City status

City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.

Historically, city status was a privilege granted by royal letters of patent. Sovereigns could establish cities by decree, e.g. Helsinki, regardless of what was in the location beforehand. Also, with the establishment of federal governments, the new capital could be established from scratch, e.g. Brasília, without going through organic growth from a village to a town.

Historically, British city status was often conferred on settlements with a diocesan cathedral; in more recent times towns apply to receive city status by letters patent at times of national celebration. Similarly, city status in Italy is granted by decree of the President (and before 1946 by the King of Italy) in recognition of historical, cultural or demographic merit. In the United States city can be used for much smaller settlements.

The Government of China in 1982–1997 upgraded many counties to cities by decree, thereby increasing their city count from 250 to more than 650 during this period. Almost 15% of the counties in China became cities. The new "cities" may include large rural areas as well as urban areas. The upgrade was considered desirable by local governments because the new status provides additional powers of taxation and administration, the right to expand the size of government, and an increase in the proportion of land which could be converted from agriculture to buildings.^[1]^[2]

References

^ Lixing Li, "The incentive role of creating 'cities' in China"; China Economic Review 22, 2011.
^ Shenggen Fan, Lixing Li, Xiaobo Zhang, "Challenges of creating cities in China: Lessons from a short-lived country-to-city upgrading policy^{[permanent dead link]}"; Journal of Comparative Economics 40, 2012.

[1] Lixing Li, "The incentive role of creating 'cities' in China"; China Economic Review 22, 2011.

[2] Shenggen Fan, Lixing Li, Xiaobo Zhang, "Challenges of creating cities in China: Lessons from a short-lived country-to-city upgrading policy^{[permanent dead link]}"; Journal of Comparative Economics 40, 2012.

[1]

[2]

v t e Cities
Urban geography	Urban area City centre Downtown Suburb Exurb Core city Twin cities Satellite city Edge city Commuter town City proper limits Conurbation Metropolitan area Metropolis Megacity Megalopolis Cities with the most skyscrapers Urbanization Suburbanization Shrinking cities Ghost town Abandoned village Lost city Tent city Closed city College town
Urban government	City status Municipality direct-controlled Independent city City-state Autonomous city Capital city
Urban economics	World's cities by GDP Global city Central business district Most expensive cities Cheapest cities Most livable cities Urban decay Ghetto Modern ruins No-go area Shanty town Skid row Slum Squatting Urban renewal Municipal bond Habitat III Peri-urban agriculture
Urban planning	History of urban planning Theories of urban planning Technical aspects of urban planning Urban planners Public open space Green space Urban wild Zoning Mixed-use development Urban design Grid plan Concentric zone model Sector model Multiple nuclei model Linear settlement Land use Smart city Bicycle-friendly Cyclability Cycling infrastructure Pedestrian zone Walkability
Urban population	World's largest cities throughout history Most densely populated cities Most populous national capitals Most populous satellite cities
Urbanism	New Urbanism Urban warfare Urban studies Urban morphology Urban culture Urban sociology Anti-urbanism Urban exploration Urban homesteading Unitary urbanism
Environment	Climate change Eco-cities Ecological engineering Green infrastructure Green urbanism Million Tree Initiative Sustainable city Sustainable Development Goal 11 Sustainable urbanism Urban ecology Urban forest inequity Urban forest Urban forestry Urban heat island Urban park Urban prairie Urban reforestation Zero-carbon city
Cities portal

See also

References