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This thread is not about definitions. There is no definition for "real" city--anywhere. There's a reason the OP put quotes around the word real. If there was, there'd be no basis for discussion. Go back and read the OP. Clearly, it is opinions being sought. Yours is as good as the next guy's (though it may be misinformed--that's where we can disagree). I swear, some of you guys just want to fight.
Exactly!
People keep posting the dicctionary definition of a city but that's NOT what we're looking for here. And like was posted earlier and I brought up again but people ignored, a better word to use would be "traditional" instead of "real."
This thread is not about definitions. There is no definition for "real" city--anywhere. There's a reason the OP put quotes around the word real. If there was, there'd be no basis for discussion. Go back and read the OP. Clearly, it is opinions being sought. Yours is as good as the next guy's (though it may be misinformed--that's where we can disagree).
Then opinions WITH definitions are just as good as the next guy's opinions WITHOUT definitions. It's a total contradiction to say that one opinion is as good as the next and also try to say that the thread isn't about opinions that contain definitions. Go back and read the OP. You'll find what in fact contained within the body of the question. That at least impliest that people can use facts in their answers, and definitions are facts. Clearly this thread is as much about definitions as it is about gut feelings. And one guy's definitions are as good as the next guy's gut feelings.
lots of great insights on this thread, without too much bashing. I am impressed by the way you have all held it together. anyway, here is my take on the issue: a real city is one that feels exciting. real cities are noisy and bright. in a real city's downtown, there are buses, subways and elevated lines, frequent honking, different languages being babbled here and there, and at night the neon lights and lcd signs flash, indicating where to go for a good time. when a person from a rural or suburban place visits a real city, he feels a mix of awe and fear at the amount of people and the dense mix of tall buildings. when one is inside a real city, he feels envelopped, as if the city is endless. there is civic pride evident in the patronizing billboards telling loudly how the people of that city have impeccable taste and 'deserve better,' and the city's inhabitants believe this to be true. in short, a real city feels like a world unto itself. it feels closed. the difference with so-called fake cities is their openness. the buildings don't block the sky, and the wide highways make it too easy for the population to spill out into the suburbs.
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