The story of big cities

Introduction When you think of big cities you may think of New York City, Tokyo, Istanbul,

Mexico City, Shanghai, London and so on. But what does «big» really mean? For most of us, big cities are places with lots of people and with lots of tall buildings called skyscrapers, like New York City. But not all big cities have skyscrapers: some cities have some skyscrapers but more smaller buildings, like London. As more people go to live in cities, more skyscrapers are necessary. These make the space for people to live in and work in.

How and why did people start building and living them and where are the tallest buildings in the world at the moment?

Large buildings of the ancient world The first cities were in Mesopotamia

(in modern Iraq), in Egypt, and in the valleys of the Indus River. In all of these places there were very large buildings.

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution helped create very big cities. The Industrial Revolution first happened in Great Britain and then in the United States. It began at the end of the eighteenth century.

During this time, there were a series of important changes to the economy and to people’s lives. One of the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution was the terrible working conditions. One of the positive effects was the creation of the middle class.

London during the Industrial Revolution and now

Population increases in cities

More and More people live in cities today. There are many reasons for this: greater work possibilities and better education standards are two important ones.

Some important cities NEW YORK CITY, USA Population: 8 million New York City used to be called «New Amsterdam» Another name for New York City is «The Big Apple» New York City has five local areas,

called boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island.

New York

LONDON, England Population: 7.5 million In the Great Fire of London in 1666

half of London was destroyed. London is the largest city in Western

Europe. More than 300 languages are spoken

in London.

London

Moscow MOSCOW, Russia Population: 12108257 Transport: 5 airports 9 railway stations 3 see ports Metro: 194 stations

Moscow is regularly named one of the most expensive cities in the world. Although you'll find a historic center here, complete with palaces, churches, and monuments, Moscow is a fully modern city with skyscrapers, a network of public transportation, and traffic, traffic, traffic.

Moscow

Life in the megacities of today A megacity has a population of more

than 10 million people. Today there are around twenty-five megacities, and the five largest

are Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, New York City and Mumbai.

Problems of megacities

High level of pollutionA lot of travel jamViolent crimesNegative effects of industryExpensive prizes for living