Ya ain't.
In case you haven't been paying attention, let me be the first to tell you that big cities are getting bigger all the time.
One last post about cities and then I won't bother you any more. Well, I may still bother you, but talking about cities won't be the reason.
It took the human race until the year 1804 to reach a world population of one billion (British, one thousand million). The world's population grew to two billion by 1927. In 1950, which I remember clearly, New York City and London vere vying with each other to be called the largest city in the world. Each had around eight million in the core city and over 12 million in the larger area that included suburbs.
Today the picture has changed greatly. The world has nearly eight billion people now. According to 2018 UN estimates, tthere are at least 81 cities with a population of more than five million.
Here is one list of the very largest cities in the workd today. Note that New York and London are nowhere in sight:
1. Tokyo, Japan (39 million)
2. Jakarta, Indonesia (35 million)
3. Chongqing, China (32 million)
4. Delhi, India (31.8 million)
5. Seoul, South Korea (25.5 million)
6. Mumbai, India (24 million)
The problem is that different organizations have compiled different lists, and it depends on what you mean by "city." Various terms are used in the making of the lists, such as city proper, urban area, metropolitan area, and urban agglomeration. For example, Chongqing, China, which is third in the list above, is in 14th place on the UN's list, with the explanation: "The municipality of Chongqing, China, whose administrative area is around the size of Austria, has the largest population for a city proper. However, more than 70% of its residents live in rural areas."
Consolidated city-county areas such as Miami-Dade in Florida can't hold a candle to Chongqing. My point is that when it comes to determining the largest cities in the world, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
Here are the top ten "cities" on the UN's 2018 list:
1. Tokyo, Japan (37.4 million)
2. Delhi, India (28.5 million)
3. Shanghai, China (25.6 million)
4. São Paulo, Brazil (21.6 million)
5. Mexico City, Mexico (21.6 million)
6. Cairo, Egypt (20.1 million)
7. Mumbai, India (20 million)
8. Beijing, China 19.6 million)
9. Dhaka, Bangladesh (19.6 million)
10. Osaka, Japan (19.3 million)
On the UN's list, New York is 11th at 18.8 million and London is 37th at just over nine million.
I do not envy the people who live in the megalopolises of the world. It's all I can do to cope with Atlanta, which is 69th on the UN's 2018 list of urban areas, is the 37th-largest core city in the United States, and has America's 13th-worst traffic according to the people who keep up with such things. Atlanta has the further distinction in the U.S. of being the smallest core city (population 524,000) among its top ten metropolitan areas, ranking ninth at just over six million.
Here is a typical day in my adopted home town:
(Photo by Georgia State University, gsu.edu)
If you want to learn more about the terms core city, metropolitan area, or urban area; or find your favorite city on the UN's list of 81; or see a map of Chongqing, click here.
Don't mind me, folks, I find this stuff fascinating.
Hello, world! This blog began on September 28, 2007, and so far nobody has come looking for me with tar and feathers.
On my honor, I will do my best not to bore you. All comments are welcome
as long as your discourse is civil and your language is not blue.
Happy reading, and come back often!
And whether my cup is half full or half empty, fill my cup, Lord.
Copyright 2007 - 2025 by Robert H.Brague
Showing posts with label Atlanta traffic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Atlanta traffic. Show all posts
Thursday, November 4, 2021
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