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 agreed definition of the lower boundary for their size. In a narrower sense, a city can be defined as a permanent and densely populated place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work primarily on non-agricultural tasks. Cities generally have extensive systems for housing , transportation , sanitation , utilities , land use , production of goods , and communication . Their density facilitates interaction between people, government organizations , and businesses , sometimes benefiting different parties in the process, such as improving the efficiency of goods and service distribution.
98-668: Gadwal is a City and the district headquarters of Jogulamba Gadwal district in the Indian state of Telangana . It is located 188 km (117 mi) from the state capital Hyderabad And 59 km From Kurnool and is a state assembly constituency. Gadwal historically served as the capital of Gadwal Samsthanam , a vassal of the Nizam of Hyderabad . Gadwal was previously a part of the Hyderabad State . Gadwal has an average elevation of 325 metres (1,066 ft). Gadwal's infrastructure includes
196-573: A central area containing buildings with special economic, political, and religious significance. Archaeologists refer to this area by the Greek term temenos or if fortified as a citadel . These spaces historically reflect and amplify the city's centrality and importance to its wider sphere of influence . Today cities have a city center or downtown , sometimes coincident with a central business district . Cities typically have public spaces where anyone can go. These include privately owned spaces open to
294-665: A central authority. The term can also refer either to the physical streets and buildings of the city or to the collection of people who dwell there and can be used in a general sense to mean urban rather than rural territory . National censuses use a variety of definitions – invoking factors such as population , population density , number of dwellings , economic function, and infrastructure – to classify populations as urban. Typical working definitions for small-city populations start at around 100,000 people. Common population definitions for an urban area (city or town) range between 1,500 and 50,000 people, with most U.S. states using
392-461: A central point. This form could evolve from successive growth over a long time, with concentric traces of town walls and citadels marking older city boundaries. In more recent history, such forms were supplemented by ring roads moving traffic around the outskirts of a town. Dutch cities such as Amsterdam and Haarlem are structured as a central square surrounded by concentric canals marking every expansion. In cities such as Moscow , this pattern
490-539: A combination of these. Societies that live in cities are often called civilizations . The degree of urbanization is a modern metric to help define what comprises a city: "a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants in contiguous dense grid cells (>1,500 inhabitants per square kilometer)". This metric was "devised over years by the European Commission , OECD , World Bank and others, and endorsed in March [2021] by
588-403: A conservation and replanting of timber that there can be a continuous, ongoing and sustainable use". The shift in use of "sustainability" from preservation of forests (for future wood production) to broader preservation of environmental resources (to sustain the world for future generations) traces to a 1972 book by Ernst Basler, based on a series of lectures at M.I.T. The idea itself goes back
686-604: A continuous urban landscape called urban agglomeration , conurbation , or megalopolis (exemplified by the BosWash corridor of the Northeastern United States .) The emergence of cities from proto-urban settlements , such as Çatalhöyük , is a non-linear development that demonstrates the varied experiences of early urbanization . The cities of Jericho , Aleppo , Byblos , Faiyum , Yerevan , Athens , Matera , Damascus , and Argos are among those laying claim to
784-430: A distinctive elite social class, but it should indeed be considered a city based on a functional redefinition of urban development. In particular, Jenné-Jeno featured settlement mounds arranged according to a horizontal, rather than vertical, power hierarchy, and served as a center of specialized production and exhibited functional interdependence with the surrounding hinterland. More recently, scholars have concluded that
882-466: A grid plan with specialized districts used across the Hellenistic Mediterranean . The urban-type settlement extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of the city proper in a form of development sometimes described critically as urban sprawl . Decentralization and dispersal of city functions (commercial, industrial, residential, cultural, political) has transformed the very meaning of
980-507: A key role in both the economy and government. Late antique cities in the East were also undergoing intense transformations, with increased political participation of the crowds and demographical fluctuations. Christian communities and their doctrinal differences increasingly shaped the urban fabric. The locus of power shifted to Constantinople and to the ascendant Islamic civilization with its major cities Baghdad , Cairo , and Córdoba . From
1078-447: A matchbox. For Lord Venkateshwara Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Bramhotsavam starts with Gadwala-weaved Pattu Vastralu every year. Gadwal has a rail junction connecting to other towns and cities, with more than 40 trains passing through daily. The railway station is on Secunderabad–Dhone section . Gadwal became connected by rail to Raichur, Karnataka , after commissioning of the new line on 12 October. Gadwal railway station
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#17330854271201176-520: A minimum between 1,500 and 5,000 inhabitants. Some jurisdictions set no such minima. In the United Kingdom , city status is awarded by the Crown and then remains permanent. (Historically, the qualifying factor was the presence of a cathedral , resulting in some very small cities such as Wells , with a population of 12,000 as of 2018 , and St Davids , with a population of 1,841 as of 2011 .) According to
1274-489: A new development path was required, one that sustained human progress not just in a few pieces for a few years, but for the entire planet into the distant future. Thus 'sustainable development' becomes a goal not just for the 'developing' nations, but for industrial ones as well. The Rio Declaration from 1992 is seen as "the foundational instrument in the move towards sustainability". It includes specific references to ecosystem integrity. The plan associated with carrying out
1372-688: A privileged elite among towns having won self-governance from their local lord or having been granted self-governance by the emperor and being placed under his immediate protection. By 1480, these cities, as far as still part of the empire, became part of the Imperial Estates governing the empire with the emperor through the Imperial Diet . By the 13th and 14th centuries, some cities become powerful states, taking surrounding areas under their control or establishing extensive maritime empires. In Italy, medieval communes developed into city-states including
1470-510: A railway junction, river, government-owned land, a sub-collector office, national highway connectivity and brand image in the country . It is situated on the southern banks of Krishna river Gadwal developed around a fort built by the Gadwal ruler Sri Somashekar Ananda Bhopal Reddy known as Somanadri, Gadwal Samsthanam , which was a vassal of the Nizam of Hyderabad . It was protected by Mallichetti vamshiyulu. The Nagi Reddy, known today as Nagappa,
1568-495: A rule cannot produce their own food and therefore must develop some relationship with a hinterland that sustains them. Only in special cases such as mining towns which play a vital role in long-distance trade, are cities disconnected from the countryside which feeds them. Thus, centrality within a productive region influences siting, as economic forces would, in theory, favor the creation of marketplaces in optimal mutually reachable locations. The vast majority of cities have
1666-426: A single specific definition of sustainability may never be possible. But the concept is still useful. There have been attempts to define it, for example: Some definitions focus on the environmental dimension. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines sustainability as: "the property of being environmentally sustainable; the degree to which a process or enterprise is able to be maintained or continued while avoiding
1764-549: A super-wealthy elite living in gated communities and large masses of people living in substandard housing with inadequate infrastructure and otherwise poor conditions. Cities around the world have expanded physically as they grow in population, with increases in their surface extent, with the creation of high-rise buildings for residential and commercial use, and with development underground. Urbanization can create rapid demand for water resources management , as formerly good sources of freshwater become overused and polluted, and
1862-423: A temple. A minority viewpoint considers that cities may have arisen without agriculture, due to alternative means of subsistence (fishing), to use as communal seasonal shelters, to their value as bases for defensive and offensive military organization, or to their inherent economic function. Cities played a crucial role in the establishment of political power over an area, and ancient leaders such as Alexander
1960-402: A very long time: Communities have always worried about the capacity of their environment to sustain them in the long term. Many ancient cultures, traditional societies , and indigenous peoples have restricted the use of natural resources. The terms sustainability and sustainable development are closely related. In fact, they are often used to mean the same thing. Both terms are linked with
2058-567: A workers' town associated with the pyramid of Senusret II , and the religious city Amarna built by Akhenaten and abandoned. These sites appear planned in a highly regimented and stratified fashion, with a minimalistic grid of rooms for the workers and increasingly more elaborate housing available for higher classes. In Mesopotamia, the civilization of Sumer , followed by Assyria and Babylon , gave rise to numerous cities, governed by kings and fostered multiple languages written in cuneiform . The Phoenician trading empire, flourishing around
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#17330854271202156-400: Is an imposing structure around which the old town sprawls. The fort houses several old temples, the most important of which is Sri Chennakesava Swamy. Another well-known temple, Jammulamma, is located west of the city. The Priyadarshini Jurala Project is a large dam under construction (as of 2017) near Gadwal. It has almost 62 gates, and its power generation capacity is 234 MW. Gadwala
2254-450: Is bad for the environment. Others focus more on the trade-offs between environmental conservation and achieving welfare goals for basic needs (food, water, health, and shelter). Economic development can indeed reduce hunger or energy poverty . This is especially the case in the least developed countries . That is why Sustainable Development Goal 8 calls for economic growth to drive social progress and well-being. Its first target
2352-520: Is for: "at least 7 per cent GDP growth per annum in the least developed countries". However, the challenge is to expand economic activities while reducing their environmental impact. In other words, humanity will have to find ways how societal progress (potentially by economic development) can be reached without excess strain on the environment. The Brundtland report says poverty causes environmental problems. Poverty also results from them. So addressing environmental problems requires understanding
2450-457: Is known for its handloom zari /jari chiralu ( Gadwal sari ). It was registered as one of the geographical indications from Telangana by Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, of 1999 . They are most notable for the Zari on the saris. The sari consists of a cotton body with a silk pallu which is called Sico saris . The weave is so light that the saree can be packed in
2548-412: Is known through scientific study to applications in pursuit of what people want for the future." The 1983 UN Commission on Environment and Development ( Brundtland Commission ) had a big influence on the use of the term sustainability today. The commission's 1987 Brundtland Report provided a definition of sustainable development . The report, Our Common Future , defines it as development that "meets
2646-462: Is necessary to address many barriers to sustainability to achieve a sustainability transition or sustainability transformation . Some barriers arise from nature and its complexity while others are extrinsic to the concept of sustainability. For example, they can result from the dominant institutional frameworks in countries. Global issues of sustainability are difficult to tackle as they need global solutions. Existing global organizations such as
2744-411: Is not a new phenomenon. But it has been only a local or regional concern for most of human history. Awareness of global environmental issues increased in the 20th century. The harmful effects and global spread of pesticides like DDT came under scrutiny in the 1960s. In the 1970s it emerged that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were depleting the ozone layer . This led to the de facto ban of CFCs with
2842-569: Is often thought of as a long-term goal (i.e. a more sustainable world), while sustainable development refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it." Details around the economic dimension of sustainability are controversial. Scholars have discussed this under the concept of weak and strong sustainability . For example, there will always be tension between the ideas of "welfare and prosperity for all" and environmental conservation , so trade-offs are necessary. It would be desirable to find ways that separate economic growth from harming
2940-603: Is planned to become a four-line connecting junction with the addition of a Gadwal–Macherla line. The Railway Department has sufficient land to be used for new railway projects. Gadwal is located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from National Highway 44 (India) (formerly NH-7). A new national highway (Kothakota–Mantralayam) starts from Kothakota then reaches Gadwal, Ieeja, Gudur and Mantralayam. The newly sanctioned Yerravally–Raichur National highway also passes through Gadwal. Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) runs bus services from Gadwal to major towns and villages. With
3038-508: Is still clearly visible. A system of rectilinear city streets and land plots, known as the grid plan , has been used for millennia in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The Indus Valley Civilization built Mohenjo-Daro , Harappa , and other cities on a grid pattern, using ancient principles described by Kautilya , and aligned with the compass points . The ancient Greek city of Priene exemplifies
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3136-420: Is the most urban continent, with four-fifths of its population living in cities, including one-fifth of the population said to live in shantytowns ( favelas , poblaciones callampas , etc.). Batam , Indonesia , Mogadishu , Somalia , Xiamen , China , and Niamey , Niger , are considered among the world's fastest-growing cities, with annual growth rates of 5–8%. In general, the more developed countries of
3234-600: The Jurala Project , one of the most prestigious dams in India, 11 km (6.8 mi) away, the town has implemented solar energy for production of electricity. City Historically, city dwellers have been a small proportion of humanity overall, but following two centuries of unprecedented and rapid urbanization , more than half of the world population now lives in cities, which has had profound consequences for global sustainability . Present-day cities usually form
3332-699: The Montreal Protocol in 1987. In the early 20th century, Arrhenius discussed the effect of greenhouse gases on the climate (see also: history of climate change science ). Climate change due to human activity became an academic and political topic several decades later. This led to the establishment of the IPCC in 1988 and the UNFCCC in 1992. In 1972, the UN Conference on the Human Environment took place. It
3430-586: The Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa . In Northern Europe, cities including Lübeck and Bruges formed the Hanseatic League for collective defense and commerce. Their power was later challenged and eclipsed by the Dutch commercial cities of Ghent , Ypres , and Amsterdam . Similar phenomena existed elsewhere, as in the case of Sakai , which enjoyed considerable autonomy in late medieval Japan. In
3528-566: The UN and WTO are seen as inefficient in enforcing current global regulations. One reason for this is the lack of suitable sanctioning mechanisms . Governments are not the only sources of action for sustainability. For example, business groups have tried to integrate ecological concerns with economic activity, seeking sustainable business . Religious leaders have stressed the need for caring for nature and environmental stability. Individuals can also live more sustainably . Some people have criticized
3626-931: The United Nations ... largely for the purpose of international statistical comparison". The word city and the related civilization come from the Latin root civitas , originally meaning 'citizenship' or 'community member' and eventually coming to correspond with urbs , meaning 'city' in a more physical sense. The Roman civitas was closely linked with the Greek polis —another common root appearing in English words such as metropolis . In toponymic terminology, names of individual cities and towns are called astionyms (from Ancient Greek ἄστυ 'city or town' and ὄνομα 'name'). Urban geography deals both with cities in their larger context and with their internal structure. Cities are estimated to cover about 3% of
3724-501: The Uruk period . In the fourth and third millennium BC , complex civilizations flourished in the river valleys of Mesopotamia , India , China , and Egypt . Excavations in these areas have found the ruins of cities geared variously towards trade, politics, or religion. Some had large, dense populations , but others carried out urban activities in the realms of politics or religion without having large associated populations. Among
3822-716: The civilization of Djenne-Djenno was likely established by the Mande progenitors of the Bozo people . Their habitation of the site spanned the period from 3rd century BCE to 13th century CE. Archaeological evidence from Jenné-Jeno, specifically the presence of non-West African glass beads dated from the third century BCE to the fourth century CE, indicates that pre-Arabic trade contacts probably existed between Jenné-Jeno and North Africa. Additionally, other early urban centers in West Africa, dated to around 500 CE, include Awdaghust , Kumbi Saleh ,
3920-501: The commune ( in France and Chile ; or comune in Italy). Sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic, and social. Many definitions emphasize
4018-427: The government workers . (This arrangement contrasts with the more typically horizontal relationships in a tribe or village accomplishing common goals through informal agreements between neighbors, or the leadership of a chief.) The governments may be based on heredity, religion, military power, work systems such as canal-building, food distribution, land-ownership, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, finance, or
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4116-530: The knowledge economy . A new smart city paradigm, supported by institutions such as the RAND Corporation and IBM , is bringing computerized surveillance , data analysis, and governance to bear on cities and city dwellers. Some companies are building brand-new master-planned cities from scratch on greenfield sites. Urbanization is the process of migration from rural to urban areas, driven by various political, economic, and cultural factors. Until
4214-531: The natural resources and ecosystem services needed for economies and society. The concept of sustainable development has come to focus on economic development , social development and environmental protection for future generations. Scholars usually distinguish three different areas of sustainability. These are the environmental, the social, and the economic. Several terms are in use for this concept. Authors may speak of three pillars, dimensions, components, aspects, perspectives, factors, or goals. All mean
4312-556: The service economy and public-private partnerships , with concomitant gentrification , uneven revitalization efforts , and selective cultural development. Under the Great Leap Forward and subsequent five-year plans continuing today, China has undergone concomitant urbanization and industrialization and become the world's leading manufacturer . Amidst these economic changes, high technology and instantaneous telecommunication enable select cities to become centers of
4410-535: The " Global North " remain more urbanized than the less developed countries of the " Global South "—but the difference continues to shrink because urbanization is happening faster in the latter group. Asia is home to by far the greatest absolute number of city-dwellers: over two billion and counting. The UN predicts an additional 2.5 billion city dwellers (and 300 million fewer country dwellers) worldwide by 2050, with 90% of urban population expansion occurring in Asia and Africa. Megacities , cities with populations in
4508-539: The "functional definition", a city is not distinguished by size alone, but also by the role it plays within a larger political context. Cities serve as administrative, commercial, religious, and cultural hubs for their larger surrounding areas. The presence of a literate elite is often associated with cities because of the cultural diversities present in a city. A typical city has professional administrators , regulations, and some form of taxation (food and other necessities or means to trade for them) to support
4606-512: The "integrity of the earth's life-support systems" was essential for sustainability. The authors said that "the SDGs fail to recognize that planetary, people and prosperity concerns are all part of one earth system, and that the protection of planetary integrity should not be a means to an end, but an end in itself". The aspect of environmental protection is not an explicit priority for the SDGs. This causes problems as it could encourage countries to give
4704-441: The "three dimensions of sustainability" concept. One distinction is that sustainability is a general concept, while sustainable development can be a policy or organizing principle. Scholars say sustainability is a broader concept because sustainable development focuses mainly on human well-being. Sustainable development has two linked goals. It aims to meet human development goals. It also aims to enable natural systems to provide
4802-400: The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with their 169 targets as balancing "the three dimensions of sustainable development, the economic, social and environmental". Scholars have discussed how to rank the three dimensions of sustainability. Many publications state that the environmental dimension is the most important. ( Planetary integrity or ecological integrity are other terms for
4900-524: The 18th century), Ile-Ifẹ̀ (70,000 to 105,000 inhabitants in the 14th and 15th centuries), Niani (50,000 inhabitants in 1400 AD) and Timbuktu (100,000 inhabitants in 1450 AD). In the West, nation-states became the dominant unit of political organization following the Peace of Westphalia in the seventeenth century. Western Europe's larger capitals (London and Paris) benefited from the growth of commerce following
4998-420: The 18th century, an equilibrium existed between the rural agricultural population and towns featuring markets and small-scale manufacturing. With the agricultural and industrial revolutions urban population began its unprecedented growth, both through migration and demographic expansion . In England , the proportion of the population living in cities jumped from 17% in 1801 to 72% in 1891. In 1900, 15% of
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#17330854271205096-458: The 1960s and 1970s. This led to discussions on sustainability and sustainable development. This process began in the 1970s with concern for environmental issues. These included natural ecosystems or natural resources and the human environment. It later extended to all systems that support life on Earth, including human society. Reducing these negative impacts on the environment would improve environmental sustainability. Environmental pollution
5194-698: The 30th and 18th centuries BC. Mesoamerica saw the rise of early urbanism in several cultural regions, beginning with the Olmec and spreading to the Preclassic Maya , the Zapotec of Oaxaca, and Teotihuacan in central Mexico. Later cultures such as the Aztec , Andean civilizations , Mayan , Mississippians , and Pueblo peoples drew on these earlier urban traditions. Many of their ancient cities continue to be inhabited, including major metropolitan cities such as Mexico City , in
5292-722: The 9th through the end of the 12th century, Constantinople , the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire , was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe, with a population approaching 1 million. The Ottoman Empire gradually gained control over many cities in the Mediterranean area, including Constantinople in 1453 . In the Holy Roman Empire , beginning in the 12th century, free imperial cities such as Nuremberg , Strasbourg , Frankfurt , Basel , Zürich , and Nijmegen became
5390-552: The Andes, the first urban centers developed in the Norte Chico civilization , Chavin and Moche cultures, followed by major cities in the Huari , Chimu , and Inca cultures. The Norte Chico civilization included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru . It is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, flourishing between
5488-569: The Brundtland Report, the environment and development are inseparable and go together in the search for sustainability. It described sustainable development as a global concept linking environmental and social issues. It added sustainable development is important for both developing countries and industrialized countries : The 'environment' is where we all live; and 'development' is what we all do in attempting to improve our lot within that abode. The two are inseparable. [...] We came to see that
5586-519: The Great founded and created them with zeal. Jericho and Çatalhöyük , dated to the eighth millennium BC , are among the earliest proto-cities known to archaeologists. However, the Mesopotamian city of Uruk from the mid-fourth millennium BC (ancient Iraq) is considered by most archaeologists to be the first true city, innovating many characteristics for cities to follow, with its name attributed to
5684-492: The Rio Declaration also discusses sustainability in this way. The plan, Agenda 21 , talks about economic, social, and environmental dimensions: Countries could develop systems for monitoring and evaluation of progress towards achieving sustainable development by adopting indicators that measure changes across economic, social and environmental dimensions. Agenda 2030 from 2015 also viewed sustainability in this way. It sees
5782-439: The SDGs. It should also show how to address the trade-offs between ecological footprint and economic development. The social dimension of sustainability is not well defined. One definition states that a society is sustainable in social terms if people do not face structural obstacles in key areas. These key areas are health, influence, competence, impartiality and meaning-making . Some scholars place social issues at
5880-758: The UN launched eight Millennium Development Goals . The aim was for the global community to achieve them by 2015. Goal 7 was to "ensure environmental sustainability". But this goal did not mention the concepts of social or economic sustainability. Specific problems often dominate public discussion of the environmental dimension of sustainability: In the 21st century these problems have included climate change , biodiversity and pollution. Other global problems are loss of ecosystem services , land degradation , environmental impacts of animal agriculture and air and water pollution , including marine plastic pollution and ocean acidification . Many people worry about human impacts on
5978-530: The ancient capital of Ghana, and Maranda , a center located on a trade route between Egypt and Gao. The dissolution of the Roman Empire in the West was connected with profound changes in urban fabric of western Europe. In places where Roman administration quickly weakened urbanism went through a profound crisis, even if it continued to remain an important symbolic factor. In regions like Italy or Spain cities diminished in size but nevertheless continued to play
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#17330854271206076-460: The athletic, artistic, spiritual, and political life of the polis. Rome was the first city that surpassed one million inhabitants. Under the authority of its empire , Rome transformed and founded many cities ( Colonia ), and with them brought its principles of urban architecture, design, and society. In the ancient Americas , early urban traditions developed in the Andes and Mesoamerica . In
6174-407: The benefit of mitigating the urban heat island effect, especially in cities that are in warmer climates. These spaces prevent carbon imbalances, extreme habitat losses, electricity and water consumption, and human health risks. The urban structure generally follows one or more basic patterns: geomorphic, radial, concentric, rectilinear, and curvilinear. The physical environment generally constrains
6272-520: The core of larger metropolitan areas and urban areas —creating numerous commuters traveling toward city centres for employment, entertainment, and education. However, in a world of intensifying globalization , all cities are to varying degrees also connected globally beyond these regions. This increased influence means that cities also have significant influences on global issues , such as sustainable development , climate change , and global health . Because of these major influences on global issues,
6370-536: The early Old World cities, Mohenjo-daro of the Indus Valley civilization in present-day Pakistan , existing from about 2600 BC, was one of the largest, with a population of 50,000 or more and a sophisticated sanitation system . China's planned cities were constructed according to sacred principles to act as celestial microcosms . The Ancient Egyptian cities known physically by archaeologists are not extensive. They include (known by their Arab names) El Lahun ,
6468-479: The emergence of an Atlantic trade. However, most towns remained small. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the old Roman city concept was extensively used. Cities were founded in the middle of the newly conquered territories and were bound to several laws regarding administration, finances, and urbanism. The growth of the modern industry from the late 18th century onward led to massive urbanization and
6566-460: The environment . This means using fewer resources per unit of output even while growing the economy. This decoupling reduces the environmental impact of economic growth, such as pollution . Doing this is difficult. Some experts say there is no evidence that such a decoupling is happening at the required scale. It is challenging to measure sustainability as the concept is complex, contextual, and dynamic. Indicators have been developed to cover
6664-584: The environment . These include impacts on the atmosphere, land, and water resources . Human activities now have an impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems . This led Paul Crutzen to call the current geological epoch the Anthropocene . The economic dimension of sustainability is controversial. This is because the term development within sustainable development can be interpreted in different ways. Some may take it to mean only economic development and growth . This can promote an economic system that
6762-528: The environment includes society, and society includes economic conditions. Thus it stresses a hierarchy. Another model shows the three dimensions in a similar way: In this SDG wedding cake model , the economy is a smaller subset of the societal system. And the societal system in turn is a smaller subset of the biosphere system. In 2022 an assessment examined the political impacts of the Sustainable Development Goals. The assessment found that
6860-495: The environment less weight in their developmental plans. The authors state that "sustainability on a planetary scale is only achievable under an overarching Planetary Integrity Goal that recognizes the biophysical limits of the planet". Other frameworks bypass the compartmentalization of sustainability into separate dimensions completely. The environmental dimension is central to the overall concept of sustainability. People became more and more aware of environmental pollution in
6958-415: The environment, society, or the economy but there is no fixed definition of sustainability indicators . The metrics are evolving and include indicators , benchmarks and audits. They include sustainability standards and certification systems like Fairtrade and Organic . They also involve indices and accounting systems such as corporate sustainability reporting and Triple Bottom Line accounting . It
7056-421: The environmental dimension. This can include addressing key environmental problems , including climate change and biodiversity loss . The idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, organizational, and individual levels. A related concept is that of sustainable development , and the terms are often used to mean the same thing. UNESCO distinguishes the two like this: " Sustainability
7154-426: The environmental dimension.) Protecting ecological integrity is the core of sustainability according to many experts. If this is the case then its environmental dimension sets limits to economic and social development. The diagram with three nested ellipses is one way of showing the three dimensions of sustainability together with a hierarchy: It gives the environmental dimension a special status. In this diagram,
7252-527: The factors behind world poverty and inequality. The report demands a new development path for sustained human progress. It highlights that this is a goal for both developing and industrialized nations. UNEP and UNDP launched the Poverty-Environment Initiative in 2005 which has three goals. These are reducing extreme poverty, greenhouse gas emissions, and net natural asset loss. This guide to structural reform will enable countries to achieve
7350-791: The first millennium AD, the Khmer capital of Angkor in Cambodia grew into the most extensive preindustrial settlement in the world by area, covering over 1,000 km and possibly supporting up to one million people. West Africa already had cities before the Common Era , but the consolidation of Trans-Saharan trade in the Middle Ages multiplied the number of cities in the region, as well as making some of them very populous, notably Gao (72,000 inhabitants in 800 AD), Oyo-Ile (50,000 inhabitants in 1400 AD, and may have reached up to 140,000 inhabitants in
7448-440: The form in which a city is built. If located on a mountainside, urban structures may rely on terraces and winding roads. It may be adapted to its means of subsistence (e.g. agriculture or fishing). And it may be set up for optimal defense given the surrounding landscape. Beyond these "geomorphic" features, cities can develop internal patterns, due to natural growth or to city planning . In a radial structure, main roads converge on
7546-492: The idea of sustainability. One point of criticism is that the concept is vague and only a buzzword . Another is that sustainability might be an impossible goal. Some experts have pointed out that "no country is delivering what its citizens need without transgressing the biophysical planetary boundaries". Sustainability is regarded as a " normative concept ". This means it is based on what people value or find desirable: "The quest for sustainability involves connecting what
7644-800: The international community has prioritized investment in sustainable cities through Sustainable Development Goal 11 . Due to the efficiency of transportation and the smaller land consumption , dense cities hold the potential to have a smaller ecological footprint per inhabitant than more sparsely populated areas. Therefore, compact cities are often referred to as a crucial element in fighting climate change. However, this concentration can also have some significant negative consequences, such as forming urban heat islands , concentrating pollution , and stressing water supplies and other resources. A city can be distinguished from other human settlements by its relatively great size, but also by its functions and its special symbolic status , which may be conferred by
7742-561: The intersection of economics, the environment, and the social. There are many broad strategies for more sustainable social systems. They include improved education and the political empowerment of women . This is especially the case in developing countries. They include greater regard for social justice . This involves equity between rich and poor both within and between countries. And it includes intergenerational equity . Providing more social safety nets to vulnerable populations would contribute to social sustainability. A society with
7840-468: The land surface of the Earth. Town siting has varied through history according to natural, technological, economic, and military contexts. Access to water has long been a major factor in city placement and growth, and despite exceptions enabled by the advent of rail transport in the nineteenth century, through the present most of the world's urban population lives near the coast or on a river. Urban areas as
7938-477: The long term. The concept of sustainability, or Nachhaltigkeit in German, goes back to Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1645–1714), and applied to forestry . The term for this now would be sustainable forest management . He used this term to mean the long-term responsible use of a natural resource. In his 1713 work Silvicultura oeconomica, he wrote that "the highest art/science/industriousness [...] will consist in such
8036-427: The long-term depletion of natural resources". The term sustainability is derived from the Latin word sustinere . "To sustain" can mean to maintain, support, uphold, or endure. So sustainability is the ability to continue over a long period of time. In the past, sustainability referred to environmental sustainability. It meant using natural resources so that people in the future could continue to rely on them in
8134-475: The longest continual inhabitation . Cities, characterized by population density , symbolic function, and urban planning , have existed for thousands of years. In the conventional view, civilization and the city were both followed by the development of agriculture , which enabled the production of surplus food and thus a social division of labor (with concomitant social stratification ) and trade . Early cities often featured granaries , sometimes within
8232-492: The multi-millions, have proliferated into the dozens, arising especially in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Economic globalization fuels the growth of these cities, as new torrents of foreign capital arrange for rapid industrialization, as well as the relocation of major businesses from Europe and North America, attracting immigrants from near and far. A deep gulf divides the rich and poor in these cities, which usually contain
8330-442: The needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". The report helped bring sustainability into the mainstream of policy discussions. It also popularized the concept of sustainable development . Some other key concepts to illustrate the meaning of sustainability include: In everyday usage, sustainability often focuses on the environmental dimension. Scholars say that
8428-500: The public as well as forms of public land such as public domain and the commons . Western philosophy since the time of the Greek agora has considered physical public space as the substrate of the symbolic public sphere . Public art adorns (or disfigures) public spaces. Parks and other natural sites within cities provide residents with relief from the hardness and regularity of typical built environments . Urban green spaces are another component of public space that provides
8526-866: The rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of migrants from rural communities into urban areas. England led the way as London became the capital of a world empire and cities across the country grew in locations strategic for manufacturing . In the United States from 1860 to 1910, the introduction of railroads reduced transportation costs, and large manufacturing centers began to emerge, fueling migration from rural to city areas. Some industrialized cities were confronted with health challenges associated with overcrowding , occupational hazards of industry, contaminated water and air, poor sanitation , and communicable diseases such as typhoid and cholera . Factories and slums emerged as regular features of
8624-680: The same location as Tenochtitlan ; while ancient continuously inhabited Pueblos are near modern urban areas in New Mexico , such as Acoma Pueblo near the Albuquerque metropolitan area and Taos Pueblo near Taos ; while others like Lima are located nearby ancient Peruvian sites such as Pachacamac . From 1600 BC, Dhar Tichitt , in the south of present-day Mauritania , presented characteristics suggestive of an incipient form of urbanism. The second place to show urban characteristics in West Africa
8722-411: The same thing in this context. The three dimensions paradigm has few theoretical foundations. The popular three intersecting circles, or Venn diagram , representing sustainability first appeared in a 1987 article by the economist Edward Barbier . Scholars rarely question the distinction itself. The idea of sustainability with three dimensions is a dominant interpretation in the literature. In
8820-486: The term and has challenged geographers seeking to classify territories according to an urban-rural binary. Metropolitan areas include suburbs and exurbs organized around the needs of commuters , and sometimes edge cities characterized by a degree of economic and political independence. (In the US these are grouped into metropolitan statistical areas for purposes of demography and marketing .) Some cities are now part of
8918-412: The turn of the first millennium BC , encompassed numerous cities extending from Tyre , Cydon , and Byblos to Carthage and Cádiz . In the following centuries, independent city-states of Greece , especially Athens , developed the polis , an association of male landowning citizens who collectively constituted the city. The agora , meaning "gathering place" or "assembly", was the center of
9016-446: The urban landscape. In the second half of the 20th century, deindustrialization (or " economic restructuring ") in the West led to poverty , homelessness , and urban decay in formerly prosperous cities. America's "Steel Belt" became a " Rust Belt " and cities such as Detroit , Michigan, and Gary, Indiana began to shrink , contrary to the global trend of massive urban expansion. Such cities have shifted with varying success into
9114-425: The very center of discussions. They suggest that all the domains of sustainability are social. These include ecological , economic, political, and cultural sustainability. These domains all depend on the relationship between the social and the natural. The ecological domain is defined as human embeddedness in the environment. From this perspective, social sustainability encompasses all human activities. It goes beyond
9212-575: The volume of sewage begins to exceed manageable levels. The local government of cities takes different forms including prominently the municipality (especially in England , in the United States , India , and other British colonies ; legally, the municipal corporation ; municipio in Spain and Portugal , and, along with municipalidad , in most former parts of the Spanish and Portuguese empires) and
9310-512: The world's population lived in cities. The cultural appeal of cities also plays a role in attracting residents. Urbanization rapidly spread across Europe and the Americas and since the 1950s has taken hold in Asia and Africa as well. The Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs reported in 2014 that for the first time, more than half of the world population lives in cities. Latin America
9408-532: Was Dia , in present-day Mali , from 800 BC. Both Dhar Tichitt and Dia were founded by the same people: the Soninke , who would later also found the Ghana Empire . Another ancient site, Jenné-Jeno , in what is today Mali , has been dated to the third century BCE. According to Roderick and Susan McIntosh, Jenné-Jeno did not fit into traditional Western conceptions of urbanity as it lacked monumental architecture and
9506-408: Was an Ayngarashakulu of Gadwal Samsthanam (Raja Somanadri was a minor). He died in a war with Sultans. Nagappa was succeeded by Narsappa as Gadwal Samsthanam Ayngarashakulu, but had to leave the palace. As of 2001, Gadwal had a population of 53,560. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. 13% of the population was under 6 years of age. As of 2011 this had risen to 63,177 Gadwal Fort
9604-446: Was the first UN conference on environmental issues. It stated it was important to protect and improve the human environment. It emphasized the need to protect wildlife and natural habitats: The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and [...] natural ecosystems must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate. In 2000,
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