Early City Planning

Many ancient cities were built from definite plans. The fundamental feature of the plans of Babylon, Nineveh, and the cities of ancient Greece and of China was a geographical pattern of main streets running north and south and east and west, with a public square or forum in the center. Such a gridiron plan was used in the ancient Peruvian city of Chan Chan. It was also followed by the Romans, as in Lincoln and Chester in England; in all their towns the Romans emphasized drainage and water supply and practiced zoning. In medieval cities, built with military security in mind, the only relief from the extremely narrow streets was the space formed by municipal and church squares. The living conditions of the poorer citizens were given little attention.

With the Renaissance came the truly monumental views—wide avenues and long approaches creating vistas of handsome buildings. The new aim is seen first in special sections of a city, such as Michelangelo's grouping on the Capitoline at Rome and Bernini's piazza of St. Peter's. In most European cities through the 17th and 18th cent. there was fragmentary replanning of medieval streets. After the fire of 1666 in London, Sir Christopher Wren devised a superb plan for a complete rebuilding of the city, but the plan unfortunately was not carried out. In the 18th cent., Mannheim and Karlsruhe, Germany, were laid out geometrically; Emmanuel Héré planned Nancy, France; John Wood produced grand architectural streets and squares at Bath; and the new part of Edinburgh was laid out. In the early 19th cent. John Nash planned certain sections of London; central Vienna was improved; and Baron Haussmann remodeled Paris to produce the celebrated boulevard system with its spokes-and-hub design.

Legislation that enabled cities to make and carry out planning designs was enacted earlier in Europe than in the United States. Such laws were passed in Italy in 1865, in Sweden in 1874, and in Prussia and Great Britain in 1875. Planning in Great Britain was especially concerned with slum elimination; its greatest exponent was Sir Patrick Geddes. At the turn of the century Sir Ebenezer Howard was the founder of the modern garden city movement. The first English garden city, Letchworth, was begun in 1903.

City Planning in the United States

In the United States, early New England towns, formally disposed along wide elm-lined central roadways or commons, exhibit a conscious planning. Annapolis, Md., Philadelphia, and Paterson, N.J., were built after plans; but the most celebrated example is the city of Washington D.C., laid out according to the plan devised (1791) by Pierre Charles L'Enfant, under the supervision of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson—a rectangular plan with diagonal main thoroughfares superimposed and the Capitol as the central feature.

In the 19th cent. Frederick Law Olmsted was a pioneer in city planning, especially in developing parks. State legislation enabling cities to appoint planning commissions and in some cases giving them authority to carry out the plans began in Pennsylvania in 1891. The work of Daniel Hudson Burnham for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893, was a stimulus to city planning, and Burnham, with Edward Bennett, drew up a plan for Chicago, much of which was put into execution. In 1901 a commission composed of Burnham, Charles Follen McKim, and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., devised a scheme for the modern development and beautification of Washington, D.C., adhering to L'Enfant's original plan as a basis for all new operations.

A wide influence on planning in U.S. cities was exerted by the zoning laws adopted in New York City in 1916, which controlled the uses of each district in the city and regulated the areas and heights of buildings in relation to street width. The important Regional Survey of New York and Environs, completed in 1929, took into consideration legal and social factors as well as internal transit problems and various modes of approach to the metropolitan area.

Governmental efforts to provide employment during the depression of the 1930s led to the building (under the Federal Resettlement Administration) of three experimental model communities—Greenbelt, Md., Greendale, Wis., and Greenhills, Ohio. Among the many subsequent planned communities built by private developers are Columbia, Md., and Reston, Va. The increase of traffic and crowding together of tall buildings have crippled the street plans of many cities—especially U.S. cities that have been handicapped by their rectangular or checkerboard layouts.

Contemporary Planning

In the larger U.S. cities, physical deterioration, crowding, and complex socioeconomic factors have produced vast slums. Most urban renewal programs of the mid-20th cent. were aimed at clearing these slums through the demolition of decayed buildings and the construction of low-income and middle-income housing projects. It was found, however, that the mere replacement of old buildings with new structures did not eliminate slum conditions.

In contrast to traditional planning, which concentrated on improving the physical aspects of buildings and streets, modern city planning is increasingly concerned with the social and economic aspects of city living. The process of city planning is a highly complex, step-by-step procedure, usually involving a series of surveys and studies, development of a land-use plan and transportation plan, preparation of a budget, and approval of a unified master plan by various agencies or legislative bodies. City planners are usually part of an urban planning board or governmental agency that must take into account the characteristics and long-range welfare of the people of a particular urban community—their employment opportunities, income levels, need for transportation, schools, shopping areas, hospitals, parks and recreational facilities. They must face the problems of traffic, congestion, and pollution; they must also consider the availability of police, fire, and sanitation services, the limitations posed by zoning and other regulations, and the problems of funding. In recent years, residents of many communities have demanded greater participation in the planning of their own neighborhoods, and some planners have worked closely with community groups during various stages of the planning process.

Contemporary examples of planned cities include Brasília, the federal capital of Brazil, Rotterdam, main seaport of the Netherlands, Chandigarh, the joint capital of the Indian states of Haryana and Punjab, Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, and Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

The English tradition of incorporating urban units (cities, boroughs, villages, towns) and allowing them freedom in most local matters is general in the United States (see city; local government). The traditional U.S. city government had a mayor and council, whose members (aldermen) represented districts (wards). As the complexity of urban life increased in the 19th cent., the old system became less efficient: problems included overlapping of old offices with new, poor methods of accounting and taxation, and much blatant graft.

From these abuses arose movements for municipal reform, which have become a recurrent feature of American political life. They have familiarized Americans with a gallery of such political figures as William M. Tweed of New York City, Frank Hague of Jersey City, and William Hale Thompson of Chicago (see bossism). Although the urban political machine has, in most cities, lost its former power, the traditional type of city government, also known as the independent executive type, remains the most common urban governmental form. It is often subdivided into the strong mayor type (e.g., New York City) and the weak mayor-strong council type (e.g., Los Angeles).

Reform efforts have resulted in the development of two fairly widespread alternative governmental types. The commission form has a board, both legislative and administrative, usually elected nonpartisan and at large. First adopted by Galveston, Tex. (1901), this system achieved great popularity in the early 1900s, but many cities (e.g., Buffalo and New Orleans) later abandoned it. The city manager plan gives the administration to one professional nonpolitical director. The system has gained in popularity; notable examples are in Staunton, Va., the first (1908) to adopt it, and Cincinnati, Ohio.

A perennial problem of U.S. urban government is the division of urban areas among several independent city governments, survivals of old separate communities. The Eastern metropolises all provide examples, aggravated in some (e.g., New York City and Philadelphia), where state lines run through the heart of the metropolitan area. Attempts at efficiency have produced such organizations as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a corporation set up by joint action of New York state and New Jersey, and assigned specific powers formerly held by local governments. Another problem besetting city government is the migration of middle-class families to the suburban areas, thus shrinking the tax base and financial resources of the cities.

In the rest of the English-speaking world and wherever else there is much local self-government, American forms and problems are paralleled. Elsewhere, as typically in France, the local officers, albeit elected mayor and councillors, are largely figureheads, serving mainly to carry out the regulations of the central bureaucracy.

The Rise of Cities

Cities have appeared in diverse cultures, e.g., among the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca and in China and India, Mesopotamia and Egypt, and ancient Greece and Rome (see city-state). In all these civilizations cities were the centers of internal change and development. From the decline of Rome the cities were in eclipse, and in Western Europe their role as centers of learning and the arts passed to the monasteries. The 11th cent. saw the resurgence of vigorous cities, first in Italy and then in northern Europe, due mainly to a revival of trade; by the 13th cent., with the decline of feudalism, the dynamic life of the Middle Ages was centered in the cities. This time marks the rise of the great modern cities, e.g., Milan, London, Paris, and the Hanseatic cities.

The Modern City

The giant modern city is a product of the Industrial Revolution, which introduced large-scale manufacturing. Sheer size aggravated existing problems of urban life; some of them, such as sanitation, utilities, and distribution, have been better solved than others, such as housing and transport. As urban life came to furnish more remunerative and varied employment opportunities, rural populations increasingly were attracted, and by the 20th cent. some nations were faced with shortages of agricultural workers.

Modern cities are often complex, with subcities within them, e.g., Newark, N.J., falls inside the New York metropolis. The word megalopolis is sometimes used to describe the great swath of communities stretching N and S of New York City from Boston to Washington, D.C. In Great Britain the term conurbation refers to a similar cluster of urban areas such as the one centered on London. There are similar complexes of cities in Asia, notably that of Wuhan in China.

Among movements to reform urban life, some aim at abolishing cities as known today; this is the tradition exemplified by William Blaker, Henry Thoreau, William Morris, and Eric Gill. There are also less radical designs, like rational city planning, the development of rapid transit to distant suburbs, and garden cities. There have been many reforms aimed at restoring community life for the rootless strangers so numerous in modern cities; such is a common function of settlement houses, community centers, and other philanthropic and cooperative enterprises.

Geographic and Political Extent

The Vatican City is a roughly triangular tract of land within Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber River and west of the Castel Sant'Angelo. In its southeast corner is the piazza of Saint Peter's Church, surrounded by the splendid colonnade. North of the piazza is a quadrangular area containing administrative buildings and the Belvedere Park. West of Belvedere Park are the pontifical palaces, and beyond the palaces lie the Vatican Gardens, which make up half the area of the little state. The Leonine Wall forms the western and southern boundaries.

In the city of Rome are certain important basilicas, churches, and other buildings to which the Italian government extends the rights of extraterritoriality and tax exemption but not papal sovereignty. The basilicas include San Giovanni in Laterno (St. John Lateran), Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major), and San Paolo fuori le Mura (St. Paul outside the Walls). The palace of San Callisto at the foot of the Janiculum also shares the immunity of the Vatican, as does the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, in the Alban Hills outside Rome.

Vatican City has its own citizenship, issues its own currency and postage stamps, and has its own flag and a large diplomatic corps. It is open to visitors all year, and the pope receives callers in public and private audiences. It has its own newspaper (Osservatore Romano), railroad station, and broadcasting facility (first established by Marconi under Pius XI). The seven Vatican universities, including the Pontifical Gregorian Univ., are located in Rome. The political freedom of the Vatican is guaranteed and protected by Italy.

Civil and Church Government

The civil government of Vatican City is run by a lay governor and a council, all appointed by and responsible to the pope. The law is the canon law, and the courts are part of the judicial system of the church. The only court special to Vatican City is a court of first instance for civil and criminal cases arising in the city.

The Vatican is above all the seat of the central government of the Roman Catholic Church. Because of the papacy's vast interest in temporal as well as spiritual affairs, an elaborate bureaucracy has been developed over the course of centuries. The pope governs with the College of Cardinals. He may act as he chooses without their consent, but in practice he relies on the cardinals for advice as well as for administration of the church government. The whole administrative body surrounding the pope and responsible to him is called the Curia Romana.

The papal court long had all the characteristics of a royal court, such as elaborate rituals and uniforms, and complex rules of precedence; however, since the reign of Pope John XXIII (1958-63) and the Second Vatican Council, many of the Vatican ceremonies have been greatly simplified. The bodyguard of the pope is the corps of Swiss Guards, founded in the 16th cent. and made up of a small group of Roman Catholic Swiss. Its members wear the splendid Renaissance uniforms designed by Michelangelo.

The Palaces and the Vatican's Treasures

The Vatican palaces are an irregular mass of three-story and four-story buildings, built on long, plain lines and broken by additions and alterations. The papal residence and offices occupy the portion near the colonnade, and the rest is given over to museums and the Vatican Library. The Vatican museums are among the most important in the world; they are the Museo Pio-Clementino, founded in the 18th cent. and containing one of the world's great collections of antiquities; the Chiaramonti Museum, founded in the early 19th cent. and holding a collection of Greek sculptures and Renaissance imitations; the Braccio Nuovo, considered by many to be the most beautiful of all the museums; the Egyptian Museum and the Etruscan Museum, opposite the Braccio Nuovo; and the Pinacoteca Vaticana (opened in 1932), which contains paintings by Giotto, Guercino, Caravaggio, Poussin, and others.

The museums, however, house only part of the Vatican's treasure, for many of the Renaissance and modern paintings are found in the galleries surrounding the various courtyards, such as the Cortile del Belvedere and the Cortile San Damasco. Adjoining the Cortile San Damasco is the building containing the Borgia apartments on the first floor and the Raphael rooms on the second. The works of Raphael and his followers in the building make it one of the most famous artistic monuments in the world. The Vatican Library lies all along the western side of the Giardino della Pigna and Cortile del Belvedere. It is one of the world's richest repositories of ancient and medieval manuscripts in many languages. The principal chapel in the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel, the ceiling of which was painted (1508-12) by Michelangelo.

History

The history of the Vatican as a papal residence dates from the 5th cent., when, after Emperor Constantine I had built the basilica of St. Peter's, Pope Symmachus built a palace nearby. The pope usually resided in the Lateran Palace until the "Babylonian captivity" (14th cent.) in Avignon, France. After the return of the papacy to Rome (1377) the Vatican became the usual residence. The Renaissance popes, principally Sixtus IV, Innocent VIII, Alexander VI, Julius II, Leo X, and Clement VII, were great patrons of the arts, and it was they who began to assemble the great collections and to construct the wonderful galleries. Gregory XIII and Sixtus V spent huge sums on the Vatican and also began the Quirinal, a palace that served as the papal residence from the 17th to the 19th cent., was the Italian royal palace from 1870 to 1946, and is now the home of the president of Italy.

2 City (1990 pop. 58,012), Hudson co., NE N.J., on the Palisades overlooking the Hudson River, directly opposite New York City; inc. 1925. This densely populated city has many small firms, most of them in the embroidery field. Other industries produce fabricated metal products, consumer and electrical goods, machinery, apparel, and transportation equipment.

3 City (1990 pop. 10,513), seat of Obion co., W Tenn., near the Ky. line; inc. 1867. It is a trade, processing, and shipping center in a livestock, grain, cotton, and fruit-growing region. Tires and transportation equipment, fabricated metal products, and fireplaces are manufactured. Three Civil War battles were fought nearby, and the city has a Civil War cemetery, a monument to unknown Confederate dead, and an eternal-flame memorial.

Founded in 1847 by Brigham Young as the capital of the Mormon (see Latter-day Saints, Church of Jesus Christ of) community, the city achieved greatness as its economic hub. The prominence of the gigantic Temple (built 1853-93) on Temple Square at the city's heart reflects the Mormon nature of Salt Lake City; nearby are the Mormon Tabernacle (opened 1867) and Conference Center (opened 2000). After 1849, Salt Lake City was a supply point for overland travel to California and was connected with the first transcontinental railroad by a line built (1869-70) by Brigham Young to Ogden. It is the seat of the Univ. of Utah, Westminster College, and a campus of Brigham Young Univ. Of interest are the state capitol (1914), Brigham Young's home (the "Beehive House," 1877), and the Brigham Young Monument (1897). Home to the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association, the city hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic games.

One of the largest U.S. cities in area (650 sq mi/1,683 sq km), the city extends into three neighboring counties of Oklahoma co. and has many parks. Of interest are the capitol, the state historical museum, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center, the civic center buildings and monuments, a theater complex, a convention center, the state library, and a zoo. Educational institutions include the Univ. of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City Univ., and Oklahoma Christian Univ. The city also has a symphony orchestra.

Oklahoma City was quickly settled in a land rush after the area was opened to homesteaders on Apr. 22, 1889. It became the state capital in 1910. In 1995 a terrorist bomb destroyed a downtown federal office building, killing 168 people; the site is now a national memorial (see National Parks and Monuments (table)).

2 City (1990 pop. 49,381), Washington co., NE Tenn., in a mountainous region; settled before 1800, inc. 1869. In a rich hardwood, mineral (zinc and iron deposits), and agricultural (strawberries, tobacco, and corn) area, its diverse manufactures include metal and wood products, textiles, and furniture. East Tennessee State Univ. is in the city, as is the oldest church in the state (built 1782). Nearby is Rocky Mount historic shrine, a log cabin (built 1770) that served (1790-92) as the first capitol of the territory south of the Ohio River. Four Tennessee Valley Authority lakes in the area offer recreation.

3 Town (1990 pop. 932), seat of Blanco co., central Tex. It is the site of the "LBJ Ranch," known as the Texas White House when Lyndon B. Johnson was president. The Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park (see National Parks and Monuments, table) includes Johnson's boyhood home in the town. His birthplace and the family cemetery where he is buried are nearby the ranch.

The city has benefited from its position across from the island of Manhattan, and many Jersey City companies are extensions of those in New York. Further developments have included increased housing and shopping areas and a waterfront-renewal project, including the towering Goldman Sachs building (2004). Other parts of the city, however, remain run-down after years of commercial activity. Many ethnic groups throughout U.S. history have settled in Jersey City. The city has a modern medical center and is the seat of Jersey City State College and St. Peter's College. In Lincoln Park is a statue of Lincoln, built in 1929. Liberty State Park, on the waterfront, is the site of a science museum and provides an excellent view of New York harbor.

The area was acquired by Michiel Pauw c.1629. The Dutch soon set up the trading posts of Paulus Hook, Communipaw, and Horsimus. In 1674 the site fell permanently under British rule. The fort at Paulus Hook was captured by Light-Horse Harry Lee under Washington's plan, Aug. 19, 1779. Nearby Bergen was a stockaded Dutch village dating from before 1620 and had New Jersey's first municipal government, church (Dutch Reformed), and school (1662). Jersey City was consolidated with Bergen and Hudson City in 1869; the town of Greenville was added in 1873. The city's industrial growth began in the 1840s with the arrival of the railroad and the improvement of its water transport system. In 1916, Jersey City docks were the scene of the Black Tom explosion that caused widespread property damage.

An ancient Khmer settlement (see Khmer Empire), it passed (17th cent.) to the Annamese (see Annam). It was captured by the French in 1859 and ceded to France in 1862. A small village at the time of the French conquest, Saigon became a modern city under French rule. It was laid out in rectilinear fashion with wide, tree-lined avenues and parks, and soon developed a reputation for its beauty and cosmopolitan atmosphere.

The city was capital of Cochin China and from 1887 to 1902 was capital of the Union of Indochina. For administrative purposes Saigon and Cholon, on opposite banks of the Saigon River, were merged in 1932; in 1956 the two cities were included in the new prefecture of Saigon. Saigon became the capital of the newly created state of South Vietnam in 1954. In the Vietnam War it served as military headquarters for U.S. and South Vietnamese forces.

Saigon suffered considerable damage during the 1968 Tet offensive, and throughout the 1960s and early 70s at least a million refugees from the rural areas poured into the city, creating serious housing problems and overcrowding. In 1975 after Saigon surrendered and Vietnam was reunited under the prevailing Communist government, the city lost its status as capital and was renamed after the late North Vietnamese president.

The local economy of Ho Chi Minh City was disrupted during the early years of the new regime, which curtailed foreign investment and promoted collectivization. In the 1980s and 90s, conditions improved as the city gradually adapted to the new system and the government relaxed its economic policy. There is a growing industrial base, which includes the manufacture of home appliances, clothing, and shoes as well as automobile assembly, but since 1990 the city also has seen undistinguished high-rise construction that has diminished its well-known charm. The city is the seat of Ho Chi Minh Univ. and a national theater.

2 City (1990 pop. 31,846), Wayne co., SE Mich., a suburb of Detroit; inc. as a city 1934. Chiefly residential but with a noted population decline, the city produces gauge systems and aluminum extrusions.

3 Village (1990 pop. 21,686), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on Long Island; inc. 1919. It is a high-income residential community, with printing, publishing, and retailing as the major industries. Garden City was founded in 1869 and planned by the merchant Alexander Stewart. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh began his historic transatlantic flight from the nearby former Roosevelt Field. Adelphi Univ. and Nassau Community College are in the city, as is the Museums at Mitchel complex, including a children's and an aviation museum.

2 City (1990 pop. 18,170), seat of Matagorda co., S Tex., near the Colorado River and the Gulf of Mexico; inc. 1894. It is a shipping and industrial center for a region that produces oil, gas, salt, beef cattle, rice, cotton, and grains. Plastics and chemicals are produced. The county museum is there, and Matagorda Bay and several Gulf beaches are nearby.

Ideal planned community as envisioned by the British town planner Ebenezer Howard (1850–1928). It was to be a small city that combined the amenities of urban and rural life; it would be compact, with contained growth. At the center would be a garden ringed with a civic and cultural complex, a park, housing, and industry, the whole surrounded by an agricultural green belt. Traffic would move along radial avenues and ring roads. The first garden city was built at Letchworth, England, in 1903. Though Howard's ideas have been widely influential, imitators have often ignored his stipulation that the town be a self-contained, true mixed-use community.

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Political system consisting of an independent city with sovereignty over a fixed surrounding area for which it served as leader of religious, political, economic, and cultural life. The term was coined in the 19th century to describe ancient Greek and Phoenician settlements that differed from tribal or national systems in size, exclusivity, patriotism, and ability to resist incorporation by other communities. They may have developed when earlier tribal systems broke down and splintered groups established themselves as independent nuclei circa 1000–800 BC; by the 5th century BC they numbered in the hundreds, with Athens, Sparta, and Thebes among the most important. Incapable of forming any lasting union or federation, they eventually fell victim to the Macedonians, the Carthaginians, and the Roman empire. In the 11th century the city-state revived in Italy; the success of medieval Italy's city-states, including Pisa, Florence, Venice, and Genoa, was due to growing prosperity from trade with the East, and several survived into the 19th century. Germany's medieval city-states included Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck. The only city-state extant today is Vatican City.

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Programs pursued as a means of improving the urban environment and achieving certain social and economic objectives. Evidence of urban planning can be found in the ruins of ancient cities, including orderly street systems and conduits for water and sewage. During the Renaissance, European city areas were consciously planned to achieve circulation of the populace and provide fortification against invasion. Such concepts were exported to the New World, where William Penn, in founding the city of Philadelphia, developed the standard gridiron plan—the laying out of streets and plots of land adaptable to rapid change in land use. Modern urban planning and redevelopment arose in response to the disorder and squalor of the slums created by the Industrial Revolution. The urban planner best known for his transformation of Paris was Georges-Eugène Haussmann. City planners imposed regulatory laws establishing standards for housing, sanitation, water supply, sewage, and public health conditions, and introduced parks and playgrounds into congested city neighbourhoods. In the 20th century, zoning—the regulation of building activity according to use and location—came to be a key tool for city planners. Seealso Pierre-Charles L'Enfant.

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Relatively permanent and highly organized centre of population, of greater size or importance than a town or village. The first cities appeared in Neolithic times when the development of agricultural techniques assured surplus crop yields large enough to sustain a permanent population. Ancient Greece saw the creation of the city-state, a form also important in the emergence of the Roman empire as well as the medieval Italian trading centers of Venice, Genoa, and Florence. After the Middle Ages, cities came increasingly under the political control of centralized government and served the interests of the nation-state. The Industrial Revolution further transformed city life, as factory cities blossomed rapidly in England, northwestern Europe, and the northeastern U.S. By the mid-20th century, 30–60percnt of a country’s population might be living in its major urban centers. With the rise of the automobile came the growth of suburbs and urban sprawl, as factories, offices, and residences erected in earlier periods became aged and obsolete. Today many cities suffer from lack of adequate housing, sanitation, recreational space, and transportation facilities, and face problems of inner-city decay or burgeoning shantytowns. Local governments have sought to alleviate these problems through urban planning.

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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Independent papal state, southern Europe, within the commune of Rome, Italy. Area: 109 acres (44 hectares). Population (2005 est.): 800. Its medieval and Renaissance walls form its boundaries except on the southeast at St. Peter's Square. Within the walls is the world's smallest independent nation-state, with its own diplomatic missions, newspaper, post office, radio station, banking system, army of 100 Swiss Guards, and publishing house. Extraterritoriality of the state extends to Castel Gandolfo and to several churches and palaces in Rome proper. Its independent sovereignty was recognized in the Lateran Treaty of 1929. The pope has absolute executive, legislative, and judicial powers within the city. He appoints the members of the Vatican's government organs, which are separate from those of the Holy See, the name given to the government of the Roman Catholic Church. The many imposing buildings include St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Palace, and the Vatican Museums. Frescoes by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, by Pinturicchio in the Borgia Apartment, and by Raphael in the Stanze (rooms in the papal apartments) are also there. The Vatican Library contains a priceless collection of manuscripts from the pre-Christian and Christian eras. The pope and other representatives of the papal state travel widely to maintain international relations.

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City (pop., 2000: 181,743), capital of Utah, U.S. Located on the Jordan River, near the southeastern end of Great Salt Lake, it was founded in 1847 by Brigham Young and a group of 148 Mormons as a refuge from religious persecution. It was known as Great Salt Lake City until 1868. It prospered from rail connections to become a hub of western commerce and became the state capital in 1896. The largest city in the state, it lies at an altitude of 4,390 ft (1,338 m). It is a commercial centre for nearby mining operations and has diversified manufacturing industries. It is the headquarters of the Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which influences the social, economic, political, and cultural life of the state and region. It is the site of the Mormon Temple and Tabernacle. It was the host city of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

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City (pop., 2000: 2,173,831), Luzon Island, Philippines, northeast of Manila. Named for Pres. Manuel Quezon, who selected the site in 1939, it replaced Manila as the capital in 1948. Considered part of metropolitan Manila, it began to grow after World War II with the construction of many government buildings. The seat of government moved back to Manila in 1976. The city is home to two major universities.

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City (pop., 2000: 415,964), capital of Panama. Near the Pacific Ocean entrance of the Panama Canal, on the Bay of Panama, the site was originally an Indian fishing village. The old city was founded in 1519 but was completely destroyed by British buccaneer Henry Morgan in 1671. It was rebuilt in 1674 just west of the old site. In 1751 the area became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada and later part of Colombia. It was the centre of the Panamanian revolt against Colombia in 1903, when it became the capital of Panama. After the canal opened in 1914, the city developed rapidly, becoming the commercial and transportation centre of the country. The economy depends largely on revenue from canal traffic and associated services.

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City (pop., 2000: 506,132), capital of Oklahoma, U.S. Settled during the Oklahoma land rush in 1889, it was incorporated as a city in 1890 and became the state capital in 1910. It expanded rapidly after the discovery of petroleum in the area in 1928. The largest city in the state and its main commercial, financial, industrial, and transportation centre, it is the chief marketing and processing point for the livestock industry. It is home to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Myriad Gardens, and an annual rodeo competition. In 1995 it was the site of a deadly act of domestic terrorism, when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed, killing 168 people and injuring 500.

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Preeminent U.S. ballet company. The company is descended from the American Ballet, which was founded by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein in 1935 and revived as the Ballet Society in 1946; it assumed its current name in 1948. Under Balanchine's artistic direction, the company became the leading U.S. ballet troupe, combining European classical ballet with American characterization and innovation and exerting enormous influence on American dance. It moved to its permanent home, the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, in 1964. Later artistic directors Jerome Robbins and Peter Martins contributed numerous works to its repertoire. Its leading dancers have included Maria Tallchief, Edward Villella, Jacques d'Amboise, and Suzanne Farrell.

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City (pop., 2000: 441,545), western Missouri, U.S., on the Missouri River. The city is contiguous with Kansas City, Kan. First settled by French fur traders in 1821, it was known as Westport, prospering as a river port and as the terminus for the Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon Trail. Chartered in 1850 as the town of Kansas and as a city in 1853, it was renamed Kansas City in 1889 to distinguish it from the territory. The state's largest city, it is an important marketing and shipping centre for a vast agricultural region and has extensive grain-storage and food-processing facilities. It is the seat of the University of Missouri at Kansas City and the world headquarters for the Church of the Nazarene.

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City (pop., 2000: 240,055), northeastern New Jersey, U.S. It lies opposite New York City. First settled by Dutch trappers (1618) and known as Paulus Hook, it was purchased from the Delaware Indians and established as a permanent settlement by 1660. In 1779, during the American Revolution, Henry Lee won a victory there over the British. Renamed Jersey City in 1820, it is a manufacturing centre.

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City (pop., 2000: 39,636), capital of Missouri, U.S. Located on the Missouri River near the centre of the state, it was selected as the site of the state capital in 1821. Named for Thomas Jefferson, it was incorporated as a town in 1825 and as a city in 1839. Loyalties were divided during the American Civil War, but it remained in the Union. The Capitol, completed in 1918, contains murals by Thomas Hart Benton. It is the trading centre for surrounding farmlands and has diversified manufacturing. Lincoln University was founded there by black veterans of the Union army in 1866.

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City (pop., 2004 est.: city, 3,452,100; 2005 est.: urban agglom., 5,065,000), southern Vietnam. It lies along the Saigon River north of the Mekong River delta. The Vietnamese first entered the region, then part of the kingdom of Cambodia, in the 17th century. In 1862 the area, including the town, was ceded to France. After World War II Vietnam declared its independence, but French troops seized control and the First Indochina War began. The Geneva conference in 1954 divided the country, and Saigon became the capital of South Vietnam. In the Vietnam War, it was the headquarters for U.S. military operations; it was captured by North Vietnamese troops in 1975 and renamed for Ho Chi Minh. Rebuilding since the war has promoted its commercial importance.

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City (pop., 2005 est.: 4,291,000), capital of the Republic of Singapore. A free port centred on the southern part of Singapore island, it so dominates the island that the republic is now commonly considered a city-state. Known as the Garden City for its many parks and tree-lined streets, it offers glimpses into the cultures brought to it by immigrants from all parts of Asia. It was traditionally founded by a Shrivijayan prince and was an important Malay city in the 13th century. Destroyed by the Javanese in the 14th century, it was refounded by Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company in 1819. It became the capital of the Straits Settlements in 1833 and developed as a port and naval base; today it is one of the world's great commercial centres. Its thriving banking, insurance, and brokerage firms make it the chief trading and financial centre of Southeast Asia. It is home to the National University of Singapore (1980).

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Imperial Palace complex in Beijing, containing hundreds of buildings and some 9,000 rooms. It served the emperors of China from 1421 to 1911. No commoner or foreigner was allowed to enter it without special permission. The moated palaces, with their golden tiled roofs and red pillars, are surrounded by high walls with a tower on each corner. The palaces consist of the outer throne halls and an inner courtyard, each palace forming an architectural whole. North of the front gate, a great courtyard lies beyond five marble bridges. Farther north, raised on a marble terrace, is the massive, double-tiered Hall of Supreme Harmony, once the throne hall, one of the largest wooden structures in China. The palaces and buildings are now public museums.

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City (pop., 2000: 49,050), Belize. The chief seaport and former capital of Belize, it lies at the mouth of the Belize River, which was until the 10th century a heavily populated trade artery of the Maya empire. The British settled the area in the 17th century. The city, built on ground only slightly above sea level, has been ravaged by hurricanes, so the capital was moved inland to Belmopan in 1970.

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City (pop., 2000: 40,517) and resort, southeastern New Jersey, U.S. Lying on narrow Absecon Island, the resort began to be developed in the mid-19th century. Amusement piers were constructed, and the first beachfront boardwalk was built there in 1870. The Miss America Pageant was established in Atlantic City in 1921. After World War II the city began to decline. In 1976 the state approved legalized gambling, and extensive development in Atlantic City provided a huge influx of money to the resort, but much of the surrounding area remained impoverished.

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