th century BC and the 18th century BC. Mesoamerica saw the rise of early urbanism in several cultural regions, including the Preclassic Maya, the Zapotec of Oaxaca, and Teotihuacan in central Mexico. Later cultures such as the Aztec drew on these earlier urban traditions.

This roster of early urban traditions is notable for its diversity. Excavations at early urban sites show that some cities were sparsely populated political capitals, others were trade centers, and still other cities had a primarily religious focus. Some cities had large dense populations, whereas others carried out urban activities in the realms of politics or religion without having large associated populations. Theories that attempt to explain ancient urbanism by a single factor, such as economic benefit, fail to capture the range of variation documented by archaeologists.

The growth of the population of ancient civilizations, the formation of ancient empires concentrating political power, and the growth in commerce and manufacturing led to ever greater capital cities and centres of commerce and industry, with Alexandria, Antioch and Seleucia of the Hellenistic civilization, Pataliputra (now Patna) in India, Chang'an (now Xi'an) in China, Carthage, ancient Rome, its eastern successor Constantinople (later Istanbul), and successive Chinese, Indian and Muslim capitals approaching or exceeding the half-million population level. Keith Hopkins estimates that ancient Rome had a population of about a million people by the end of the 1st century BC, after growing continually during the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st centuries BC. Alexandria's population was also close to Rome's population at around the same time, the historian Rostovtzeff estimates a total population close to a million based on a census dated from 32 AD that counted 180,000 adult male citizens in Alexandria. Similar administrative, commercial, industrial and ceremonial centres emerged in other areas, most notably medieval Baghdad, which according to George Modelski, later became the first city to exceed a population of one million by the 8th century instead of Rome.

While David Kessler and Peter Temin consider ancient Rome to be the largest city before 19th century London, George Modelski considers medieval Baghdad, with an estimated population of 1.2 million at its peak, to be the largest city before 19th century London. Others estimate that Baghdad's population may have been as large as 2 million in the 9th century.

Agriculture was practiced in sub-Saharan Africa since the third millennium BC. Because of this, cities were able to develop as centers of non-agricultural activity. Exactly when this first happened is still a topic of archeological and historical investigation. Western scholarship has tended to focus on cities in Europe and Mesopotamia, but emerging archeological evidence indicates that urbanization occurred south of the Sahara well before the influence of Arab urban culture. The oldest sites documented thus far are from around 500 AD including Awdaghust, Kumbi-Saleh the ancient capital of Ghana, and Maranda a center located on a trade rout between Egypt and Gao.

Cities of Late Antiquity underwent transformations as the urban power base shrank and was transferred to the local bishop (see Late Roman Empire). Cities essentially disappeared, earliest in Roman Britain and Germania and latest in the Eastern Roman Empire and Visigothic Spain.

Middle Ages

During the European Middle Ages, a town was as much a political entity as a collection of houses. City residence brought freedom from customary rural obligations to lord and community: ''"Stadtluft macht frei"'' ("City air makes you free") was a saying in Germany. In Continental Europe cities with a legislature of their own were not unheard of, the laws for towns as a rule other than for the countryside, the lord of a town often being another than for surrounding land. In the Holy Roman Empire some cities had no other lord than the emperor. In Italy medieval communes had quite a statelike power.

In exceptional cases like Venice, Genoa or Lübeck, cities themselves became powerful states, sometimes taking surrounding areas under their control or establishing extensive maritime empires. Similar phenomena existed elsewhere, as in the case of Sakai, which enjoyed a considerable autonomy in late medieval Japan.

Early modern

While the city-states, or poleis, of the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea languished from the 16th century, Europe's larger capitals benefited from the growth of commerce following the emergence of an Atlantic trade. By the early 19th century, London had become the largest city in the world with a population of over a million, while Paris rivaled the well-developed regionally traditional capital cities of Baghdad, Beijing, Istanbul and Kyoto. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas the old Roman city concept was extensively used. Cities were founded in the middle of the newly conquered territories, and were bound to several laws about administration, finances and urbanism.

Most towns remained far smaller places, so that in 1500 only some two dozen places in the world contained more than 100,000 inhabitants: as late as 1700 there were fewer than forty, a figure which would rise thereafter to 300 in 1900. A small city of the early modern period might contain as few as 10,000 inhabitants, a town far fewer still.

Industrial age

The growth of modern industry from the late 18th century onward led to massive urbanization and the rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of migrants from rural communities into urban areas. In the United States from 1860 to 1910, the invention of railroads reduced transportation costs, and large manufacturing centers began to emerge, thus allowing migration from rural to city areas. However, cities during those periods of time were deadly places to live in, due to health problems resulting from contaminated water and air, and communicable diseases. In the Great Depression of the 1930s cities were hard hit by unemployment, especially those with a base in heavy industry. In the U.S. urbanization rate increased forty to eighty percent during 1900-1990. Today the world's population is slightly over half urban, with millions still streaming annually into the growing cities of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

External effects

Modern cities are known for creating their own microclimates. This is due to the large clustering of heat absorbent surfaces that heat up in sunlight and that channel rainwater into underground ducts.

Waste and sewage are two major problems for cities, as is air pollution coming from various forms of combustion, including fireplaces, wood or coal-burning stoves, other heating systems, and internal combustion engines. The impact of cities on places elsewhere, be it hinterlands or places far away, is considered in the notion of city footprinting (''ecological footprint''). Other negative external effects include health consequences such as communicable diseases, crime, and high traffic and commuting times. Cities cause more interaction with more people than rural areas, thus a higher probability to contracting contagious diseases. However, many inventions such as inoculations, vaccines, and water filtration systems have also lowered health concerns. Crime is also a concern in the cities. Studies have shown that crime rates in cities are higher and the chance of punishment after getting caught is lower. In cases such as burglary, the higher concentration of people in cities create more items of higher value worth the risk of crime. The high concentration of people also makes using auto mobiles inconvenient and pedestrian traffic is more prominent in metropolitan areas than a rural or suburban one.

Cities also generate positive external effects. The close physical proximity facilitates knowledge spillovers, helping people and firms exchange information and generate new ideas. A thicker labor market allows for better skill matching between firms and individuals. Another positive external effect of cities comes from the diverse social opportunities created when people of different backgrounds are brought together. Larger cities typically offer a wider variety of social interests and activities, letting people of all backgrounds find something they can be involved in.

Cities may, however, also have a positive influence on the environment. UN Habitat stated in its reports that city living can be the best solution for dealing with the rising population numbers (and thus still be a good approach on dealing with overpopulation) This is because cities concentrate human activity into one place, making the environmental damage on other places smaller., letting the cities have a positive influence; however, can only be achieved if urban planning is improved and if the city services are properly maintained.

Distinction between cities and towns

The difference between ''towns'' and ''cities'' is differently understood in different parts of the world. Indeed, some languages other than English use a single word for both concepts. Iberian languages typically use a three-way designation (Catalan: ''“poble”'', ''“vila”'', ''“ciutat”''; Galician: ''“aldea”'', ''“vila”'', ''“cidade”''; Portuguese: ''“aldeia”'', ''“vila”'', ''“cidade”''; Spanish: ''“pueblo”'', ''“villa”'', ''“ciudad”''—respectively “village”, “town”, “city”); Italian: “''villaggio”'', "''paese''" ''“città”''—respectively “village”, "village/town", “city/town”; , but other Romance languages don’t (French: ''“village”'', ''“ville”'').

Even within the English-speaking world there is no one standard definition of a city: the term may be used either for a town possessing city status; for an urban locality exceeding an arbitrary population size; for a town dominating other towns with particular regional economic or administrative significance. In British English, ''city'' is reserved for very large settlements and smaller historic settlements with a Cathedral (e.g. Lichfield), while smaller settlements without a Cathedral are called towns, and smaller still are villages and hamlets. In the US ''city'' is used for much smaller settlements.

Although ''city'' can refer to an agglomeration including suburban and satellite areas, the term is not usually applied to a conurbation (cluster) of ''distinct'' urban places, nor for a wider metropolitan area including more than one city, each acting as a focus for parts of the area. And the word "town" (also "downtown") may mean the center of the city.

Australia

Australia's most populous urban areas are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

In informal Australian English, the word "city" has several related meanings and usages. It may refer to: the capital of a state or territory; any large settlement; a local government area (LGA) or; a central business district (CBD). For instance, within the wider urban area known as Perth, Australia's fourth most populous urban area, the City of Perth is a relatively small LGA, which also includes the Perth CBD. Similarly, residents of Sydney might speak of travelling to the CBD as "going to the city".

Official definitions of cities vary significantly from one part of Australia to another. For instance, in New South Wales, a city must have a population of at least 10,000. However, for various reasons, some local governments do not seek or receive city status: for instance, Sutherland Shire – in Sydney's south eastern suburbs – has a population of 220,000 (2010) which exceeds that of the City of Sydney proper (180,000). By contrast, other states utilise quite different official definitions. For example, while the Castlemaine and Portland in Victoria were at one time officially "Cities" (in the sense of LGAs), both are now officially the centres of "Shires" and have populations of less than 10,000.

Argentina

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan recognizes 69 urban settlements as cities. The largest, with just over two million inhabitants, is the capital Baku. See: List of cities in Azerbaijan

Belarus

In the Belarusian language two words mean "city" or "town" - "горад" (horad) and "места" (miesta), where "horad" translated as "fortifying miesta", or "stronghold". The term "miesta" translated as "town without fortifying" and meaning modern town. In the contemporary Belarusian language term "horad" is used more often, in spite of lexical inexactitude of this term. The smallest population of a city of Belaruse officially not named "horad" or "miesta" it is used a name "urban-type settlement" ("паселішча гарадскога тыпу", "paselyscha haradskoha typu") and also (informal or with historical sense) "мястэчка" ("miastechka").

Bangladesh

Belgium

Brazil

Brazil is divided into states () and these into municipalities (''municípios''); there is no county or equivalent level. Brazilian law defines a "city" (''cidade'') as the urban seat of a municipality and establishes no difference between cities and towns; all it takes for an urban area to be legally called a "city" is to be the seat of a municipality, and some of them are semi-rural settlements with a very small population. Municipalities always have the same name as their corresponding cities, and the terms ''município'' and ''cidade'' are often used interchangeably, even by the government itself, although this is not technically correct. However, except for the Federal District (the area of the national capital city, Brasília), which has special status and no municipalities, all land in Brazil is in the territory of some municipality. Thus, even in the country's remotest wilderness areas, one is still technically under the jurisdiction of a "city," or at least of its government. Brazil's largest cities are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, both located on the heavily urbanized South East coast.

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria the word "град" (grad) means city or town, although the word "градче" (gradche) can be used for small cities or towns. The Council of Ministers has the right to give or withdraw the status of the territorial unit and the president sets the name. In 2005 it was introduced that in order for a village to become a city it has to have developed social and technical infrastructure and have a population of more than 3500 people (in the resort cities - more than 1000).

There are settlements with a city status for historical and cultural reasons (Melnik with a population of 358), or for political reasons (Pravets, Kableshkovo, etc.).

Canada

In Canada, the granting of city status is handled by the individual provinces and territories. Therefore, city status definitions and criteria vary widely across the country. In British Columbia and Saskatchewan, towns can become cities after they reach a population of 5,000 people, but the threshold is 10,000 in Alberta, New Brunswick, and Ontario. In Manitoba, an urban municipality may not be named as a city unless its population meets or exceeds 7,500 people.

Although it has numerous cities in the traditional sense of the term, Ontario also sometimes confers city status on primarily rural areas whose municipalities have been merged into a former county government. Nova Scotia has abolished city status altogether, replacing it with regional municipality status.

In Quebec, there is no legal distinction between a city and a town, as both have the legal status of ''ville''. The province formerly differentiated between ''ville'' (town) and ''cité'' (city), but no longer does so.

China (People's Republic of China)

A city is an administrative division in Mainland China. There are three types of cities: a municipality is a provincial-level division (e.g. Shanghai or Beijing); a prefecture-level city is governed by provinces or autonomous regions; and a county-level city is a sub-unit of a prefecture-level administrative division.

There is a formal definition of ''city'' in China provided by the Chinese government, commonly seen in maps and textbooks. A minimum 100,000 non-agricultural population in an urbanized area, usually the administrative centre of a county(县, "xian"), is required to establish it in an administrative sense as a city(市, "shi"). By its non-agricultural population is a city classified: 100,000-200,000 a small city, 200,000-500,000 a medium city, 500,000-1,000,000 a large city and >1,000,000 an extra-large city(特大城市). Also, there is an administrative definition based on the city boundary too and a city has its legal city limits. In 1998, there were 668 cities in China. China has the largest urban population in the world although half of its population still lives in rural areas.

Chile

Chile's Department of National Statistics defines a city (''ciudad'' in Spanish) as an urban entity with more than 5,000 inhabitants. A town (''pueblo''), is an urban entity with 2,001 to 5,000 persons, however, if the area has some economic activity, the designation may include populations as small as 1,001. The department also defines Major Cities as provincial or regional capitals with populations of 100,001 to 500,000; Great Urban Areas which comprise several entities without any appreciable limit between them and populations which total between 500,001 and 1,000,000. A Metropolis is the largest urban area in the country where there are more than one million inhabitants. The "urban entity" is defined as a concentration of habitations with more than 2,000 persons living in them, or more than 1,000 persons if more than half of those persons are in some way gainfully employed. Tourist and recreation areas with more than 250 living units may be considered as urban areas.

Denmark

Denmark abolished the legal distinction between borough (''købstad'' in Danish) and town (''by'') with the administrative reform in 1970. Before that time boroughs were chartered towns exempt from the county jurisdiction.

Egypt

In Egypt the word "مدينة" (''madina'') means city or town and there is no distinction between the two.

France

The French word for city is the same for town: it is ''ville'' for both of them. In France, there is no distinction between a town and a city. There is only a difference between a city or town (''ville''), a village (''village'') which is smaller (around 50 to 2000 inhabitants), and a hamlet (''hameau'') which does not have more than around 50 inhabitants. French people usually make a difference between a city that has more than around 10000 inhabitants (city) and one that has less than around 10000 (town). Anyway, it is very subjective. The number of inhabitants that is supposed to have a city or a village to be considered as one may vary among individuals. But they usually say ''petite ville'' (literally "small city", or town) for the littlest city, and ''ville'' (city) for the bigger ones. The term ''métropole'' (metropolis) or ''grande ville'' (big city) can be used for the biggest cities.

===Germany=== The German word for both "town" and "city" is ''Stadt'', while a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants is called a ''Großstadt'' (big city). On the other hand, most towns are communities belonging to a ''Landkreis'' (county or rural district), but there are some cities, usually with at least 50,000 inhabitants, that are counties by themselves (''kreisfreie Städte''). In 2006, there were 82 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Germany. Germany's largest cities are Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt am Main while the largest urban area is in the Rhine-Ruhr region with over 12 million inhabitants. Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Stuttgart and Cologne are characterized as world cities or global cities.

Greece

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iraq

Ireland

The primary subdivisions for local government in the Republic of Ireland are 29 ''counties'' and 5 ''cities'', the latter being Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford. Although Kilkenny is administratively a borough, it is entitled to use the title ''city'' for ceremonial and tourist purposes, having been described as such in a royal charter in 1601.

Israel

The term "city" is not a legal term. The Israeli Interior Minister has authority to classify the municipalities and local authorities for local councils. Usually communities larger than 20,000 residents are recognized as municipalities. Under special circumstances, the Minister of the Interior can declare a city municipality with only 5,000 city residents. The smallest municipality in Israel is Or Akiva with less than 15,000 inhabitants. In contrast, Ramat Hasharon remained a local council, though over 35,000 people lived there. The law specifies additional criteria: the level of urban development, stability of the coalition of the local Council, services available to residents, reasonable and proper financial management. The declaration of a settlement as a city is made by the interior minister after a special investigative committee has examined these criteria. Each municipality has a mayor and council, elected in local elections supervised by the Ministry of Interior. THe number of council members is determined by the number of city residents: Up to 5,000 residents - 9 members. 5,000 to 25,000 residents - up to 15 members. 25,000 to 100,000 residents - up to 21 members. 100,000 residents and more - 21 to 31 members. Setting the city (as distinct from the legal term here means a geographical term) as presented in the Israeli pavilion in Venice Architecture Biennale in 2000: "A city is a hotbed of people that allows them to simultaneously maintain other relationships with a diverse level of intimacy while maintaining complete anonymity." ("Anonymous intimacy")

Italy

In Italy a city is called a ''città'', a noun derived from the Latin ''civitas'', but towns are also called ''città''. The status of "city" is granted by the President of the Republic with Presidential Decree Law. The largest and most important cities in the country, such as Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin, are called ''aree metropolitane'' (metropolitan areas) because they include several minor cities and towns in their areas. In the coat of arms, a golden crown tower stands for a city.

Kazakhstan

Japan

In Japan a city is called a shi (市) where as a town is called a machi or chō (町) and a village is called a mura or son (村). The term for town can be used like the English term when referring to the center of a large city. The capital city, Tokyo, has a special designation and is also known as ku (区) which is similar to municipal arrondissement in France. The definitions of shi or a city are followings 1. Population is more than 50,000. 2. 60% or more of buildings are in the city centre. 3. 60% or more of the households work for non Primary sector of the economy.4. Has a system to function as a city. The definition of town differs by each prefecture minimum requirement of 4,000 to 15,000.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, there are populated areas which are granted city status by law (bandar raya). However, there are also highly urbanised and populated areas which does not have city status, but are sometimes colloquially also referred to as cities. City status is granted to a place within a local government area. Other populated areas which does not have city status are legally categorised as a municipality or town.

Mexico

The Mexican population is increasingly urban with close to 75% of the population living in cities. The five largest metropolitan areas of Mexico (Greater Mexico City, Greater Guadalajara, Greater Monterrey, Greater Puebla and Greater Tijuana) are home to 30% of the country's population.

In 2004, a joint effort between CONAPO (National Council of Population), INEGI and the Secretariat of Social Development (SEDESOL) agreed to define metropolitan areas as either:

The group of two or more municipalities in which a city with a population of at least 50,000 is located whose urban area extends over the limit of the municipality that originally contained the core city incorporating either physically or under its area of direct influence other adjacent predominantly urban municipalities all of which have a high degree of social and economic integration or are relevant for urban politics and administration.

A single municipality in which a city of a population of at least one million is located and fully contained, (that is, it does not transcend the limits of a single municipality).

Netherlands

In the Netherlands a city is called ''stad'', in common with other Germanic languages. In the Dutch language there is no distinction between town and city (both are stad). Small settlements are distinguished similarly as in English, being called dorp (village) or gehucht (hamlet). In medieval times, a settlement had to achieve city-rights to be called a ''stad''. In modern times, there is no Dutch law saying what can be called a city or not, although generally places with more than 50,000 inhabitants are called a city. Settlements between 20,000 and 50,000 are most often called ''kleine stad'' or ''stadje'', which literally means "little city". Settlements under about 20,000 may be called ''dorp'', "village". The four largest cities are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, which together form the heart of the Randstad metropolitan conurbation.

Nigeria

New Zealand

In New Zealand, a local authority may be proclaimed a city only if it meets certain criteria. Specifically, "a city [...] must have a minimum population of 50,000, be predominantly urban in character, be a distinct entity and a major centre of activity within the region." Some early settlements, such as Nelson and Christchurch, were proclaimed cities by royal charter. Later, laws established criteria for a town to meet before it could officially be proclaimed a city, and these criteria have changed over time. , 13 of New Zealand's 67 territorial authorities will be officially styled cities.

In informal usage, a city is simply a large, important urban centre, regardless of the composition of its local government (which may be a combination of one or more cities or districts). For example, Gisborne, which purports to be the first city to see the sun, has a population of only 44,500 (2006), many of whom live outside the Gisborne urban area; it is, therefore, administered by a district council, not a city council. Some city councils, such as Christchurch and Dunedin, also administer large areas of rural hinterland; the communities in these areas, such as the towns of Akaroa and Middlemarch, are not often thought of as part of their cities, except for certain legal and administrative purposes. Meanwhile, the cities of Wellington and Auckland are generally regarded as single cities, despite Wellington's and, until recently, Auckland's being divided into several local government areas.

Statistics New Zealand has introduced the concept of ''main urban areas'', which have a minimum population of 30,000. The 16 main urban areas identified in 2001 and 2006 correspond closely to the urban settlements traditionally regarded as cities.

Norway

In Norway a city is called ''by'' and is derived from the Norse word býr meaning "a place with many buildings". Both cities and towns can be referred to as ''by''; however, in recent years, ''storby'' (lit. large city) has been used for larger settlements. The status of "town" is granted by the local authorities if a request for city status has been made and the area has a population of at least 5000. An area with a population of at least 50,000 is counted as a "city". Since 1997, cities no longer have special administrative functions.

Pakistan

There has traditionally been no formal distinction between "City" or "Town" in Pakistan, although informal distinctions and status has been as common as in any other country. Several cities in what is now Pakistan were traditionally recognized as cities; in some cases for centuries; Lahore, Multan and Peshawar are examples. After independence and the rapid increase in population that followed caused Karachi to become the nation's largest city, while the rapid industrialisation in the north of the country resulted in new towns increasing greatly in population; such as Sialkot and Faisalabad,these two cities grow in population also because of agriculture,social development and high rate of natural increase, whilst Rawalpindi, traditionally a garrison town became a large city due to the decision to build a new capital nearby. In 2001, a new Act formalised the distinction, by granting the 10 largest cities and metropolitan areas the status of city district, which for the first time gave areas the status of cities.

Philippines

Congress is the lone legislative entity that can incorporate cities. Provincial and municipal councils can pass resolutions indicating a desire to have a certain area (usually an already-existing municipality or a cluster of barangays) declared a city after the requirements for becoming a city are met. As per Republic Act No. 9009, these requirements include the following:

locally generated income of at least PHP 100 million (based on constant prices in the year 2000) for the last two consecutive years, as certified by the Department of Finance, AND

a population of 150,000 or more, as certified by the National Statistics Office (NSO); OR a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers, as certified by the Land Management Bureau, with contiguity not being a requisite for areas that are on two or more islands.

Poland

In Poland the word ''miasto'' serves for both town and city. Miasto is the term applied purely on the basis of the administrative decision of the central government, and specifically means either:

a county (gmina or powiat) with a city charter;

a city within a county, created by granting a city charter to a smaller town within a county.

These formal distinctions may differentiate larger towns from smaller ones (such as status as a separate powiat, or the conferring of the title ''prezydent'' on the mayor rather than ''burmistrz''), but none of these is universally recognized as equivalent to the English city/town distinction.

Poland's largest cities are: Warsaw, Łódź, Kraków, Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław.

Portugal

As in Spanish, in Portuguese there is a traditional distinction between cities — ''cidades'' — and towns — ''vilas''. The difference is defined by law, and a city must have:

at least 8,000 electors (more or less 10,000 inhabitants)

at least half of the following services:

* hospital

* pharmacy

* fire department

* theatre / cultural house

* museum

* library

* hotel services

* basic and secondary schools

* public transport

* gardens / urban parks

In special cases, some towns may be granted the status of city if they possess historical, cultural or architectonic importance.

The Portuguese urban settlements heraldry reflects the difference between cities, towns and villages, with the coat of arms of a city bearing a crown with 5 towers, the coat of arms of a town bearing a crown with 4 towers, while the coat of arms of a village bears a crown with 3 towers. This difference between cities, towns and villages is still in use in other Portuguese speaking countries, but not in Brazil.

There is also the notion of ''grande área metropolitana'' (great metropolitan area). There are two main metropolitan areas: Lisbon (the capital), in the centre of the country and Porto in the North. Lisbon Metropolitan Area has a population that exceeds 3 million. Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto has over 2 million inhabitants, although it is part of the Portuguese Northwestern Agglomeration that has, also, about 3 million inhabitants.

Romania

Cities and towns in Romania can have the status either of ''municipiu'' or ''oraş''. Smaller villages that do not apply to the city status are called ''comuna''/''comune'' (f., sing./pl.) and ''sat''/''sate'' (m., sing./pl.). By 2001 law, published on July 24, 2001 (M.O. number 408), there are 172 cities in Romania, and the minimum requirements for a settlement to be acknowledge as a iii-3rd rank city status are:

Population: over 5,000 citizens

Non-agricultural related activities: 75% people

Network of drinking water coverage for homes: 70% of street covering

Network of liquid waste recycle from homes: 55% of street covering

Waste water recycling facility

Water access-points for fire related incidents: 60% of the street covering

Paved streets or more: 50%

Hospital seats: 7 every 1000th citizen

Medical health care: 1.8 doctors per 1000th citizen

Hotel rooms: 50 seats

Public and permanent waste disposal

Primary school for children and a complementary school or at least one high school.

Cultural facilities: One free-access library, one show room, one public gym

One public garden : 10 sqm / citizen

In respect to the density of the cities, if it is more than 25 km to the next city, there are further benefits the mayor can access, fundings included.

A municipality is the next status after city-status by the same law, and Romania has 82 municipalities, plus the Municipality of Bucharest.

Russia

There are a lot of big cities in Russia such as Moscow (the capital), Saint-Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Grozny and other. In them there are skyscrapers, museums, trade centers.

South Africa

South Africa has three capitals.

South Korea

South Korea has a system of dividing into metropolitan cities, provinces, a special city (Seoul) and one specially self-governing province (Jeju-do). In South Korea, cities should have a population of more than 150,000, and if a city has more than 500,000, it would be divided into 2 districts and then sub-communities follow as a name of dong with similar system of normal cities. Additionally, if a city's population is over 1,000,000, then it would be promoted to metropolitan city. Seoul is the world's second largest metropolitan area.

South Sudan

South Sudan plans to build a new capital that will be called Ramciel.

Sweden

Sweden canceled the official legal term City (in Swedish: stad) in the year 1971. Only the word municipality (in Swedish: kommun) prevails, making no legal difference between Stockholm and a countryside municipality. Before that there were a number of terms like "stad"/Town, "köping"/large village etc. The definition of City/Town (stad) was merely that it was given such a title. Since the 1980s some municipalities (13 out of 290) being "stad" before 1971, again call themselves town (stad), but only in tourist advertising. This has no legal or administrative significance whatsoever, and the municipalities have to use the word "kommun" by law. In other cases the seat of the municipality is called "town".

Today's Swedish terminology makes no distinction between city and town; both concepts translate to the single word "stad", but sometimes town can be rendered "småstad" ("små" means "small"). Statistics Sweden defines a "stad" as an urban area (in Swedish: tätort) of at least 10,000 inhabitants.

Taiwan (Republic of China)

Turkey

There are some definitions of city in Turkey. Older definition which defines the city as a settlement with more than 20 000 inhabitants is out of use and a city is usually defined as the administrative center of a province () There are 81 provincial centers in Turkey. Nevertheless, some of the district centers () are more populous and more developed than the provincial centers.

But in 1984, the metropolitan center concept was introduced. () According to definition (revised as of 2004) a metropolitan center is a city with more than 750 000 inhabitants. At present 16 of the provincial centers are metropolitan centers.

Ukraine

There is no difference in the Ukrainian language between the notions of "town" and "city". Both these words are translated into Ukrainian as "місто" ("misto"). In articles in Wikipedia, only the term "city" is used for every Ukrainian locality named "місто". The smallest population of a city of Ukraine can be about 10,000. For towns which officially are not named "місто," the name "urban-type settlement" ("селище міського типу", "selyshche mis'koho typu")is used, and also (informal) "містечко" ("mistechko"). The latter Ukrainian word is related to the word "місто," and can be translated as "small town".

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom (UK), a ''city'' is a town which has been known as a city since time immemorial, or which has received city status by letters patent. In England and Wales, prior to 1907 the criterion was simply the establishment of an Anglican Cathedral. For example the small town of Ripon was granted city status in 1836 to coincide with the creation of the Diocese of Ripon, but also in recognition of its long-standing role as a supplier of spurs to royalty.

Newest cities created in the United Kingdom were in:

2012 (Diamond Jubilee): Chelmsford, Perth and St Asaph

2002 (Queen's Jubilee): Lisburn, Newport, Newry, Preston and Stirling.

2000 (Millennium): Brighton and Hove, Inverness and Wolverhampton.

In the United Kingdom, when people talk about cities, they generally include the suburbs in that. Some cathedral cities, such as St David's in Wales and Wells in England, are quite small, and are not routinely thought of as cities due to their small size. Other places such as Reading, Northampton, Luton, Bournemouth and Milton Keynes all harbour populations of over 200,000 inhabitants but are not cities.

Since local government reorganisation in 1974 the title of city has been awarded to a number of local government districts which are not themselves towns. Each of these cities includes a number of towns, villages or rural areas including the urban area from which the city takes its name. Examples include the cities of Bradford, Leeds, Newport, Preston, Wakefield and Winchester.

The situation in London is a historical anomaly: the City of Westminster and the City of London are geographically small but historically significant parts of the Greater London conurbation that have independent city status.

A ''Review of Scotland's Cities'' led to the ''Fair City'' of Perth, Scotland, initially losing city status, until it won the right to be called a City again in the 2012 Diamond Jubilee competition. By both legal and traditional definition, a town may be of any size, but must contain a market place. A village must contain a church, otherwise it is called a hamlet.

The UK's five largest cities are generally considered to be London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Glasgow, but this is based on the population of the conurbation as a whole. In terms of formal city boundaries, the largest include Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Sheffield.

===United States===

In the United States of America, the classification of population centers is a matter of state law; consequently, the definition of a city varies widely from state to state. In some states, a city may be run by an elected mayor and city council, while a town is governed by the people, a select board (or board of trustees), or open town meeting. There are some very large municipalities which label themselves as towns (such as Hempstead, New York, with a population of 755,785 in 2004 or Cary, North Carolina with a population of 112,414 in 2006 ) and some very small cities (such as Woodland Mills, Tennessee, with a population of 296 in 2000), and the line between town and city, if it exists at all, varies from state to state. The lack of a clear-cut definition of a city in the United States can lead to some counter-intuitive labeling; for example, before it was dissolved in 2002 Maza, North Dakota, with only 5 inhabitants, was a city as by North Dakota law any incorporated location is deemed a city regardless of size. California has both towns and cities but the terms "town" and "city" are considered synonymous. The nation's top five largest cities are New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia.

In some U.S. states, any incorporated town is also called a city. If a distinction is being made between towns and cities, exactly what that distinction is often depends on the context. The context will differ depending on whether the issue is the legal authority it possesses, the availability of shopping and entertainment, and the scope of the group of places under consideration. Intensifiers such as "small town" and "big city" are also common, though the converse of each is rarely used.

Some states make a distinction between villages and other forms of municipalities. In some cases, villages combine with larger other communities to form larger towns; a well-known example of an urban village is New York City's famed Greenwich Village, which started as a quiet country settlement but was absorbed by the growing city.

In Illinois, cities must have a minimum population of 2,500 but in Nebraska, cities must have a minimum of only 800 residents. In Oregon, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa, all incorporated municipalities are cities. In Ohio, a municipality automatically becomes a city if it has 5,000 residents counted in a federal census but it reverts to a village if its population drops below 5,000. In Nebraska, 5,000 residents is the minimum for a city of the first class while 800 is the minimum for a city of the second class. The Constitution of Idaho makes no distinction between incorporated towns or cities.

In all of the New England states, city status is conferred by the form of government, not population. Town government has a board of selectmen or Town Council for the executive branch, and a town meeting for the legislative branch, but unlike the US Government, the executive acts only as an administrative body and cannot override the will of town meeting. New England cities, on the other hand, have a mayor for the executive, and a legislature referred to as either the city council or the board of aldermen.

In Virginia, all incorporated municipalities designated as cities are independent of the adjacent or surrounding county while a town is an incorporated municipality which remains a part of an adjacent or surrounding county. The largest incorporated municipalities by population are all cities, although some smaller cities have a smaller population than some towns. For example, the smallest city of Norton has a population of 3,904 and the largest town of Blacksburg has a population of 39,573. The other U.S. independent cities are Baltimore, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; and Carson City, Nevada.

In Pennsylvania, municipalites with more than 10 persons can incorporate as a borough. Any township or borough with a population of at least 10,000 can ask the state legislature to charter as a city. In Pennsylvania, a village is simply an unincorporated community within a township. Parker, Pennsylvania is known as the smallest city in the United States.

Venezuela

Venezuela's Department of National Statistics defines a city (''ciudad'' in Spanish) as an urban entity with more than 5,000 inhabitants. A town (''pueblo''), is an urban entity with 2,001 to 5,000 persons.

Global cities

A global city, also known as a ''world city'', is a prominent centre of trade, banking, finance, innovation, and markets. The term "global city", as opposed to megacity, was coined by Saskia Sassen in a seminal 1991 work. Whereas "megacity" refers to any city of enormous size, a global city is one of enormous power or influence. Global cities, according to Sassen, have more in common with each other than with other cities in their host nations. Notable examples of such cities include London, New York City, Chicago, Dubai, Hong Kong, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

The notion of global cities is rooted in the concentration of power and capabilities within all cities. The city is seen as a container where skills and resources are concentrated: the better able a city is to concentrate its skills and resources, the more successful and powerful the city. This makes the city itself more powerful in the sense that it can influence what is happening around the world. Following this view of cities, it is possible to rank the world's cities hierarchically.

Critics of the notion point to the different realms of power. The term ''global city'' is heavily influenced by economic factors and, thus, may not account for places that are otherwise significant. For example, cities like Istanbul, Jerusalem, Karbala, Lisbon, Mashhad, Mecca, and Rome are powerful in religious and historical terms but would not be considered "global cities." Additionally, it has been questioned whether the city itself can be regarded as an actor.

In 1995, Kanter argued that successful cities can be identified by three elements: good thinkers (concepts), good makers (competence) or good traders (connections). The interplay of these three elements, Kanter argued, means that good cities are not planned but managed.

Inner city

In the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term "inner city" is sometimes used with the connotation of being an area, perhaps a ghetto, where people are less wealthy and where there is more crime. These connotations are less common in other Western countries, as deprived areas are located in varying parts of other Western cities. In fact, with the gentrification of some formerly run-down central city areas the reverse connotation can apply. In Australia, for example, the term "outer suburban" applied to a person implies a lack of sophistication. In Paris, the inner city is the richest part of the metropolitan area, where housing is the most expensive, and where elites and high-income individuals dwell. In the developing world, economic modernization brings poor newcomers from the countryside to build haphazardly at the edge of current settlement (see favelas, shacks and shanty towns).

The United States, in particular, has a culture of anti-urbanism that dates back to colonial times. The American City Beautiful architecture movement of the late 19th century was a reaction to perceived urban decay and sought to provide stately civic buildings and boulevards to inspire civic pride in the motley residents of the urban core. Modern anti-urban attitudes are to be found in the United States in the form of a planning profession that continues to develop land on a low-density suburban basis, where access to amenities, work and shopping is provided almost exclusively by car rather than by foot or transit.

However, there is a growing movement in North America called "New Urbanism" that calls for a return to traditional city planning methods where mixed-use zoning allows people to walk from one type of land-use to another. The idea is that housing, shopping, office space, and leisure facilities are all provided within walking distance of each other, thus reducing the demand for road-space and also improving the efficiency and effectiveness of mass transit.

21st century

There is a debate about whether technology and instantaneous communications are making cities obsolete, or reinforcing the importance of big cities as centres of the knowledge economy. Knowledge-based development of cities, globalization of innovation networks, and broadband services are driving forces of a new city planning paradigm towards intelligent cities. Intelligent / smart cities use technology and communication to create more efficient agglomerations in terms of competitiveness, innovation, environment, energy, utilities, governance, and delivery of services to the citizen. Some companies are building brand new masterplanned cities from scratch on greenfield sites.

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, India

Nano City, India

Putrajaya, Malaysia

King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia

Sejong City, South Korea

Songdo International Business District, South Korea

Dubai Waterfront, United Arab Emirates

Dubai World Central, United Arab Emirates

Masdar City, United Arab Emirates

See also

Adjectivals and demonyms for cities

Bibliography of suburbs

City regions

Developed environments

Ekistics

Environmental racism

Homelessness

Large Cities Climate Leadership Group

Lists of cities

Lists of cities by country

Lost city

Names of European cities in different languages

Principles of Intelligent Urbanism

Shrinking cities

Suburbs

Urban geography

Urban sociology

Urban street

Notes

References

Chandler, T. ''Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census''. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1987.

Geddes, Patrick, ''City Development'' (1904)

Kemp, Roger L. '' Managing America's Cities: A Handbook for Local Government Productivity,'' McFarland and Company, Inc., Publisher, Jefferson, North Carolina, USA, 2007. (ISBN 978-0-7864-3151-9).

Kemp, Roger L. ''How American Governments Work: A Handbook of City, County, Regional, State, and Federal Operations,'' McFarland and Company, Inc., Publisher, Jefferson, North Carolina, USA. (ISBN 978-0-7864-3152-6).

Monti, Daniel J., Jr., ''The American City: A Social and Cultural History''. Oxford, England and Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 1999. 391 pp. ISBN 978-1-55786-918-0.

Mumford, Lewis, The City in History (1961)

Reader, John (2005) Cities. Vintage, New York.

Robson, W.A., and Regan, D.E., ed., ''Great Cities of the World'', (3d ed., 2 vol., 1972)

Rybczynski, W., ''City Life: Urban Expectations in a New World'', (1995)

Smith, Michael E. (2002) ''The Earliest Cities. In Urban Life: Readings in Urban Anthropology, edited by George Gmelch and Walter Zenner'', pp. 3–19. 4th ed. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL.

Thernstrom, S., and Sennett, R., ed., ''Nineteenth-Century Cities'' (1969)

Toynbee, Arnold J. (ed), ''Cities of Destiny'', New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Pan historical/geographical essays, many images. Starts with "Athens", ends with "The Coming World City-Ecumenopolis".

Weber, Max, ''The City'', 1921. (tr. 1958)

Further reading

Berger, Alan S., ''The City: Urban Communities and Their Problems'', Dubuque, Iowa : William C. Brown, 1978.

Glaeser, Edward, ''Triumph of the City'', Penguin, 2011

----

Metropolis

Megacities

Global cities

External links

Geopolis - research group that studies the world's urbanization, Université Paris Diderot, France

Category:Administrative divisions Category:Populated places by type

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Name	Kendrick Lamar
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kendrick Lamar Duckworth
Alias	K. Dot
Birth date	June 17, 1987
Origin	Compton, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Rapper, songwriter
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	2009–present
Label	Top Dawg, Aftermath, Interscope
Associated acts	Dr. Dre, Black Hippy, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, J. Cole, Danny Brown, Schoolboy Q, Childish Gambino
Website	}}

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987),is an American rapper and songwriter from Compton, California currently signed to Aftermath Entertainment. He first gained major attention after the release of his 2010 mixtape ''Overly Dedicated''. In 2011, his album ''Section.80'', released exclusively through iTunes, instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip hop releases of the year. Lamar has amassed a large internet following, is a member of hip hop collective Black Hippy, along with Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, and has worked with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Wiz Khalifa, Game, Drake, Busta Rhymes and Tech N9ne among other popular artists.

Biography

1987-2009: Early life and career beginnings

Kendrick Lamar was born in Compton, California, a community southeast of Los Angeles city limits, to parents from Chicago, Illinois. At the age of eight, in 1995 Lamar witnessed his idols, Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre film the music video for their hit single "California Love," a very significant moment in Lamar's life. In 2003 at the young age of sixteen Lamar released his first mixtape, ''Youngest Head Nigga In Charge'' under the name K. Dot. The mixtape was able to garner enough attention for Lamar to get a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment, a Los Angelos-based independent record label. He then released a twenty-six track mixtape two years later titled ''Training Day''. More recognition came Lamar's way after a video of a Charles Hamilton show surfaced, where Hamilton goes in the crowd and battles rappers at attendance. Lamar didn't hesitate and began rapping a verse over East Flatbush Project's "Tried By 12", that would later appear on a track titled "West Coast Wu-Tang". In 2008 Lamar made a cameo appearance on Jay Rock's "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" music video. After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, he released his third mixtape in 2009 titled ''C4'', heavily themed around ''Tha Carter III'' LP. Soon after, he decided to drop his stage name K. Dot and go by his real name. This resulted in him releasing a self-titled EP; the ''Kendrick Lamar EP'' in late 2009.

2010–2011: ''Overly Dedicated'' and ''Section.80''

In 2010 he toured with Tech N9ne and Jay Rock on ''The Independent Grind'' tour. On September 23, 2010 he released ''O(verly) D(edicated)'' a highly acclaimed mixtape that included a song titled "Ignorance is Bliss" in which he glorifies gangsta rap and street crime but ends each verse with "ignorance is bliss" giving the message "we know not what we do". It was that song specifically that made hip hop producer Dr. Dre want to work with Lamar. This led to him working with Dre and Snoop Dogg on Dre's ''Detox'' album and him considering signing to Aftermath Entertainment. In January 2011 Lamar said his debut album was 90% finished.

In early 2011 Lamar was featured on XXL Magazine's 2011 Freshman cover along with Cyhi Da Prynce, Yelawolf, Lil B, Big K.R.I.T. and Diggy Simmons among others. On July 2, 2011 Lamar released his third solo project ''Section.80'' to critical acclaim. It included features from GLC, Colin Munroe, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and production from longtime collaborator Sounwave, Wyldfyer, Terrace Martin, J. Cole and more. On the topic of whether ''Section.80'' would be an album or a mixtape Lamar said "I treat every project like it’s an album anyway. It’s not gonna be nothing leftover. I never do nothing like that. These are my leftover songs y’all can have ‘em, nah. I’m gonna put my best out. My best effort. I’m tryna look for an album in 2012". The first single for ''Section.80'' was 'the J. Cole produced track "HiiiPower", the concept was to further explain the HiiiPower movement. ''Section.80'' went on to sell over 10,000 copies in its first week without any television or radio coverage and received many very positive reviews. In the second half of 2011, Kendrick Lamar appeared on Game's ''The R.E.D. Album'', Tech N9ne's ''All 6's and 7's'', 9th Wonder's ''The Wonder Years'' and Drake's ''Take Care.

In August 2011, while onstage with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Game, at the West Los Angeles concert, the three of them crowned him the "New King of the West Coast"

2012–present: ''Good Kid in a Mad City''

On February 15, 2012 a song titled "Cartoons & Cereal" featuring Gunplay was leaked. Lamar revealed later that the track was for his upcoming album and he was planning to shoot a video for it.

In March 2012, MTV announced that Top Dawg Entertainment, the independent record label Lamar is signed to, have closed a joint venture deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, marking the end of his career as an independent artist. Under the new deal, Kendrick Lamar’s projects, including his upcoming debut studio album ''Good Kid in a Mad City'' will be jointly released via Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interscope, while releases from the rest of Black Hippy will be distributed via Top Dawg and Interscope.

Lamar premiered "The Recipe", his debut single and the lead single from ''Good Kid in a Mad City'', at Power 106 on April 2, 2012. The track was released for digital download the following day. The song was produced by Scoop DeVille and features Dr. Dre.

Personal life

In high school, Centennial in Compton, Lamar was a good student. Lamar said that he has seen relatives who have died in his dreams for years. Tupac Shakur is also his favorite rapper, and influences not only his music, but his day-to-day lifestyle as well. In terms of subject matter, Kendrick Lamar has often been compared to Tupac Shakur.

Discography

''Section.80'' (2011)

''Good Kid in a Mad City'' (2012)

References

External links

Category:Living people Category:1987 births Category:American rappers Category:African American rappers Category:People from Compton, California Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:West Coast hip hop musicians Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Aftermath Entertainment artists

hr:Kendrick Lamar

name	Patrick Stump
background	solo_singer
birth name	Patrick Martin Stumph
birth date	April 27, 1984
Birth place	Evanston Illinois
genre	Pop rock, pop punk, alternative rock, synthpop, R&B;, funk
occupation	Musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, record producer
instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, drums, percussion, keyboard, trombone, saxophone, trumpet, synthesizer, mandolin, guitalele
years active	2000–present
associated acts	Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Cobra Starship, Panic! at the Disco, Arma Angelus
label	Island, Nervous Breakdance Media
website
vocal range	Baritone, Tenor
notable instruments	Gibson SG, Gretsch Electromatic Stump-O-Matic Corvette }}

Patrick Vaughn Stump (born Patrick Martin Stumph on April 27, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist. Stump has been credited for being a soulful vocalist suitable for R&B;, as well as one of the best voices in pop punk, according to ''Billboard''. With Fall Out Boy he placed singles in the top 10 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and their 2007 album ''Infinity on High'' reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200, with two more albums peaking in the top 10. The band toured extensively since their early days and have performed over 1300 shows since their inception in 2001. He has collaborated with an extensive lists of artists and has produced albums for other artists including Cobra Starship and Gym Class Heroes.

Since Fall Out Boy's late 2009 hiatus he embarked on a solo project and released his debut solo album, ''Soul Punk'', on October 18, 2011; on which he wrote all the songs, played all the instruments, as well as handling production and self-funding it. It served as an outlet for the music that he could not make with Fall Out Boy; he intends for the band to make more music in the future, but without set parameters. A remix of "This City" was released as the first single to iTunes and a music video has been created. ''Soul Punk'' garnered a generally positive critical reception, with critics praising Stump's musical direction, musicianship and creativity.

Stump released his debut 6-song EP titled ''Truant Wave'' on 22 February 2011. His solo work is a major musical departure from the pop punk sound of Fall Out Boy. His influence by Michael Jackson and Prince among many other artists is evident through his soulful electronic sound, which he coined as "soul punk" and "smart pop". He has toured in the US and played some dates in Europe in support of ''Soul Punk'' and ''Truant Wave''. He supported Panic! at the Disco on their month-long US fall tour that began on October 9, 2011.

Biography

Early life

Stump was born in Evanston, Illinois to David Stumph, a folk singer, and Patricia Vaughn. He grew up in Glenview, Illinois and attended Glenbrook South High School. Stump's parents split up when he was eight. He has a younger sister named Megan, and an older brother named Kevin who is an accomplished violinist. Stump is a self-taught guitarist and musician who has said he is obsessed with Prince and David Bowie. His musical idols growing up also included Michael Jackson, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, and Nat King Cole. He originally played the drums in various local suburban Chicago power violence and hardcore punk bands, most notably Xgrinding processX, Patterson and for two shows in Arma Angelus. Stump lives in his hometown of Chicago and for work purposes spends a lot of time in a house he owns in Los Angeles.

With Fall Out Boy (2001–2009)

Current Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman met Patrick Stump at a Borders bookstore over a mutual interest, and he introduced Stump to bassist Pete Wentz. Despite originally auditioning as the drummer for Fall Out Boy, and having no previous experience singing in a band nor a single singing lesson, Stump became the somewhat reluctant lead singer after his extensive vocal range and ability was discovered. Several lineup changes were to follow, after which he began playing rhythm guitar for the band when a guitar player quit only days before the band's first tour. As the group does not have specific guitar roles, Trohman and Stump switch between lead and rhythm guitar in recording sessions and at live shows, although Stump views himself as more of a rhythm guitarist because of his drumming background. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary composer for the band, with bassist Pete Wentz taking lyrical duties.

Following a 2002 ''Split EP'' with ''Project Rocket'', the band's first mini-LP, ''Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend'', was released in 2003 on Uprising Records, though they shortly left the label to sign to Fueled By Ramen. They released their first full-length album ''Take This To Your Grave'' in 2003. It has been credited with earning the band's first significant fan base, as well as some minor commercial success.

In 2003, Stump and his fellow band members went on to sign with Island Records, and released the acoustic-based EP ''My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side to My Tongue'' CD and DVD in 2004 to hold fans over while the group recorded their major label debut. The CD gave the band a ''Billboard'' 200 hit, charting at No. 153. This was followed by their third studio album, ''From Under The Cork Tree'' in 2005, which was the band's mainstream breakthrough. It has since been certified double platinum by the RIAA, with a sales total of more than 2.5 million. It debuted and peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200, becoming the band's first top 10 album. The chart topping lead single "Sugar, We're Goin Down" reached No. 8 on the Hot 100 and received heavy airplay rotation at Pop and Alternative radio. The album's second single, "Dance, Dance", also enjoyed mainstream success, peaking at No. 9 on the Hot 100 and becoming Fall Out Boy's second top 10 hit. It won various awards and was certified platinum. The band heavily toured in 2005 and 2006 in support of ''From Under the Cork Tree''. Fall Out Boy was nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy Award in 2005.

Fall Out Boy's fourth studio effort, ''Infinity on High'', was released to major chart success in 2007. It debuted at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 260,000 sales, becoming the group's first No. 1 album and second top 10 release. It also debuted atop other various ''Billboard'' charts and charted in the top five worldwide. ''Infinity'' was spurred on by the lead single, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race", which hit No. 2. "Thnks fr th Mmrs", the second single from the album, peaked at No. 11.

The band's most recent album, ''Folie à Deux'', was released in December 2008. Its sales were less than stellar in comparison to ''Infinity on High'', but gave the band its third consecutive top 10 album, debuting and peaking at No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 150,000 opening week sales. The lead single, "I Don't Care", landed at No. 21 on the Hot 100 and went Platinum. Stump recalled that he was overindulgent on the record, feeling that he pushed the band in a direction they may not have wanted to go.

The band was the opening act for Blink-182's reunion tour in 2009. They released their first greatest hits album, ''Believers Never Die - Greatest Hits'', later that year, featuring all of their previous single releases, two new songs, including the single "Alpha Dog", and two rarities. In late 2009 the band took an indefinite break to "decompress," with the band members embarking on various side projects, with Stump going solo, Trohman and Hurley forming heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things, and Wentz starting the electropop/experimental group Black Cards.

Solo project and possible retirement from performing (2010–present)

In January 2010 Patrick Stump announced that he was working on a self-written, -performed and -produced solo album. He also debuted his slimmed down look which was a complete departure from his Fall Out Boy image. Later during that year he leaked the title of ''Soul Punk'', which was released on October 18, 2011.

Stump explained that he named the album ''Soul Punk'' because he wanted to contribute to the musical vernacular of both. "I'm just as pissed off as I was while screaming in punk bands, but I feel like I'm directing it into something positive and centered around love." He has created a video on his website that shows him playing numerous instruments, starting with drum kit then adding more such as synthesizer, cowbell, electric guitar and bass, amongst others. He has already performed a few songs live at his debut solo performance, at SXSW 2010 in Austin, Texas, including "As Long As I Know I'm Getting Paid" and "Love, Selfish Love", that may have originally been off his upcoming solo album, but have since been included as a part of his solo debut EP, ''Truant Wave''.

On November 29, 2010, Stump put up on his website two different versions of his debut song, "Spotlight". One is called "Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia)", and the other is called "Spotlight (New Regrets)", with download links for both songs. Stump claims after months he still could not decide which version he liked better and asked his fans to vote in the poll, also on his website, for the version of the single they liked better and wanted to see on the album. The polls closed leaning toward "Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia)", however Stump has since decided to include "Spotlight (New Regrets)" on ''Soul Punk'' and put "Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia)" on his debut EP, ''Truant Wave'', claiming that the votes were too close and that he felt as if "Oh Nostalgia basically needed its own record", building ''Truant Wave'' around it. In early 2011 Stump put up a poll asking which song he should do an a cappella cover of next.

Stump released the first EP of his solo career, ''Truant Wave'', digitally on February 22, 2011, through his own record label, Nervous Breakdance Media. The extended play consisted of songs Stump "felt strongly about but didn't have place for within the narrative of ''Soul Punk''" and includes special guest artists Alph-A-Bit, Om’mas Keith of Sa-Ra, David-Andrew 'D.A.' Wallach of Chester French, and Driis. On June 9, he released the EP on a 12" vinyl.

On April 6, 2011, Stump contributed an unreleased song, entitled "Saturday Night Again" to the album ''Download To Donate: Japan Tsunami Relief''.

On May 6, 2011, Stump updated his website and also posted to his Facebook and Twitter, announcing "I feel like I'm gonna explode 5.9.11" with a link which led to a video called "Tsar bomba", which was a video of a bomb explosion. The "I feel like I'm gonna explode" phrase came from his song "Explode", which Stump premiered at his live show and ended up on ''Soul Punk''. "Explode" was released on May 9, 2011. NyMag.com commented that the song is "heavily indebted to Michael Jackson and, in good news for FOB loyalists, not totally unlike Stump's old band". The song's video caption read "Soul Punk: coming late Summer".

On June 27, 2011, Stump wrote on his Facebook and Twitter page, "Tuesday". The next day (the Tuesday he was referring to), Stump released a remix of a ''Soul Punk'' track, "This City", featuring rapper Lupe Fiasco. On July 26, the remix was released as the album's first single to iTunes.

During the production of ''Soul Punk'', Stump contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "Everyday" to the 2011 tribute album, ''Listen to Me: Buddy Holly'' to a positive reception. Victoria Asher provided backing vocals. Stump and the album's contributing artists performed at the tribute event at the Music Box Theater. It has been revealed that Stump is currently working on a track with Craig Mabbitt and TJ Bell of Escape the Fate.

In a blog post in February 2012 after disappearing from the internet, Stump mentioned that he will halt performing. He stated that the relentless criticism he has received from ''Soul Punk'' and Fall Out Boy's latest release, ''Folie à Deux'', was "some big cosmic sign that says I should disappear" and that although he was prepared for criticism, he was not prepared to accept that people who ostensibly supported something he was involved in would turn into "haters" and attack his ambition and slimmed down image. He went on to write "It’s tempting to say I won’t ever play/tour/record again, but I think that’s probably just pent up poor-me emotional pessimism talking."

Since ''Soul Punk'', Stump has collaborated with Kat Graham, Poreotics, Amountboyz, The King Blues, Escape The Fate, All Time Low, Before You Exit, and Yellowcard. He also guested on the TV show House in April 2011.

Music projects

As a producer, along with a handful of Fall Out Boy tracks, Stump has worked with The Hush Sound on ''Like Vines'', Gym Class Heroes on ''As Cruel As School Children'' and Cobra Starship on ''¡Viva La Cobra!''. He also produced the song "Little Weapon" on Lupe Fiasco's ''The Cool''. He was featured in a song by hip-hop group The Roots on their 2008 album ''Rising Down''. In 2008, he executive- and co-produced The Cab's ''Whisper War'' and Gym Class Heroes' ''The Quilt'', as well as several tracks on Tyga's ''No Introduction''.

In addition to producing albums, Stump has also remixed various tracks for soundtracks or special releases. Among various others, he made a "Queen Of Apology" remix for The Sounds on the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack, a remix of the Fall Out Boy single "Dance, Dance" available on the "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" EP, a "Sugar, We're Goin Down" remix on Fall Out Boy's ''From Under the Cork Tree'' special edition release, and "Pace Yourself" for The Higher on their album, ''On Fire''. He also remixed Good Charlotte's "Little Things" for their remix compilation, ''Greatest Remixes''.

Stump also created his own version of the theme song for The CW's TV series, ''One Tree Hill''. Stump's version was featured on the third episode of season 8, ''The Space in Between''.

Stump provided a song for Season 5 Episode 3 ''Big Trouble in Little Clerks 2'' of Adult Swim's Robot Chicken in which he parodied James Cameron's ''Avatar''.

Non-musical projects

In January 2008, Stump was a guest star on the television crime-drama ''Law & Order''. He appeared in the Season 18 two-hour premiere as Marty Dressler, a lowly employee of an electrical company, who is suspected in the kidnapping of the wife and daughter of an executive. The episode, "Darkness", aired on January 2, 2008, on NBC. There was a rumor that he was not paid for this episode, but he has debunked that and said that he was paid well for his appearance.

Stump made a short film in 2009 called ''Moustachette'' which has been shown at film festivals. It was released online in September 2011.

On February 1, 2009, Gretsch released the G5135PS Electromatic Stump-O-Matic Signature Guitar, based on their model body with personal stylings by Patrick Stump such as a "kill switch" and stripes. Also, Stump signed and gave away two of his signature guitars that he used to record Fall Out Boy's fifth album, ''Folie à Deux''. He has another Stump-O-Matic with white and silver stripes, which he used for most of the guitar recording on ''Soul Punk'' and at his solo concerts.

Stump appeared as a guest with Daryl Hall from Hall and Oates on 'Live from Daryl's House', playing guitar on several of Hall and Oates' own songs, as well as on a couple of Fall Out Boy selections, such as "Sugar, We're Goin Down" and "I Don't Care" and, additionally, performing as a drummer/vocalist on a version of "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year" at the same show.

He also guest starred on House in the episode "We Need the Eggs" (season 8, episode 17) which aired on April 16, 2012.

Discography

;As a solo artist ;;Studio albums ''Soul Punk'' (2011) (''Billboard'' 200 No 47, UK chart peak No. 143)

;;Extended plays ''Truant Wave'' (2011) His five-piece backing band consists of bassist Matt Rubano (formerly of Taking Back Sunday), guitarist Michael Day, keyboardist/saxophonist Casey Benjamin (who has performed with Mos Def and Q-Tip), and drummer Skoota Warner.

He performed in a sleek black tuxedo, white moon boots and fingerless leather gloves, and on some songs he played the electric guitar. His setlist varied from show to show, and premiered songs possibly from ''Soul Punk'', such as "Explode", "Allie", "Cryptozoology" and "Everybody Wants Somebody", as well as covers including "Cupid's Chokehold" by Gym Class Heroes, "All of the Lights" by Kayne West, "Kiss My Sass" by Cobra Starship, "Me and Mrs. Jones" by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Prince. He played songs from ''Truant Wave'' as well as "Spotlight (New Regrets)" which he previously released as a 7" vinyl.

In May 2011, he was the opening act for Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae on their "Hooligans In Wondaland Tour" for four shows.

He began his second US tour (first full-headline tour) August 3, 2011. Prior to that he performed at Fuji Rock Festival in Japan on July 30. As part of his US tour he played Lollapalooza in Chicago.

He announced a month-long US fall tour in support of Panic! at the Disco. It began on October 9. After the tour, he headlined the Metro in Chicago. He has been a guest at many radio sponsored shows. Stump's TV guest appearances include Good Morning New Orleans, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Hoppus on Music.

References

External links

Official Patrick Stump website

Official Fall Out Boy website

Decaydance Records

Island Records

Fueled by Ramen

FriendsOrEnemies.com

Patrick Stump "In My Room" SPIN Dec. '08 Issue

Patrick Stump playing with Daryl Hall at livefromdarylshouse.com

Category:1984 births Category:American male singers Category:American record producers Category:American rock singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:Fall Out Boy members Category:Living people Category:People from Cook County, Illinois Category:People from Glenview, Illinois Category:Crush Management artists Category:People with synesthesia

cs:Patrick Stump da:Patrick Stump de:Patrick Stump et:Patrick Stump es:Patrick Stump fr:Patrick Stump it:Patrick Stump hu:Patrick Stump nl:Patrick Stump ja:パトリック・スタンプ no:Patrick Stump pl:Patrick Stump pt:Patrick Stump ru:Стамп, Патрик simple:Patrick Stump fi:Patrick Stump sv:Patrick Stump zh:派崔克·史坦普

name	Lupe Fiasco
background	solo_singer
birth name	Wasalu Muhammad Jaco
birth date	February 16, 1982
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
origin	Chicago, Illinois
religion	Islam
instrument	Vocals, keyboard
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, producer, songwriter
years active	2006–present
label	Atlantic
associated acts	Child Rebel Soldier, Japanese Cartoon, Matthew Santos, B.o.B, Kanye West, All City Chess Club, Sway DaSafo, Pharrell
website	}}

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor''. He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco is the chief executive officer of 1st and 15th Entertainment.

Raised in Chicago, Fiasco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity. After adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his father's basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a record deal with Atlantic Records. In 2006, Fiasco released his debut album ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' on the label, which received three Grammy nominations. He released his second album, ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', in December 2007. The lead single "Superstar" peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He released ''Lasers'' on March 8, 2011 after a two-year delay. The album's lead single "The Show Goes On" peaked at number 9 on the chart, thus becoming his most successful single since "Superstar".

In addition to music, Fiasco has pursued other business ventures, including fashion. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly; he has designed sneakers for Reebok. He has been involved with charitable activities, including the Summit on the Summit expedition, and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Fiasco is also noted for his anti-establishment views, which he has expressed in both interviews and his music.

Life and career

1982–98: Early life

Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. Born of West African descent, he was one of nine children of Shirley, a gourmet chef, and Gregory, an engineer. His father, a member of the Black Panther Party, was a prolific African drummer, karate teacher, operating plant engineer, and owner of karate schools and army surplus stores. Fiasco was raised Muslim on the West Side of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. At the age of three, Fiasco began taking martial arts classes. His parents divorced when he was five, and he went on to live with his mother, but his father still remained an important part of his life. He described his father's influence over the family by saying, "After school, my father would come and get us and take us out into the world—one day, we're listening to N.W.A, the next day we're listening to Ravi Shankar, the next day, he's teaching us how to shoot an AK-47, the next day, we're at karate class, the next day, we're in Chinatown...". His father lived next door to a crack house and taught Fiasco to use guns to defend himself from drug dealers. Despite his unstable upbringing, Fiasco states that he was well-educated as a child, asserting that his parents exposed him to a diverse array of subjects and that reading was highly encouraged in his household. As a teenager, Fiasco participated in Academic Decathlon competitions. His mother described him by saying, "He was a great spirited child. Smart, a bit complex; he kind of was a loner; he didn't hang with a lot of people...He always had the glasses. Always had a book bag over his shoulder and some type of a writing tablet." Fiasco initially disliked hip hop music for its use of vulgarity, and preferred to listen to jazz; he idolized clarinet player Benny Goodman. His struggle to learn to play an instrument led him to create poetry instead, which led to his interest in the lyrical aspects of music.

He began rapping his poems in the eighth grade, and upon hearing Nas' 1996 album, ''It Was Written'', began to pursue hip hop. While attending Thornton Township High School, Fiasco met gang member Bishop G. The two became friends due to their shared interest in music. Fiasco's father allowed the him and Bishop to make mixtapes in his basement, and the two gained notoriety at the school for their music. However, they were kicked off stage during their first performance because their eclectic musical style was not embraced by the hip hop community. Early in his career, he went by stage names Little Lu and Lu tha Underdog. Growing up, Fiasco was given the nickname "Lu", the last part of his first name, by his mother. "Lupe" is an extension of this nickname, which he borrowed from a friend from high school. "Fiasco" is a reference to The Firm song "Firm Fiasco"; the rapper "liked the way it looked on paper." He also said of his name, "You know how rappers always have names like MC Terrorist—like they're 'terrorizing' other rappers? I knew fiasco meant a great disaster or something like that, but I didn't realize that the person named Fiasco would be the disaster, and that you should be calling other MCs fiascos—not yourself...it kind of humbled me in a sense. It taught me like, 'Yo, stop rushing, or you're going to have some fiascos.'"

After turning away from gangsta rap, he developed a greater appreciation of the lyricism of Jay-Z and Nas. His mother also gave him a record of the influential group The Watts Prophets, one of the first bands to use spoken words with music. Although he was without a group for the first time, Fiasco continued to record music. One of these first self-recorded tracks was "Could Have Been", which described the career options he could have pursued had he not begun rapping. He viewed the song as a turning point in his career that marked a drastic change in the subject matter of his music.

He remixed another one of West's songs, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", and renamed it as "Conflict Diamonds". With this remix, Fiasco wished to raise awareness of the conflict diamond business. This caught West's attention, and he asked Fiasco to perform on his song "Touch the Sky" off his album ''Late Registration''. The song, which sampled Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up", became a hit in the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number forty-two. After this success his first single "Kick, Push" was released earlier than expected. The song was a love story about two people sharing a passion for skateboarding, a topic generally not discussed in hip hop. Fiasco explained, "[Skateboarding culture is] just as deep as hip-hop. I'm not the greatest skateboarder, but I'm a damn good rapper, so I made a damn good skateboarding song." The single, and its accompanying music video, helped Fiasco get attention in the hip-hop community and was later nominated for two 2007 Grammy Awards. During this time, he had guest appearances on singles on Tha' Rayne's "Kiss Me" and "Didn't You Know" and also K Foxx's 2004 "This Life".

2006–08: ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' and ''The Cool''

Jay-Z assisted him in the production of what would become his debut album ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor''. The title of the album is a reference to 'Food and Liquor' stores common in Chicago. He explains, "The store is where everything is at...Food to me represents growth and progression. You eat food and you get strength. You need it to live. Liquor is not a necessity; it is a want. It destroys you. It breaks you down. I can see why it's prohibited in Islam...I've always felt like liquor represents the bad, the food represents the good, and everyone is made up of a little of both." ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' was officially released on September 19, 2006. The album featured production from Jay-Z, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, The Neptunes, Prolyfic, among others. The record spawned the singles "Kick, Push," "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin'" featuring Jill Scott. The critically lauded album was later nominated for three Grammy Awards including Best Rap Album. Fiasco won "Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for "Daydreamin'". In the same year, he was voted by ''GQ'' magazine as the "Breakout Man of the Year."

In 2007, Fiasco announced his second album, ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', a concept album that expands on the story of the track of the same name on his first album. While recording this album, Fiasco's father died of type II diabetes and his business partner, Charles "Chilly" Patton, was convicted of attempting to supply heroin to a drug ring and was eventually sentenced to 44 years in a correctional facility. These events greatly affected Fiasco and the subsequent themes discussed on the record. The disc was released in December 2007 in United States while the first single and video from the album, "Superstar" featuring Matthew Santos was released the first week of November 2007. ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', a concept album that expanded upon recurring themes in ''Food & Liquor'', is about "a hustler who dies and comes back to life, only to get robbed by two little kids with the same gun that killed him." For the record, Fiasco decided not to work with well-known producers as he considered it to be "too expensive", noting the commercial failure of his Pharrell collaboration, "I Gotcha".

''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'' was very well received by critics and was referred to as "one of the year’s best hip-hop albums" by ''The New York Times''. "Superstar", a semi-autobiographical account of his rise to fame, was released as the first single from the album, and peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Baseball's Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Gerald Laird and Ryan Braun have used "Superstar" as their at-bat song. The album's second single (released in the UK in April 2008) was "Paris, Tokyo" – a song based around Fiasco's experiences of touring the world between his first and second albums. CRS initially released one single, entitled "US Placers" and featuring a Thom Yorke sample. In an interview with ''The Village Voice'', Fiasco revealed that he was writing a novel about a window washer, aptly titled ''Reflections of a Window Washer''. In 2008, Fiasco and his band 1500 or Nothin joined Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour which also featured Rihanna and N.E.R.D. The tour stopped in several cities, including his hometown of Chicago. In 2008, MTV named Fiasco the 7th Hottest MC in the Game and announced that he was remixing ''The Cool'' with French electro house act Justice.

2009–present: ''Lasers and Food & Liquor 2''

At a performance in New Zealand in February 2010, Fiasco performed new material from the then-titled ''We Are Lasers'' for the first time. He claimed that the album was complete and waiting for a release date from his label, Atlantic Records. However, Atlantic feared that the record lacked commercial singles, and presented Fiasco with songs the label wanted him to record. Fiasco declined, as he was told he would not have any ownership of the songs. He explained, "I don't think the label cares about an album...People just want their number-one record." For six months, the cause of the album's delay remained unclear to the public. In response, Fiasco's fans created an online petition demanding that Atlantic Records release ''Lasers''. The petition garnered considerable attention on hip hop blog sites as well as over 16,000 signatures. Fiasco stated that the petition "brought [him] to tears", and in response to the petition, Fiasco released a song titled "B.M.F-Building Minds Faster" to thank his fans.

While waiting for ''Lasers'' to be released, Fiasco completed another album, titled ''Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album''. He is unsure if the ''Food and Liquor II'' will ever be released, though he released the song "Go To Sleep" from the record "out of desperation" to put out new music. He also pursued numerous side projects in the midst of the delay. In April 2010, Fiasco formed the hip hop collective All City Chess Club along with Pharrell, Asher Roth, B.o.B., The Cool Kids, Charles Hamilton, Blu, Diggy Simmons, Wale, J. Cole, & Dosage. The group has so far made one song, a remix of Fiasco's "I'm Beamin". Additionally, On July 16, 2010, Fiasco released his rock side-project Japanese Cartoon's debut EP ''In The Jaws Of The Lords Of Death''. Japanese Cartoon was influenced by a variety of musical genres, with Fiasco saying, "I’ve always been a fan of all music...Hip hop is just something I actually know how to do but I always had aspirations to participate in other forms of music. Once I got to create some hip hop, it was like, 'Okay, what am I going to do now?' So my artistic side was like, 'Yo, let's do some rock music.'"

More than two and a half years after the album's completion, ''Lasers'' was released on March 8, 2011. The first single off of the record was "The Show Goes On", which samples "Float On" by Modest Mouse. "The Show Goes On" debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. The lead single peaked at number 9 since then. The producers involved on the album include Alex Da Kidd, King David "The Future" and Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, while featured artists include Skylar Grey, Trey Songz, and John Legend. Despite the album's commercial success, ''Lasers'' received mixed reviews from most music critics. Writing for Allmusic, editor Andy Kellman gave the record three out of five stars and criticized its "lumbering, overwrought choruses", writing that "If there is one MC whose rhymes should not be dulled for the sake of chasing pop trends, it’s Lupe Fiasco". ''Lasers'', however, was nominated Best Rap Album, with "The Show Goes On" nominated for Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song at the 54th Grammy Awards. Lupe Fiasco later involved himself at the Occupy Wall Street movement where he donated tents and released a poem in support of the protesters. He also released his "Friend of the People" mixtape on Thanksgiving Day. Fiasco has since announced the completion of his ''Food & Liquor 2'' album, as well as work being put into a joint album with fellow Child Rebel Soldier & All City Chess Club member Pharrell.

Lyrical style

Fiasco, along with rappers Common, Rhymefest, and Talib Kweli, has been credited as a pioneer of the conscious hip hop movement, which focuses on social issues. Subjects touched upon on ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' include absent parents, terrorism, Islam and religion, war, and prostitution. Fiasco attributes his interest in social issues to his highly cultured upbringing, as he describes his mother as "very intellectual" and his father as a "Renaissance man". He rejects the misogyny common in hip hop, which he discusses in the song "Hurt Me Soul". Despite this, Fiasco is strongly opposed to censorship in music: "If we're going to [censor things] that are offensive, then we are going to have to blind and deafen everyone. Come on, man. Let's focus on education and literacy and poverty."

Fiasco employs various lyrical techniques in his songwriting. The rapper views hip-hop as a medium conducive to storytelling, a primary element of his lyrics due to his background in theater. He wrote plays as a child, which had a strong effect on his songwriting approaches. Fiasco utilizes both metaphors and literal statements in his work, which he describes as "getting from point A to point B in as few words as possible". His use of metaphors is exemplified by the song "Gotta Eat" from ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', which is told from the perspective of a cheeseburger and addresses the poor nutrition in black communities in the United States.

Philanthropy and business ventures

In 2001, Fiasco co-founded 1st & 15th Entertainment with Charles "Chilly" Patton. 1st & 15th is a vanity record label under Atlantic named after the traditional twice-monthly paycheck dates. Fiasco and singer Matthew Santos were two of the most recognizable signed artists. In November 2009, Fiasco announced he would discontinue the 1st & 15th label: "It was just such a 'this isn't right for you right now. This isn't gonna work for you right now. You need to be focused on you. Do you really want that, do you really have the capacity to do it?'"

In 2005, he founded Righteous Kung-Fu, a company that designs fashions, sneakers, toys, video games, comic books, and graphics for album covers and skateboard decks. Fiasco also runs a fashion line out of Righteous Kung-Fu called Trilly & Truly. He has sponsored a skateboard team and has endorsements from DGK Skateboards. In January 2006, Fiasco signed with major footwear and apparel corporation Reebok, becoming part of the "O.G" marketing campaign where rap artists such as Lil Wayne and Mike Jones designed their own personal colorway of the Reebok "O.G" model.

In 2009, Fiasco performed in ''The People Speak'', a documentary feature film that employs musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's ''A People's History of the United States''. On January 7, 2010, Fiasco joined musician Kenna, actress Jessica Biel, and other celebrities and activists for an expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro called Summit on the Summit to raise awareness of the billions of people worldwide who lack access to sanitary drinking water. On January 20, 2010, Fiasco released a track called "Resurrection" with Kenna in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The song, part of a compilation released through the charity Music for Relief, aimed to encourage donations for immediate relief and long-term recovery following the disaster.

Political views

Fiasco is noted for his anti-establishment views. In an interview with Stephen Colbert on the satirical news show ''The Colbert Report'', Fiasco stated his credo on political philosophy: "You should criticize power even if you agree with it." In another interview in June 2011 on the CBS program ''What's Trending'', Fiasco discussed the political content of his music, stating, "My fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama and the United States of America. I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism. You know, the root cause of terrorism is the stuff the U.S. government allows to happen. The foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists." He additionally criticized Obama for his stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite his strong political opinions, Fiasco does not vote in U.S. elections nor does he involve himself in U.S. politics as he believes they are "meaningless."

Discography

''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' (2006)

''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'' (2007)

''Lasers'' (2011)

''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album'' (2012)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Lupe Fiasco

References

Bibliography

''Biography Today - Lupe Fiasco'' (2009). Omnigraphics. Detroit, Michigan. ISBN-978-0-7808-1052-5.

External links

Category:Living people Category:Midwest hip hop musicians Category:1982 births Category:African-American businesspeople Category:African American Muslims Category:African American rappers Category:American hip hop record producers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Rappers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Hip hop activists

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Name	Patrick Wolf
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Patrick Denis Apps
Birth date	June 30, 1983
Instruments	Piano, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, ukelele, mandolin, zither, dulcimer, viola, violin, accordion
Genre	IndietronicaFolktronicaAlternative rockBaroque pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2002–present
Label	Low Altitude RecordsFaith & IndustryTomlabLoogBloody Chamber MusicMercury Records
Website	PatrickWolf.com }}

Patrick Wolf (born Patrick Denis Apps on 30 June 1983) is an English singer-songwriter from South London. Patrick utilises a wide variety of instruments in his music, most commonly the ukulele, piano and viola. Known for combining electronic sampling with classical instruments, Wolf's styles range from romantic folk to techno-pop.

Biography

Patrick Wolf was born in St Thomas' Hospital, South London, into a creative family. He started his musical education with Piano lessons but soon got bored and progressed onto violin lessons and church choirs and made his first theremin at age eleven, and first began recording songs with his violin, voice, and car boot sale organs on a four-track tape recorder at age twelve. At fourteen, he joined and performed with pop art collective Minty. Two years later, he dropped his music A-Levels, which he was studying at Davies Laing and Dick Sixth Form College off Bond Street, and left home. During this period, as well as working in Super Lovers clothing store in Covent Garden, Wolf earned money from busking in a string quartet and formed a group called 'Maison Crimineaux', a noisy trio built on destructive ethics around white noise and pop music. He also continued to write and record his own material. A Maison Crimineaux gig in Paris was attended by electronic maestro Kristian Robinson (aka Capitol K), who would then go on to release Wolf's debut album ''Lycanthropy''.

''Lycanthropy'' and ''Wind in the Wires''

Wolf's ongoing writing and recordings brought him to the attention of Fat Cat Records, who provided him with an Atari computer and a mixing console. During the recording of ''Lycanthropy'', Wolf studied composition at Trinity College of Music for one year. ''Lycanthropy'' was released in the summer of 2003. He also made some guest appearances as a viola player with Chicks on Speed, Arcade Fire, Owen Pallett, CocoRosie and The Hidden Cameras. The Germany-based Tomlab later released the album in America and Europe. His second album of 2005, ''Wind in the Wires'', which was inspired by Patrick's Cornish and Irish roots, was released on the same label and likewise met with critical acclaim. The single ''Tristan'', based on the Cornish legend, Tristram of Lyonesse, received significant attention from critics and remains a fan favourite.

''The Magic Position''

Following the success of ''Wind in the Wires'', Wolf signed a record deal with Loog in 2005 and began recording his third album, ''The Magic Position'', which featured collaborations with Marianne Faithfull and Edward Larrikin of Larrikin Love. Its official release on 26 February met with critical acclaim, and gained a degree of commercial success due to the relative accessibility compared to his previous works. ''The Magic Position'' was released in the United States on Low Altitude Records on 1 May 2007. A concept album on the theme of love, the majority of the album was written after the end of a long term intimate relationship. In January 2007, the first of six vodcasts was made available on iTunes. The series included live performances of old and new material and interviews. Wolf promoted the album with a concert tour in North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia, culminating in two sold out nights at London's Shepherds Bush Empire. Both of these shows, which were shot and directed by photographer Brantley Gutierrez, are in development to be shown on a Virgin channel and then released on DVD.

''The Bachelor'' and ''Lupercalia''

Wolf began work on his next album, initially titled ''Battle'', immediately after ''The Magic Position'' tour ended. The album was originally conceived as a political album. The focus then shifted to the depression experienced by Wolf during the tour. However, before entering the studio, he fell in love, changing the direction of the album again, and eventually providing enough material for two releases. Wolf parted ways with Universal Records, and on 10 December 2008 announced to ''NME'' his plan to sell £10 shares of the album on bandstocks.com: "Basically, you can invest in the finishing of the album and the production of it, and you get a share in the album. So you almost become part of the record company, like a co-owner of the album." On 12 February 2009, Wolf announced that the two discs would be titled ''The Bachelor'' and ''The Conqueror'' (although the latter album title has subsequently been changed). ''The Bachelor's'' first single, "Vulture", was released on 2 April 2009, on vinyl and digital download. The B-sides include new song, "The Tinderbox", and remixes of the title track.

''The Bachelor'' was released on 1 June 2009, while the second single from the album, "Hard Times", was released on 6 July 2009. The third and final single, "Damaris", was released on 14 December 2009.

In April 2010 it was announced that Wolf had signed a record deal with Hideout, a subsidiary of Mercury Records, who will release his fifth album, ''Lupercalia''. The final title was announced via Twitter on 23 December 2010.

On 4 November 2010, Wolf announced that the first single from ''Lupercalia'' was to be "Time of My Life" and the song was posted on YouTube. Of the song, Wolf said: "'Time of My Life' is a song that I began writing at the end of a relationship in 2006 and then finished three years later during a temporary break-up in my current relationship. The new album has a direct narrative about love and optimism surviving through adversity and recession. I wanted to celebrate the love and hope I have found in the last few years." The song was released on 6 December 2010. He also announced that ''Lupercalia'' would be released in May 2011.

On 10 January 2011, Wolf announced on his official Twitter account that the second single from the album, "The City", would be released on 14 March 2011.

On 6 April 2011, Wolf released ''Lupercalia'' 20 June 2011 worldwide (excluding USA, where it was released 28 June 2011). In the same month, Wolf was featured on the cover of national UK publication Notion), which included an interview conducted by writer Alex Lee Thomson, clothes by James Long, and photos by James Moriarty.

Personal life

Wolf reflects that as a teenager, he was bullied at school for his perceived eccentricity and effeminacy. At the time, he was unsure whether he was gay or bisexual. Mentors at school treated him with disdain when he came to them for support on the issue. The bullying problem was only rectified after his mother changed schools. Wolf comments, "With gay or bi people, I think education still wonders if it's a nature-versus-nurture thing. If you were black, they'd know they couldn't change you, and racist bullying would never be condoned, but if someone is quite feminine or knows they might be gay at 13, they think they can change you with a bit of rugby."

On 27 February 2007, in an interview with ''thelondonpaper'', Wolf raised questions about his sexuality: "In the same way I don’t know if my sixth album is going to be a death-metal record or children's pop, I don’t know whether I’m destined to live my life with a horse, a woman or a man. It makes life easier." In a 5 July 2007 interview with the ''Sydney Star Observer'', he confirmed his sexuality: "My sexuality is kind of liberal. I fall in love with men and women. I guess you would call me bisexual. I like to have sex and fall in love—I don't like giving terminology for my sexuality." Later, in 2009, Wolf told ''The Guardian'' that though in the past he has had relationships with women, he now identifies himself as gay. As an artist, Wolf reflects that he doesn't like to worry about whether he makes a record "too gay or too straight or too this or too that."

In September 2008, Wolf claimed that he was beaten up by security guards for kissing his boyfriend at a Madonna concert in London. Wolf told ''Electroqueer'': "We were beaten up outside Wembley [Stadium], handcuffed. [...] The police came and it just went on and on and on. My man's face covered in blood. [...] They totally twisted my arm and my legs - it was just mad. They are currently researching the CCTV - it just really nuts. [— ''sic''] We basically got beaten up by the police."

On 31 December 2010, Patrick Wolf announced via Twitter that he was set to enter a civil partnership with his boyfriend William Pollock. He confirmed in an interview at Bestival 2011 that this will take place in summer 2012 due to touring commitments.

Modeling

Wolf, along with The Paddingtons, Edward Larrikin, and The View, was featured in a series of photographs by Mario Testino as a part of a campaign for Burberry in August 2007.

Wolf has also worked with a variety of designers at London Fashion Week 2009.

Discography

''Lycanthropy'' (2003)

''Wind in the Wires'' (2005)

''The Magic Position'' (2007)

''The Bachelor'' (2009)

''Lupercalia'' (2011)

References

External links

Official site

Interview in Virgin Red Room

Interview in Exberliner Magazine

Category:1983 births Category:British people of Cornish descent Category:British people of Irish descent Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English buskers Category:English electronic musicians Category:English male singers Category:English pianists Category:English songwriters Category:People educated at King's College School, Wimbledon Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:Living people Category:Musicians from London Category:Singers from London Category:Trinity College of Music alumni

af:Patrick Wolf de:Patrick Wolf es:Patrick Wolf fr:Patrick Wolf gl:Patrick Wolf it:Patrick Wolf (musicista) lt:Patrick Wolf pl:Patrick Wolf ru:Вулф, Патрик fi:Patrick Wolf sv:Patrick Wolf zh:帕特里克·沃爾夫