Seen from a village, a big city isn't defined so much by the number of people who live there as by what you can do there. A big city without a university or major cultural or scientific institutions isn't really a "great city" in people's minds. It takes more than factories to shine, but it takes them too.
Even without ever having set foot in one, many megacities are familiar names: Bombay, Bangkok, Shanghai, Dubai, Tokyo, Melbourne, Mexico City, Bogota, Sao Paulo, New York, Montreal, Rome, London, Berlin, Nairobi, Cairo, Lagos, Kinshasa, Luanda, Abidjan.... Cities with more than 1 million inhabitants already concentrate more than 40% of the world's population, with numerous social and environmental consequences.
Big cities are intense, teeming and creative, but rarely quiet. You don't say hello to people you meet on the sidewalk, and sometimes the loneliness is even more intense than in a village. They're not particularly eco-friendly, and their environment is generally degraded... many leave them if only to breathe easier, in every sense of the word. They face many challenges, and the Learning Cities network has been set up with this in mind.
Among the common characteristics of large cities is the paradox of being "unique in the world"; what sets them apart is often their rich history, cultural or economic importance and strategic position. Paris, New York and Istanbul are almost controlled appellations: the Ville Lumière, the Big Apple, the Pearl of the Bosphorus. There are many others. Even if my city doesn't yet fall into the millionaire category, I like its motto: "Québec, l'accent d'Amérique", with an emphasis on the "é" in Québec, which underlines its assertive Francophone character.
What makes a city proud is its people, what they do and, above all, who they are. Education plays a big part in that.
Enjoy your reading
Denys Lamontagne - [email protected]
Illustration - Gamcheon Busan, South Korea
