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City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A 
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
Challenges of creating cities in China: Lessons from a short-lived country-to-city upgrading policy
; ''Journal of Comparative Economics'' 40, 2012.
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
, 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
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
, 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
Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...
, 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
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...
) in recognition of historical, cultural or demographic merit. In the United States ''city'' can be used for much smaller settlements.
The Government of China
The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's congresses. ...
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 area
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...
s as well as urban area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
s. 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.Shenggen Fan, Lixing Li, Xiaobo Zhang,Challenges of creating cities in China: Lessons from a short-lived country-to-city upgrading policy
; ''Journal of Comparative Economics'' 40, 2012.
See also
* City status in Belgium * City status in Indonesia * City status in Ireland * City status in Italy * City status in Sweden *City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the the Crown, monarch of the United Kingdom to specific centres of population, which might or might not meet the generally accepted definition of city, cities. , there are List of cities in the Un ...
* City rights in the Low Countries
City rights are a feature of the medieval history of the Low Countries, and, more generally, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. A liege lord, usually a count, duke or similar member of the high nobility, granted to a town or village he ...
* Statutory city (Czech Republic)
In the Czech Republic, a statutory city () is a municipal corporation that has been granted city status by Act of Parliament. It is more prestigious than the simple title ' ("town"), which can be awarded by the Cabinet of the Czech Republic, c ...
* City with special status (Ukraine)
* Federal cities of Russia
In the Russian Federation, a city of federal importance (), also known as a federal city, is a city that has a status of both an inhabited locality and a constituent federal subject. Russia has three federal cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, a ...
; City of federal subject significance
City of federal subject significance is an administrative division of a federal subject of Russia which is equal in status to a district but is organized around a large city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "ci ...
* Classification of Indian cities
* Cities and new towns in Hong Kong
* Cities of Japan
A is a local Public administration, administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of . Like other contemporary administrative units, they are defined by the Local A ...
* Cities of the Philippines
A city ( or ) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities (Filipino: ), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own specific municipal charters in a ...
* List of cities in Alberta
A city is the highest form of all incorporated List of communities in Alberta#Urban municipalities, urban municipality statuses used in the Canadian Province of Alberta. Alberta cities are created when communities with populations of at least 10 ...
* List of Israeli settlements with city status in the West Bank
* List of cities in Malta
* List of cities in Croatia
An urbanized area in Croatia can gain the status of ''grad'' (which can be translated as town or city as there is no distinction between the two terms in Croatian language, Croatian) if it meets one of the following requirements:
# is the center ...
References
{{Cities status Populated places by type