Central business district

From Free net encyclopedia

For other meanings of the term downtown, see downtown (disambiguation).

"City center" redirects here. For the performing arts venue, see New York City Center.

Image:Melb cbd.jpg Central business district (CBD) and downtown are terms referring to a commercial heart of a city. Downtown is the usual term in North America. In the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland, Australia, parts of South Africa and New Zealand the term "central business district" is used by geographers and sometimes by others, but the term city centre is much more common in colloquial usage. City centre is also a term used in some urban areas of Canada. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand, the term is often just shortened to the single word "city" in general conversation among residents of a city, giving rise to the phrase "going to the city". One exception is in London where "the City" specifically refers to the City of London financial district rather than to any other part of central London. Some cities in the United States have a mixed use district known as uptown near the downtown area (in Minneapolis, for example, Uptown is a district nearly adjacent to downtown, centered around the Uptown Theater on the intersection of Lagoon St. and Hennepin Ave.) On the other hand, in some cities, like Charlotte, North Carolina, uptown is simply the historic name for the business center. In Waterloo, ON, the downtown area with prime shopping is called Uptown Waterloo to distinguish it from the downtown in Kitchener, Ontario.

Image:New York from Empire State Building.jpg

The CBD or downtown is the central district of a city, usually typified by a concentration of retail and commercial buildings. Although applicable to any city, both terms usually refer to larger cities.

The term city centre (or center city) is similar to CBD or downtown in that both serve the same purpose for the city, and both are seen by a higher-than-usual urban density as well as the often having the tallest buildings in a city. City centre differs from downtown in that downtown can be geographically located anywhere in a city, while city centre is located near the geographic heart of the city. Examples of a city centre can be found in Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, London, Sydney, and other cities. London effectively has three city centres rolled into one, namely the City of London, the medieval City of Westminster, and the newly built Canary Wharf.

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List of typical CBD characteristics

A CBD is likely to have many of the following characteristics:

It has a distinct land use pattern that can be delimited from the rest of the settlement.
It is the geographical centre of the settlement.
It contains the settlement's main public buildings.
It contains the major retail outlets (though this is becoming less often the case, especially in the United States).
Similar activities within it are concentrated in certain areas (functional zoning).
It features vertical zoning.
It has the greatest concentration and number of pedestrians and traffic in general.
It is a focal point for transport.
It contains the greatest proportion of the settlement's offices.
It has the tallest buildings in the region to maximize land use.
It has the highest land values of the region.
It attracts people from outside its sphere of influence to work and spend money inside.
It is advancing into new areas (assimilation) and/or losing old commercial functions (discard).

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List of some notable CBDs and downtowns

Image:Istanbul levent.jpg Africa and the Middle East

Asia

Bangkok;
- Bang Kapi: Bang Kapi, Hua Mak, Khlong Chan, Lat Phrao, Ramkhamhaeng Image:New Year Ratchaprasong.jpg Image:Bangkok Skytrain Saladaeng.jpg
- Chatuchak: Ari, Chatuchak Weekend Market, Mo Chit, Phahon Yothin, Ratchayothin, Saphan Khwai
- Pathum Wan (well known as Ratchaprasong shopping street area): Chit Lom, Phra Ram 1, Ratchadamri, Ratchaprasong, Siam (Shinjuku of Thailand)
- Phetchaburi: Khlong Tan, Makkasan, Metro, Pantip, Pratu Nam
- Phra Nakhon (well known as Rattanakosin island): Banglamphu, Dusit, Khaosan Road, Ratchadamnoen, Sanam Luang, Sao Chingcha, Suan Amporn, Suan Chittralada
- Ratchadaphisek or Ratchada: Chan Kasem, Din Daeng, Huai Khwang, Phra Ram 9, Royal City Avenue (RCA), Sutthisan
- Sathon: Chong Nonsi, Lumphini, Narathiwat Racha Nakarin, Phra Ram 3, Surasak
- Si Lom: Bang Rak, Patpong, Sala Daeng, Silom, Si Phraya, Surawong
- Sukhumvit: Asok, Ekkamai, Khlong Toei, Nana, On Nut, Phloen Chit, Phra Khanong, Phra Ram 4, Phrom Phong, Thong Lo
- Thon Buri: Bang Khae, Dao Khanong, Khlong San, Pinklao, Rat Burana, Siriraj, Tha Phra, Wat Arun, Wong Wian Yai
- Victory Monument: Phaya Thai, Ramathibodi, Sam Sen, Victory Monument
- Wang Burapha: Khlong Thom, Maha Nak, Phahurat (Little India of Bangkok), Wang Burapha
- Yaowarat (Chinatown of Bangkok): Bobae Market, Hua Lamphong, Ratchawong, Sampheng, Wat Mangkon (Wat Leng Nei Yi), Yaowarat

Wat Arun	Inside Hua Lamphong (main railway station in Bangkok)	Khaosan Road at night	Thonburi railway station at Siriraj
Victory Monument in Bangkok	Chinese gate at Yaowarat	Baiyoke Tower 2 at Pratu Nam	View of Sathon

Image:Singapore River, Dec 05.JPG

Beijing, Beijing Central Business District
Hong Kong, Central and Tsim Sha Tsui
Shanghai, Pudong District
Tokyo, Marunouchi and Otemachi ward.
Saddar, Karachi
Kuala Lumpur, Daerah Sentral Johor Bahru (Central District of Johor Bahru), Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur.Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Manila, Makati, Ortigas Center, Taguig
Singapore, The Central Area, Raffles Place, Orchard Road, Shenton Way and Marina Centre,Marina Bay, Singapore

Image:Brisbane from air.jpg Australia

Image:La Défense1.jpg Image:Moscow Downtown.JPG Europe

Amsterdam around the central rings of canals.
Antwerp, between the river Scheldt and main station.
Barcelona The Northern section of the Barri Gotic, Ramblas and surrounding Eixample area.
Belfast's city centre.
Berlin With two downtowns, one between Zoolog.Gtn Station to Kurfürstendamm (Traditionally West Berlin), and the other from Potsdamer Platz to Unter den Linden (Traditionally East Berlin)
Birmingham, Surrounding the Bullring complex and business center.
Brussels, in particular, the city of Brussels
Budapest, central core and surrounding areas.
Copenhagen, central core
Dublin, Ireland, Dublin City Centre - central area of Greater Dublin Area, including docklands and city core.
Düsseldorf, central core.
Edinburgh, areas between the Old and New Towns.
Frankfurt, The Bankenviertel (Banking District) or Innenstadt
Geneva, near the mouth of the Rhône River
Glasgow, in particular the city of Glasgow area.
Hamburg, between the Elbe River to Binnenalster
Helsinki, central core.
Istanbul, The Levent District.
Lisbon, central core.
London, The City of London, West End, Canary Wharf.
Lyon, Quartier de la Part-Dieu.
Madrid, AZCA / Nuevos Ministerios
Manchester, Manchester Central Business District
Milan within central ring.
Moscow, Areas within the Garden Ring; Kitai-gorod, Tverskoy District and Presnya (Moscow-City).
Munich, The central core of the city.
Naples central core and Centro Direzionale
Oslo, central core
Paris, Quartier de La Defense, Quartier de l'Opéra, Quartier du Val de Seine.
Porto, central core.
Prague, central core and surrounding areas.
Rome, within central area. and the E.U.R. Esposizione Universale Roma
Rotterdam, central city core.
St Petersburg, Central Business District.
Stockholm, central core near entrance of lake Mälaren
Valencia The area surrounding it's historical core.
Vienna, centrao core and UNO-City
Warsaw, Śródmieście
Zagreb, from the Savska-Vukovarska to Heinzlova-Vukovarska intersections
Zurich, between the rivers Sihl and Limmat