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I never knew "city" was a size thing, and that only big places could use that term. I figured any incorporated area was a "city." It's just a term for the particular incorporated government entity - country ... state ... county ... city.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CHTransplant
I never knew "city" was a size thing, and that only big places could use that term. I figured any incorporated area was a "city." It's just a term for the particular incorporated government entity - country ... state ... county ... city.
I don't know that population or area matters so much, but incorporated areas can also be "towns" versus "cities." Carrboro, for example, is a city but Chapel Hill is a town. I don't know the differences in North Carolina. But in Virginia, it is hard to become incorporated as a "city." Cities have certain privileges. For example, only "cities" in Virginia are allowed to have their own school district. "Towns" are not.
ETA: Here is a discussion I just found about it. In NC, there isn't really a difference between "town" and "city" other than what it is called in its charter. However, as mentioned in the above Virginia example, in other states, there are definite distinctions between cities, towns (and in some places villages), etc.
I never knew "city" was a size thing, and that only big places could use that term. I figured any incorporated area was a "city." It's just a term for the particular incorporated government entity - country ... state ... county ... city.
It varies from state to state. In some states it is a size distinction (and in states like VA the city vs. town distinction is important since it determines whether or not a community is part of a county). In NC, the distinction between a city and a town is pretty meaningless. It all depends on the name used when the community was incorporated, and has nothing to do with size. A community of 100 people can call themselves a city if they like, and a community with hundreds of thousands can call itself a town.
Here's how the State of North Carolina defines it by statute:
Quote:
§ 160A-1
"City" means a municipal corporation organized under the laws of this State for the better government of the people within its jurisdiction and having the powers, duties, privileges, and immunities conferred by law on cities, towns, and villages. The term "city" does not include counties or municipal corporations organized for a special purpose. "City" is interchangeable with the terms "town" and "village," is used throughout this Chapter in preference to those terms, and shall mean any city as defined in this subdivision without regard to the terminology employed in charters, local acts, other portions of the General Statutes, or local customary usage.
How is Cary much larger than Raleigh? Raleigh is 3x the size of Cary, both in population (~425k vs ~145k) and square miles (~145 sq mi vs. ~55 sq mi). Cary and Asheville are the same size in terms of square miles, and Cary's population is a little less than twice the size of Asheville.
Correct. I meant to say that it was larger (and by larger, I am talking about population) than Asheville and more highly rated than both Raleigh and Asheville. It was an error on my part. I should stop posting when I am tired and ready for bed. Unfortunately, it's something that I sometimes do when I can't sleep.
This report looked at "cities" with above 5000 in population. Big difference.
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