The Real World isn’t like SimCity
This week, I challenged myself to look at cities from a different perspective, to “see like a city.” My introduction to city building started at a young age with SimCity BuildIt. An interactive videogame that takes participants through a simplified journey of building a city. Fast forward, I have come to understand the basics of what defines a city and how that definition can vary across professions, culture, history, and perspective. As it turns out, finding a conclusive definition is much more complicated than I initially thought. I had assumed that the criteria for a city to be considered a city were dependant on its geographic boundaries and the relative size of the human population within those boundaries. In other words, I assumed that population density was the only factor that would have been considered, by a higher level of government, in determining whether a city had the right to declare itself a city.
The Atlantic video on “What is a City” highlights some of the most common features that define a city; tall buildings, urban infrastructure, and social interactions. It also compares a city to a star as a nuclear reactor with an attractive force that compresses mass and creates a nuclear reaction in the centre — the larger the star, the faster the interactions. The clip also argues that a common trait among cities worldwide is that they grow in a predictable way.
Indeed, the definition of a city can vary across all levels of government, even internationally. Local governments can vote to consider their region a city formally. Provincial and federal governments can also set criteria and laws that define a city. This likely has operational implications on tax transfers and government services.
Statistically, there are benefits to conforming to international standards of defining cities, as proposed by the United Nations, OECD, World Bank, the European Commission. While population density continues to play an important role, as depicted in Moore’s article, it becomes clear that finding consensus will remain difficult among politicians, urban planners, scholars, political scientists, and anthropologists around the world. Ultimately, the definition of a city will continue to vary depending on whom you ask.
I appreciate how Lorinc cites the Latin origin of the city as civitas, meaning citizenship within a self-governing community. As its definition and role in the world evolve, issues such as poverty, injustice, inequality, and violence persist. They are perhaps universal issues that impact virtually every city and will continue to be areas that require policy attention and problem-solving.
As we continue to explore themes in urban policy, I am looking forward to learning about urban policy from a municipal governance perspective. In particular, how local government and intergovernmental relations can impact the future of cities and urban policy.
