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Cities: New York City

New York City

Some call it the greatest city in the world; others revile it as a haven of greed and excess. Some come to gawk at the iconic skyscrapers and fashionable denizens; others are intimidated by packed subway cars and the constant assault of horns and lights. Whether you love it or hate it, New York City, America’s largest and densest, is a place of extremes. Just take a look at its built environment, which incorporates everything from charming brownstones in Brooklyn to hulking warehouses in the Bronx, 40-story housing projects in Manhattan to tiny tenements in Queens, and even suburban-style backyards in Staten Island. Not to mention its eight million people, 37 percent of whom were born in a foreign country.

It’s sometimes easy to forget, thanks to New York’s glitz and glamour, that it is a very real city that struggles with typically urban problems like crime, pollution and homelessness. But the city’s crime rate is actually the lowest of the nation’s 25 biggest cities, and despite being walloped by the recent recession, New York remains one of the most important – if not the most important – global centers of business. A hub for finance, insurance and entertainment, as well as smaller industries like fashion, publishing and design, New York’s economy is healthy by current American standards, even after many thought 9/11 would mark a return to 70’s-era chaos. This stability is thanks in part to New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, elected in 2001, who quickly established himself as a financial reformer, a proponent of charter schools and testing, and economic development and re-zoning. Now in his third term, Bloomberg now faces a multi-billion-dollar deficit.

Millions flock to New York as tourists and would-be residents each year, seeking both the quaint urbanism of Jane Jacobs and the dazzling cacophony of Times Square. You can find both, and everything in between, in New York.

Bottom Line: The quintessential global city, if not a typical American one.

City Highlights

New York City Archives