Published
city
vr.tr.city · thing-q515
Let an agent handle cities by legal status, boundaries, population, governance and services, and resolve the several definitions of a city (administrative, urban area, metropolitan).
Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.PLC
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Definition and boundaries What counts as the city.
Definition
Administrative, urban, metropolitan.
Definition used
The definition behind a figure.
- Which definition of the city does this figure use? provenance
- How does it differ from the others? measurement
Legal status
City status and capital.
Legal status
Legal status under national law.
- Does it have legal city status, and since when? provenance
- Is it a capital, and of what? definition
Population and economy People and work.
Population
Counts and density.
Population
Population with date and source.
- What is the population, as of when, from which source? measurement
- How is it changing? measurement
Economy
Main activities.
Economy
Economic structure.
- What are its main economic activities? definition
- What is its role in the region? definition
Governance and services Who runs it and what it provides.
Local government
Council and mayor.
Government
Local government structure.
- How is the city governed, and who is the mayor? provenance
- Which services does it provide directly? definition
Services
Transport, utilities, safety.
Services
Key services.
- How are transport, water and waste handled? definition
- How do residents contact the city? action
Place and history Where and how it grew.
Location
Coordinates and region.
Location
Location and region.
- Where is the city, and in which region? definition
- Which identifiers locate it? provenance
History
Founding and growth.
History
Key historical facts.
- When and how was it founded? provenance
- Has it had other names? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.PLC
- Other names and narrower kinds
- labyrinth City, ideal city, fortified town, La Scarzuola, capital city wall, Austrian walled towns, lateran, citânia, closed city, Levitical city, host city, Kartah
What it is Filled
A large, permanent human settlement with a dense population and urban functions, usually with a legal status as a city or municipality granted under national law.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent handle cities by legal status, boundaries, population, governance and services, and resolve the several definitions of a city (administrative, urban area, metropolitan).
Distinguishing features Filled
- Legal city status differs by country
- Administrative city, urban area and metropolitan area are different units
- Has a local government
- Capital status is a separate designation
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Compare city populations measured under different definitions without saying so.
- Present outdated boundaries or status as current.
- Rank or describe neighbourhoods in ways that stigmatise their residents.
Only with a human decision
- Using city data in decisions on services or funding for residents.
May
- Report population, boundaries and status from official statistics, stating the definition and date.
- Distinguish a city proper from its metropolitan area.
Moral aspects Filled
- City data shapes where public money and services go.
Who is affected
- Residents
- Visitors
- Local government
Owners Filled
Steward
The municipal government under national law; national statistics offices count it.
Master systems
- National statistics and administrative boundary registers
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q124250988 - registry parent class
- Q56061 - registry parent class
- Q7930989 - registry parent class
related
- human settlement - alongside towns and villages
- executive branch and municipal council - local government
- metropolitan area - a larger statistical unit
contains
- road, building and other infrastructure - urban fabric
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.city
- Wikidata: Q515 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q515)
- national municipality code: country-specific for example INSEE codes in France
- UN/LOCODE: five characters trade and transport locations
- GeoNames id: numeric gazetteer
Direct properties required Filled
- population: 10000-37000000 people - depends on definition and country
- population density: 1000-40000 people/km2
Recognition required Filled
- Dense built-up area and street grid
- City limits signs and municipal boundaries
- Different definitions give different outlines on maps
- Dense buildings, streets, public spaces and infrastructure, often with a historic centre and growing outskirts; historic cities may have walls.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- live, work and visit there
- govern it, through a municipal council and mayor
- measure it, by population and area under a stated definition
- plan and build it, under planning law
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Comparing populations under different definitions
- Confusing a city with its metropolitan area
- Out-of-date boundaries after mergers
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- National law on municipalities and city status
- EU-OECD Degree of Urbanisation definition
- Planning and building law
Context of use required Filled
- Concentrating people, work, services and culture in one place.
- capital city
- megacity
- historic walled and fortified towns
- planned and ideal cities
- twin cities and conurbations
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q515: city - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: City - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should cities be instances with a stated definition for every figure?
- How should mergers and renamings be tracked?
- Which definition should the registry use by default?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q515/spec.json