City Character and Attraction of People and Industry and City Project Planning Success
The character of a city serves to attract or to repel both people and industry. The work of Caves (2005) states that the term 'city "means anything and everything" or in other words Caves speaks of the many activities and events that are conducted within a city including art, film, written publications, location, culture, institutional governance environmental and economic matters. In fact, Caves describes the city as a sentiment being indeed alive.
The Difficulty in Defining 'City'
There is not definition that should be taken in the nature of a cut-and-dried cooker-cutter type of definition of what it is precisely that comprises a city. This is because cities are so very diverse and so readily differentiated one from the other due to the different characteristics possessed by the individual cities throughout the world. While there are cities that are likened one to the other the cookie cutter view of cities is not accurate and in fact, quite the opposite is true of a city's characteristics and its very character.
II. The City is a Multifaceted Being
The work of Gallion and Eisner (1983) state that the word city holds implications of "…a concentration of people in a geographic area" whether that city be industrial, educational, governmental or otherwise characterized. It is sure that cities are "commercial, industrial, financial centers" that make provision of jobs that pay wages that are higher than paid in other geographic locations. Cities are also a place of recreation and cultural activities and this includes hosting major sporting events.
III. Differentiation of Cities
The work of Foroohar (2006) explains that cities such as New York, Tokyo, and London serve to "dominate our imaginations" as these cities are associated with legendary...
Status Quo: Downsizing of Cities
It is reported that a "downsizing" is occurring to the city's urban core" and that 50% of individuals in the world who are 'city dwellers live in metropolises with less than a half-a-million residents." (Foroohar, 2006) There has been what are known as 'second cities' to emerge springing up near larger cities that appear to flow outward forming the smaller second cities. There is a question posed as to why it is that some second cities succeed and others result in failure. Transportation accommodations are cited as likely to tip the balance between city success and failure and this is particularly true in regards to links to the largest commercial centers or hubs.
The example stated is the City of Brighton, one hour from England's capital by rail. Brighton is described as formerly being of the nature of a "dirty and disgusting resort by the sea now named "London by the Sea" and host to "arts and media types…" with the real estate now a booming market in what is a "futuristic" location. Sufficient funding and ample resources are also cited as drivers for city success. (Foroohar, 2006)
V. Second Cities
It is reported to be less difficult for self-sustaining economies to be constructed by Second Cities that are not dependent on the super sized cities and as noted by Mario Pezzini, a reported Parisian corporate leader "…about 6 million people, real estate costs, travel times and the occasional chaos can 'create, a situation in which the center of the city…
