City centre

A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart of a city, especially those in the Western world. The term 'city centre' is primarily used in British English. In North America, the term 'downtown' is generally used, though a few cities, like Philadelphia, use the term 'Center City.' A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart of a city, especially those in the Western world. The term 'city centre' is primarily used in British English. In North America, the term 'downtown' is generally used, though a few cities, like Philadelphia, use the term 'Center City.' The city centre is the (often historical) area of a city where commerce, entertainment, shopping and political power are concentrated. The term is commonly used in many English-speaking countries and has direct equivalents in many other languages. However, noticeably, in the United States, the term 'downtown' is commonly used to denote a city centre, and in Canada the terms 'city centre' and 'downtown' are used interchangeably. In Australia, the term 'Central Business District' is widely used to refer to the city centre, but usage of the term 'City Centre' is increasing, especially in Melbourne. In South Africa, 'CBD' is used in formal contexts, but in informal contexts, the city centre is referred to as 'town', and despite the growth of decentralised CBDs such as Sandton and Umhlanga 'town' continues to refer to the original CBDs of cities. In many cities, the Central Business District (CBD) is within the city centre, but the concept 'city centre' differs from the CBD. The concept of the 'CBD' revolves solely around economic and financial power, but the 'city centre' also includes historical, political and cultural factors. A clear example is Paris: La Défense is the central business district of Paris, but it is not the city centre. In most larger and/or older cities, the CBD and the city centre will only partially overlap, if at all.