A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
. The term "city centre" is primarily used in
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in French, in German, or ''shìzhōngxīn'' () in Chinese. In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, the term "
downtown" is generally used, though a few cities, like
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, use the term "Center City", while others such as
Portland use the term “City Center".
Overview and related concepts
The city centre is the (often historical) area of a city where commerce, entertainment, shopping, and political power are concentrated. The term is commonly used in many English-speaking countries and has direct equivalents in many other languages. However, noticeably, in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, the term "
downtown" is commonly used to denote a city centre, and in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
the terms "city centre" and "downtown" are used interchangeably, most notable in the modern, purpose-built cores of former
boroughs
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle A ...
or newer suburban cities that had no traditional urban core (i.e.
North York City Centre and
Mississauga City Centre). In
Australia, the term "
Central Business District" is widely used to refer to the city centre, but usage of the term "City Centre" is increasing, especially in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. In
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, "CBD" is used in formal contexts, but in informal contexts, the city centre is referred to as "town", and despite the growth of decentralised CBDs such as
Sandton
Sandton is an upscale commercial and residential district north of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The name of the city came from the combination of two of its suburbs ...
and
uMhlanga "town" continues to refer to the original CBDs of cities.
In many cities, the
Central Business District (CBD) is within the city centre, but the concept "city centre" differs from the CBD. The concept of the "CBD" revolves solely around economic and financial power, but the "city centre" also includes historical, political, and cultural factors. A clear example is
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
:
La Défense is the central business district of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, but it is not the city centre. In most larger and/or older cities, the CBD and the city centre will only partially overlap, if at all.
A city centre is often the first settled part of a city, which can make it the most historical part of a city.
Usage
Australia
In most Australian cities, the city centre to some extent coincides with the
central business district, with the result that "the City", "city centre", and "central business district" or "CBD" are regarded as near-synonyms. However, in some Australian cities, the city centre and the CBD are geographically separately identified. In
Sydney and
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
, for example, the term "CBD" is the preferred term for the city centre. The term "CBD" is not often used in the capital
Canberra, where the primary activity is government; its "city centre" is usually identified as the district called "
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
" or "Civic".
China
In
Chinese, the urban centre of a city is called the "city centre" or "urban core" (). In many cities, it is the historical city centre and the cultural and commercial centre. Historically, the CBD often occupied one portion of the city centre. In recent years, larger cities have often developed CBDs or financial districts that occupy a part of the city centre or are outside the historical city centre completely. For example, Beijing's historical city centre is defined by the former city walls and remains the political and cultural centre of the city, but
Beijing's CBD sits in
Chaoyang District, to the east of the historical city;
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
's city centre was defined by the
Old Chinese City, the
International Settlement and the
French Concession
The Shanghai French Concession; ; Shanghainese pronunciation: ''Zånhae Fah Tsuka'', group=lower-alpha was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943, which progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...
and sat on the west bank of the
Huangpu River, whereas the modern financial district is concentrated on
Lujiazui
Lujiazui, also known under its Shanghainese name Lohkatse (, , lit. meaning " he Lu family's mouth"), is a locality in Shanghai, a peninsula formed by a bend in the Huangpu River. Since the early 1990s, Lujiazui has been developed specifically ...
, a newly developed area across the river from the traditional city centre (although parts of the traditional city centre remain key financial and business centres).
Netherlands
In Dutch, the terms ''binnenstad'', ''centrum'', ''stadscentrum'', or ''stadskern'' are used to describe the city centre.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
is a clear example of the city centre and the central business district not being the same area. The city centre of Amsterdam is
Centrum
(Latin for ''center'') may refer to:
Places In Greenland
* Nuuk Centrum, a district of Nuuk, Greenland
* Centrum Lake, Greenland In the Netherlands
* Amsterdam-Centrum, the inner-most borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands
* Rotterdam Centrum, a borou ...
, the historical heart of the city, but the CBD areas of Amsterdam are
Omval in the southeast and
Zuidas
The Zuidas (literally ''South Axis'' in Dutch) is a rapidly developing business district in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Zuidas is also known as the 'Financial Mile'. It lies between the rivers Amstel and ''Schinkel'' along the ...
, in the south. Additionally,
Westpoort serves as the city's
industrial park
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...
.
Because of the
bombardment of Rotterdam during World War II, with the loss of its historical core, the city centre and the CBD are the same area in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
.
See also
*
100 percent corner
The 100 percent corner is the busiest area in a city. Often it is a crossroads of several major streets, and the place with the highest land value and/or where grid plan numbering is based upon. The term is also used for the place for ideal real ...
*
Administrative centre
*
Central business district
*
Inner city
The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...
*
Town centre
A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus s ...
References
{{Authority control
Urban studies and planning terminology
City