United States
The United States of America known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U. S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D. C. and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico; the State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean; the U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The diverse geography and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century; the United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775, the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776; the war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1791 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties; the United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century, acquiring new territories, displacing Native American tribes, admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848. During the second half of the 19th century, the Civil War led to the abolition of slavery.
By the end of the century, the United States had extended into the Pacific Ocean, its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military power; the United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Sweeping civil rights legislation, notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, outlawed discrimination based on race or color. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the 1969 U. S. Moon landing; the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world's sole superpower. The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation, it is a representative democracy.
The United States is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, other international organizations. The United States is a developed country, with the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP, accounting for a quarter of global GDP; the U. S. economy is post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge-based activities, although the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world. The United States is the world's largest importer and the second largest exporter of goods, by value. Although its population is only 4.3% of the world total, the U. S. holds 31% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country. Despite wide income and wealth disparities, the United States continues to rank high in measures of socioeconomic performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP, worker productivity.
The United States is the foremost military power in the world, making up a third of global military spending, is a leading political and scientific force internationally. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a world map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America in honor of the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci; the first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" is from a letter dated January 2, 1776, written by Stephen Moylan, Esq. to George Washington's aide-de-camp and Muster-Master General of the Continental Army, Lt. Col. Joseph Reed. Moylan expressed his wish to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the revolutionary war effort; the first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in The Virginia Gazette newspaper in Williamsburg, Virginia, on April 6, 1776. The second draft of the Articles of Confederation, prepared by John Dickinson and completed by June 17, 1776, at the latest, declared "The name of this Confederation shall be the'United States of America'".
The final version of the Articles sent to the states for ratification in late 1777 contains the sentence "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be'The United States of America'". In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the phrase "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence; this draft of the document did not surface unti
Sprague, Washington
Sprague is a city in Lincoln County, United States. The population was 446 at the 2010 census; the town was plotted in 1880 and named for former American Civil War Union general John Wilson Sprague. Sprague was first settled by William Newman. Sprague was incorporated on November 28, 1883. Called Hoodooville after William Burrows, a local character called Hoodoo Billy, the name was changed to honor General John W. Sprague, a railroad executive. Sprague was destroyed by fire on August 3, 1895; the fire and subsequent decision by the Northern Pacific Railroad to not rebuild in the town resulted in the relocation of the county seat, held by Sprague after an election in 1884, to Davenport in 1896 after a controversial vote. Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in Sprague, Washington was built in 1883; the current church was built in a Gothic Revival style and erected in 1902, just south of the site of the original church and blessed by the Bishop of Nesqually. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.
S. Department of Interior in 1990; the town has a seasonal creek running through it named "Negro Creek." Much debate has occurred regarding the creek's name but the name remains. Sprague is located at 47°17′56″N 117°58′39″W, it is at State Route 23, northeast of Sprague Lake. It is 23 miles from Ritzville and 36 miles from Spokane. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.63 square miles, all of it land. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Sprague is located in the transition zone between a dry-summer humid continental climate, a semi-arid climate; as of the census of 2010, there were 446 people, 197 households, 128 families residing in the city. The population density was 707.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 236 housing units at an average density of 374.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 94.2% White, 2.0% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.4% from other races, 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.6% of the population.
There were 197 households of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, 35.0% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age in the city was 46.5 years. 23.1% of residents were under the age of 18. The gender makeup of the city was 51.1% male and 48.9% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 490 people, 216 households, 130 families residing in the city; the population density was 780.8 people per square mile. There were 242 housing units at an average density of 385.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 93.47% White, 2.65% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 1.63% from other races, 1.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.65% of the population.
There were 216 households out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.4% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.92. In the city, the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,079, the median income for a family was $31,750. Males had a median income of $30,833 versus $21,875 for females; the per capita income for the city was $15,912. About 8.9% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.
Eugene E. Lindsey, World War II naval pilot City website Sprague Public Library
1930 United States Census
The Fifteenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during the 1920 Census. The 1930 Census collected the following information: address name relationship to head of family home owned or rented if owned, value of home if rented, monthly rent whether owned a radio set whether on a farm sex race age marital status and, if married, age at first marriage school attendance literacy birthplace of person, their parents if foreign born: language spoken at home before coming to the U. S. year of immigration whether naturalized ability to speak English occupation and class of worker whether at work previous day veteran status if Indian: whether of full or mixed blood tribal affiliationFull documentation for the 1930 census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
The original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in 1949. The microfilmed census is located on 2,667 rolls of microfilm, available from the National Archives and Records Administration. Several organizations host images of the microfilmed census online, digital indices. Microdata from the 1930 census are available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. 1930 Census Questions Hosted at CensusFinder.com 1931 U. S Census Report Contains 1930 Census results Historic US Census data 1930Census.com: 1930 United States Census for Genealogy & Family History Research 1930 Interactive US Census Find stories and more attached to names on the 1930 US census
1910 United States Census
The Thirteenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21.0 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 Census. The 1910 Census switched from a portrait page orientation to a landscape orientation; the 1910 census collected the following information: Full documentation for the 1910 census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. The column titles in the census form are as follows: LOCATION. Street, road, etc. House number. 1. Number of dwelling house in order of visitation. 2. Number of family in order of visitation. 3. NAME of each person whose place of abode on April 15, 1910, was in this family. Enter surname first the given name and middle initial, if any. Include every person living on April 15, 1910. Omit children born since April 15, 1910. RELATION. 4. Relationship of this person to the head of the family.
PERSONAL DESCRIPTION. 5. Sex. 6. Color or race. 7. Age at last birthday. 8. Whether single, widowed, or divorced. 9. Number of years of present marriage. 10. Mother of how many children: Number born. 11. Mother of how many children: Number now living. NATIVITY. Place of birth of each person and parents of each person enumerated. If born in the United States, give the state or territory. If of foreign birth, give the country. 12. Place of birth of this Person. 13. Place of birth of Father of this person. 14. Place of birth of Mother of this person. CITIZENSHIP. 15. Year of immigration to the United States. 16. Whether naturalized or alien. 17. Whether able to speak English. OCCUPATION. 18. Trade or profession of, or particular kind of work done by this person, as spinner, laborer, etc. 19. General nature of industry, business, or establishment in which this person works, as cotton mill, dry goods store, etc. 20. Whether as employer, employee, or work on own account. If an employee— 21. Whether out of work on April 15, 1910.
22. Number of weeks out of work during year 1909. EDUCATION. 23. Whether able to read. 24. Whether able to write. 25. Attended school any time since September 1, 1909. OWNERSHIP OF HOME. 26. Owned or rented. 27. Owned free or mortgaged. 28. Farm or house. 29. Number of farm schedule. 30. Whether a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy. 31. Whether blind. 32. Whether deaf and dumb. Special Notation In 1912 and 1959, New Mexico, Arizona and Hawaii would become the 47th, 48th, 49th and 50th states admitted to the Union; the 1910 population count for each of these areas was 327,301, 204,354, 64,356 and 191,909 respectively. On this basis, the ranking list above would be modified as follows: First 42 ranked states - positions unchanged New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, Wyoming and Alaska; the original census enumeration sheets were microfilmed by the Census Bureau in the 1940s. The microfilmed census is available in rolls from the National Records Administration. Several organizations host images of the microfilmed census online, along which digital indices.
Microdata from the 1910 census are available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with electronic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. 1911 U. S Census Report Contains 1910 Census results Historic US Census data census.gov/population/www/censusdata/PopulationofStatesandCountiesoftheUnitedStates1790-1990.pdf
U.S. Route 2
U. S. Route 2 or U. S. Highway 2 is an east–west U. S. Highway spanning 2,571 miles across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, which are disconnected into segments because of encroaching Interstate Highways, the two portions of US 2 were designed to be separate in the original 1926 highway plan; the western segment of US 2 has its western terminus at an interchange with Interstate 5 and State Route 529 in Everett and its eastern terminus at I-75 in St. Ignace, Michigan; the eastern segment of US 2 has its western terminus at US 11 in Rouses Point, New York and its eastern terminus at I-95 in Houlton, Maine. As its number indicates, it is the northernmost east–west U. S. Route in the country, it is the lowest primary-numbered east–west U. S. Route, whose numbers otherwise end in zero, was so numbered to avoid a US 0. Sections of US 2 in New England were once New England Route 15, part of the New England road marking system.
The western segment of US 2 extends from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan across the northern tier of the lower 48 states. Most of the western route was built paralleling the Great Northern Railway. US 2 adopted the railway's route nickname "The Highline" as the most northern crossing in the U. S; the Adventure Cycling Association's Northern Tier Bicycle Route is a bicycle touring route which follows or parallels US 2 for over 600 miles, most notably a 550-mile stretch between Columbia Falls and Williston, North Dakota. Within Washington state, US 2 is the northernmost all-season highway through the Cascade Mountains, it begins at Interstate 5 and State Route 529 in Everett, travels east via Stevens Pass. It intersects US 97 4 miles east of Leavenworth and continues as a duplicate route crossing the Columbia River at Wenatchee continues north as far as Orondo, where US 97 splits north. US 2 continues to the border in Newport. Shortly after entering Idaho from the west, US 2 crosses the Priest River.
US 2 follows Pend Oreille River to its source at Lake Pend Oreille. US 2 intersects Idaho State Highway 57 in the town of Priest River at mile 5.8. US 2 intersects US 95 at mile 28.4 in the town of Sandpoint. The two routes are duplexed for 36.2 miles until just after Bonners Ferry. At Three Mile Corner, US Route 2 continues southeast for 15.8 miles. US 2 is a vital northern corridor for Montana and has more mileage within Montana than in any other state, it intersects US 93 at Kalispell and passes through the southern end of Glacier National Park, crossing the continental divide at Marias Pass, before it enters the Great Plains west of Browning. It travels through Shelby; the highway continues east and leaves the state near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. US 2 is an east–west highway that runs through North Dakota’s northern tier of larger cities: Williston, Devils Lake, Grand Forks. US 2 intersects US 85 at Williston, US 52 and US 83 at Minot, US 281 at Churchs Ferry, the I-29 / US 81 concurrency at Grand Forks.
US 2 is four-laned from North Dakota’s eastern edge to just past Williston, a stretch of about 343 miles, leaving the remaining 12 miles to the Montana border as a two-lane highway. In Rugby, just east of the route's intersection with ND 3, the highway passes the location designated in 1931 as the geographical center of North America; the monument marking the geographic center had to be relocated in 1971 when US 2 was converted from two lanes to four lanes. The portion of US 2 from Cass Lake to Bemidji is designated the Paul Bunyan Expressway, it intersects US 169 and the Mississippi River in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. At the crossing between Duluth, Minn. and Superior, Wisc. the highway crosses the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge, about 8,300 feet in length—roughly 11,800 feet in length when the above land approaches are included. Of the 266 miles of US 2 in Minnesota, 146 miles have four lanes located in the northwest part of the state; the Minnesota section of US 2 is defined as Routes 8 and 203 in Minnesota Statutes §§161.114 and 161.115.
After crossing the Bong Bridge and entering into the city of Superior, Wisconsin's western segment of the highway joins Belknap Street. After crossing the midsection of Superior, US 2 merges with US 53 for a few miles following East 2nd Street out of the city. Ten miles outside of Superior, US 53 and US 2 part ways. US 53 veers south toward Eau Claire, while US 2 continues to the city of Ashland and to the Wisconsin–Michigan state line at the city of Ironwood. An eastern segment of US 2 re-enters Wisconsin 4 miles northwest of Florence and proceeds concurrently with US 141 for 14.5 miles until exiting Wisconsin again near Iron Mountain, Michigan. US 2 enters Michigan at the city of Ironwood and runs east to the town of Crystal Falls, where it turns south and re-enters Wisconsin northwest of Florence, it re-enters Michigan north of Iron Mountain and continues through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the cities of Escanaba, St. Ignace. Along the way, it cuts through the Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests and follows the northern shore of Lake Michigan.
It ends at I-75, just north of the Mackinac Bridge in St. Ignace; the eastern segment of US 2 traverses the northeastern part of New York and the northern New England states. The road starts at US 11, just 1 mile south of the Canadian border at Rouses Point in Champlain, New York. From there it crosses the Richelieu River at the outlet of
Lincoln County, Washington
Lincoln County is a county located in the U. S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,570, making it the fifth-least populous county in Washington; the county seat and largest city is Davenport. The county was created out of Whitman County in November 1883 and is named for Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States. In 1883, Lincoln County was created from a portion of Spokane County, four days a portion of its area was peeled off to create Douglas County. There have been no further alterations to its boundary since that time.. Its 2,317 square miles make it #8 in size in the state. Centuries ago, the area now covered by Lincoln County contained an east-west passageway used by indigenous peoples. A spring near the present-day Davenport created a large overnight camping place; the early exploration of the Northwest Territory by Lewis and Clark did not reach as far north as the Lincoln County expanses. The first recorded entry by European explorers was of David Thompson, a scout for the North West Company, who traversed the area in 1811.
He noted physical locations in present-day Lincoln County. He described Hell Gate Rapid; that stretch of the Columbia River is now tame, because of the presence of Grand Coulee Dam. After this, there was considerable exploration by fur trappers and others, including famed Scotch botanist David Douglas in 1826; the first permanent non-indigenous resident of the area was R. M. Bacon from Boston, who began raising cattle around Crab Creek in 1871; when the first post office was established in the county, Bacon was its postmaster. Emigration into the area accelerated in the late 1870s. Completion of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883, construction of Fort Spokane hastened settlement. Lincoln County lies on the channelled Scablands, known as the Big Bend Plateau, it lies 1,500-2,500 feet above sea level, with a system of channels eroded into bedrock by glacial rivers and streams, flowing from northeastern Washington. Lincoln County climate is hot/dry in the summer, cold/moderately humid in the winter.
Due to the level terrain, temperatures tend to vary little from east to west. Precipitation varies from an arid condition in the western part of the county to semi-arid in the northeast; the entire area lies in the dry intermontane basin between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountain System. Precipitation is a major controlling factor in agriculture. Precipitation in the Big Bend region is variable. Monthly temperature averages range from below freezing in mid-winter to high of 65-71°F in mid-summer. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,339 square miles, of which 2,310 square miles is land and 29 square miles is water. Columbia River Lilienthal Mountain, county high point Interstate 90 U. S. Route 2 U. S. Route 395 Ferry County – north Stevens County – northeast Spokane County – east Whitman County – southeast Adams County – south Grant County – west Okanogan County – northwest Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area As of the census of 2000, there were 10,184 people, 4,151 households, 2,914 families in the county.
The population density was 4 people per square mile. There were 5,298 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 95.64% White, 0.23% Black or African American, 1.63% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.58% from other races, 1.61% from two or more races. 1.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 36.6% were of German, 10.5% English, 9.3% United States or American and 5.8% Irish ancestry. There were 4,151 households out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.90% were married couples living together, 6.40% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.80% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.30% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.91. In the county, the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 5.20% from 18 to 24, 23.20% from 25 to 44, 27.40% from 45 to 64, 19.00% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,255, the median income for a family was $41,269. Males had a median income of $31,086 versus $22,444 for females; the per capita income for the county was $17,888. About 8.40% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.60% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 10,570 people, 4,422 households, 3,059 families residing in the county; the population density was 4.6 inhabitants per square mile. There were 5,776 housing units at an average density of 2.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 95.0% white, 1.6% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.5% from other races, 2.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 42.3% were German, 14.6% were Irish, 13.9% were English, 5.5% were Norwegian, 5.3% were Scotch-Irish, 3.6% were American.
Of the 4,422 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.8% were non-families, 27.1% of all households were made
City
A city is a large human settlement. Cities have extensive systems for housing, sanitation, land use, communication, their density facilitates interaction between people, government organizations and businesses, sometimes benefiting different parties in the process. City-dwellers have been a small proportion of humanity overall, but following two centuries of unprecedented and rapid urbanization half of the world population now lives in cities, which has had profound consequences for global sustainability. Present-day cities form the core of larger metropolitan areas and urban areas—creating numerous commuters traveling towards city centers for employment and edification. However, in a world of intensifying globalization, all cities are in different degree connected globally beyond these regions; the most populated city proper is Chongqing while the most populous metropolitan areas are the Greater Tokyo Area, the Shanghai area, Jabodetabek. The cities of Faiyum and Varanasi are among those laying claim to longest continual inhabitation.
A city is distinguished from other human settlements by its great size, but by its functions and its special symbolic status, which may be conferred by a central authority. The term can refer either to the physical streets and buildings of the city or to the collection of people who dwell there, can be used in a general sense to mean urban rather than rural territory. A variety of definitions, invoking population, population density, number of dwellings, economic function, infrastructure, are used in national censuses to classify populations as urban. Common population definitions for a city range between 1,500 and 50,000 people, with most U. S. states using a minimum between 5,000 inhabitants. However, some jurisdictions set no such minimums. In the United Kingdom, city status is awarded by the government and remains permanently, resulting in some small cities, such as Wells and St Davids. According to the "functional definition" a city is not distinguished by size alone, but by the role it plays within a larger political context.
Cities serve as administrative, commercial and cultural hubs for their larger surrounding areas. Examples of settlements called city which may not meet any of the traditional criteria to be named such include Broad Top City and City Dulas, Anglesey, a hamlet; the presence of a literate elite is sometimes included in the definition. A typical city has professional administrators and some form of taxation to support the government workers; the governments may be based on heredity, military power, work projects such as canal building, food distribution, land ownership, commerce, finance, or a combination of these. Societies that live in cities are called civilizations; the word city and the related civilization come, via Old French, from the Latin root civitas meaning citizenship or community member and coming to correspond with urbs, meaning city in a more physical sense. The Roman civitas was linked with the Greek "polis"—another common root appearing in English words such as metropolis. Urban geography deals both with their internal structure.
Town siting has varied through history according to natural, technological and military contexts. Access to water has long been a major factor in city placement and growth, despite exceptions enabled by the advent of rail transport in the nineteenth century, through the present most of the world's urban population lives near the coast or on a river. Urban areas as a rule cannot produce their own food and therefore must develop some relationship with a hinterland which sustains them. Only in special cases such as mining towns which play a vital role in long-distance trade, are cities disconnected from the countryside which feeds them. Thus, centrality within a productive region influences siting, as economic forces would in theory favor the creation of market places in optimal mutually reachable locations; the vast majority of cities have a central area containing buildings with special economic and religious significance. Archaeologists refer to this area by the Greek term temenos; these spaces reflect and amplify the city's centrality and importance to its wider sphere of influence.
Today cities have downtown, sometimes coincident with a central business district. Cities have public spaces where anyone can go; these include owned spaces open to the public as well as forms of public land such as public domain and the commons. Western philosophy since the time of the Greek agora has considered physical public space as the substrate of the symbolic public sphere. Public art adorns public spaces. Parks and other natural sites within cities provide residents with relief from the hardness and regularity of typical built environments. Urban structure follows one or more basic patterns: geomorphic, concentric and curvilinear. Physical environment constrains the form in which a city is built. If located on a mountainside, urban structure may rely on winding roads, it may be adapted to its means of subsistence. And it may be set up for optimal defense given the surrounding landscape. Beyond these "geomorphi
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