subject: How Is A city Defined [print this page] What exactly is it that makes a City? Obviously, a town must have its own cathedral before it is recognised as being a proper City, but that is only the official criteria. After all, Wells is regarded as being a City (the smallest one in England in fact) because of its cathedral, but you would hardly put it up there with London, Leeds, Glasgow or Nottingham, would you?
A true City has far more within it than a big church! It will have a large industrial sector, a wealth of different stores and plenty of conference venues. Mind you, that is only tied up with the commercial side of it all. Cities must have a good variety of businesses, shops and services, but it doesnt all end there either!
Many people will judge the merits of a City simply by how much it has going on in it; night spots, concerts, college courses, museums or art galleries. Although it would be a little unfair to decide on whether a location deserves true Cityhood by concentrating on these things alone.
The bottom line is that a proper City must have a good mixture of each of these ingredients; and the more that it has about it the better. If it is steeped in history then this is another huge bonus. People love to learn about links with the past and it can be a great way to attract tourists as well. Old buildings or cobbled streets have a tremendous amount of charm and they will appeal to a good many people.
If you want to know which are the best Cities to visit, then you will have to ask yourself what it is you are after. Are you planning to spend your time shopping? Do you want to visit Englands best art galleries? Or are you looking for suitable conference venues? If you know what you are looking for then you will find it much easier to narrow down your search.
This is so important because Google will give a different Top Ten Cities for each persons needs. If you are trying to find the best selection of stores then it will steer you towards the likes of Bath, Cardiff and Leeds. But for anyone wanting to visit the countrys most cultural locations it will recommend places such as Edinburgh, Liverpool, London and Manchester. Likewise, if you are looking for a certain area of industry, then you will come up with a different list of results.
You may think it would be a lot easier if each of Englands Cities were to have all of the above mentioned ingredients. This is true and, to a certain degree, every City does have its own mixture; even the smaller ones. But this should be seen as more of a strength than a weakness. Wouldnt it be a little boring if every City were to have the very same blend? You would only ever need to visit one single place! It is far better to have some diversity between our British Cities!
