History Main / TheCity

The extremes of wealth and poverty are wider here than in EverytownAmerica. With the city's impoverished area on TheWrongSideOfTheTracks, there's more criminals and you're more likely to be the victim of a crime. As a result, this is where most CrimeAndPunishmentSeries and PoliceProcedural shows are set. When a {{Sitcom}} is set here, it tends to feature a younger, hipper crowd than the usual DomCom. People are also more cynical in The City, and the DeadpanSnarker abounds. There is also public transportation, which is a good place to get PostRobberyTrauma. Combine with a bit of {{dystopia}}n political corruption and a RoguesGallery of unrepentant lawbreakers, and it's the perfect place for the {{Superhero}} to set up shop.

The City: full of people, tall buildings, and limited parking ([[RockStarParking except for our heroes]]).

You're more likely to be the victim of a crime, so this is where most CrimeAndPunishmentSeries are set. When a {{Sitcom}} is set here, it tends to feature a younger, hipper crowd than the usual DomCom. People are also more cynical in The City, and the DeadpanSnarker abounds. There is also public transportation, which is a good place to get PostRobberyTrauma. Combine with a bit of {{dystopia}}n political corruption and a RoguesGallery of unrepentant lawbreakers, and it's the perfect place for the {{Superhero}} to set up shop.

In the land of television, The City is also full of really big apartments which even a twentysomething who's just starting out professionally [[FriendsRentControl can totally afford]].

A few cities have their own special quirks (especially ''{{Series/CSI}}'''s Las Vegas). For the most part, The City will feature sprawling central business districts, vibrant ethnic neighborhoods, industrial zones and decaying ghettos.

* BigTownBoredom: Someone grows sick and tired of urban/metropolitan life, and wants to move out to some place that's less densely populated or more rural.

* CityMouse: Someone from the city tries to adjust to life in the country.

* CitySlicker: Similar to the City Mouse, but specific to TheWildWest.

* CountryMouse: Someone from the country tries to adjust to life in the city.

* SmallTownBoredom: People who find the rural village or suburban town they came from to be too bland and boring, tend to see larger cities as more exciting and desirable places to live in.

* CityMouse: A character from a city tries to adjust to life in the country.

** HollywoodCalifornia: America's media and entertainment capital, known especially for the major film and television companies based around it.
*** TheShowGoesHollywood: The characters go on a trip to Hollywood or LA in general.

* CityGuards

The peculiar interplay of aspects of {{Suburbia}} and The City in the real-world city of Baltimore, Maryland (rural sensibilities + high population density = wacky crime) has made it a popular choice in recent years for CrimeAndPunishmentSeries (''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'', ''Series/TheWire''). While not primarily a cop show, police work typically figures into the B-plots of ''Series/JoanOfArcadia'', which is set in a fictionalized version of the real-life Baltimore suburb of Arcadia. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the [[Creator/DavidSimon Joss Whedon of detective/crime shows]] is a Baltimore native who wrote a number of non-fiction works that many of those shows are directly based on.

* TheTokyoFireball: A city is destroyed but then rebuilds itself. Rinse and repeat.

** UnderCity: A ([[GhostTown formerly]] [[GhostCity populated]]) city which was somehow buried underneath the earth.

** SunkenCity: A ([[GhostTown formerly]] [[GhostCity populated]]) city was which was somehow swallowed up by the ocean.
*** UnderwaterRuins

%%Only add links to specific cities on this list if they have two or more relevant tropes related to them. Otherwise, see the link to MajorWorldCities below.

* MajorWorldCities: A list of notable cities from the real world, including many which aren't listed on this page.

* '''MajorWorldCities''': A list of notable cities from the real world, including many which aren't listed on this page.

* ManOfTheCity

* CityOfSpies

* HiddenElfVillage

* CityInABottle

* CityNoir

* CityOfCanals

* CityOnTheWater

* DomedHometown

* HiveCity

* HubCity

* NewNeoCity

* {{Scienceville}}
* ShiningCity

* SuperheroCapitalOfTheWorld

** NewYorkIsOnlyManhattan: Manhattan is the biggest of NYC's five boroughs, so it gets the most attention in fiction.

* VideoGame/CityBuildingSeries

* SpaceBrasilia

* AthensAndSparta: When two cities, so different in constitution and character are in war with each other (spoilers: the militaristic polis will win, but the artistic polis will rise in the end).

* EiffelTowerEffect

* '''MajorWorldCities'''
* GayParee: The {{UsefulNotes/Fr|ance}}ench capital of {{UsefulNotes/Paris}} often gets very romanticized portrayals in media.

** DownLADrain

*** TheShowGoesHollywood

A few cities have their own special quirks (especially ''Series/{{CSI}}'''s Las Vegas). For the most part, The City will feature sprawling central business districts, vibrant ethnic neighborhoods, industrial zones and decaying ghettos.

* UsefulNotes/CouncilEstate

* UsefulNotes/{{Athens}}: The capital and largest city of UsefulNotes/{{Greece}}, famous for its historical significance in Ancient Greek culture.
** AthensAndSparta: When two cities, so different in constitution and character are in war with each other (spoilers: the militaristic polis will win, but the artistic polis will rise in the end).
* UsefulNotes/{{Beijing}}: The capital of UsefulNotes/{{China}}.
* UsefulNotes/{{Berlin}}: The capital and largest city of UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}.
** UsefulNotes/BerlinWall: A former border wall which was built to isolate West Berlin from East Berlin (and the rest of East Germany) during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.
** UsefulNotes/BerlinUAndSBahn
* UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}: The third most populous city in the United States, and the largest in the state of Illinois.
** UsefulNotes/ChicagoL: Chicago's elevated city rail system.
* UsefulNotes/{{Dubai}}: The largest city in the UsefulNotes/UnitedArabEmirates, known for being quite wealthy as a direct result of the local oil business.
* UsefulNotes/HongKong: A major semi-autonomous city in China, formerly a British colony until 1997.
* UsefulNotes/LasVegas: The largest city in the US state of Nevada, well-known for its casinos and other tourist sites.
** VivaLasVegas
* UsefulNotes/{{London}}: The capital and largest city of the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom.
** BritainIsOnlyLondon: Works set in Britain will have the characters only in London (as opposed to the rest of country).
** UsefulNotes/TheLondonUnderground: Rapid transit system frequently used as transport in London.

* UsefulNotes/LosAngeles: The second most populous city in the United States, and the largest in the state of UsefulNotes/{{California}}.

* UsefulNotes/{{Macau}}: A major semi-autonomous city in China, formerly a Portuguese colony until 1998.
* UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}: The second-largest (and most famous) city in the US state of UsefulNotes/{{Florida}}, known as a bustling beach city.
** OnlyInMiami: Works set in Florida are overwhelmingly centered in and around Miami.
* UsefulNotes/{{Moscow}}: The capital and largest city of UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}.

** TheBigRottenApple: NYC is depicted as being a WretchedHive full of crime, poverty, and corruption. A very common portrayal in works from the 1970s to 1990s.

** UsefulNotes/NewYorkCityCops

** UsefulNotes/NewYorkCitySubway
* UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}: The capital and largest city of UsefulNotes/{{France}}.
** GayParee
* UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco: A major city in the US state of California, and one of its most recognizable after Los Angeles.
* UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}: The largest city in the US state of UsefulNotes/{{Washington}}, and perhaps the most well-known West Coast metropolis not in California.
* UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}: The capital of UsefulNotes/SouthKorea.
* UsefulNotes/{{Shanghai}}: The largest city in UsefulNotes/{{China}}, which has long been a major port and business hub in Asia.
* UsefulNotes/{{Singapore}}: An independent city-state located on an island at the edge of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia.
* SpaceBrasilia
* UsefulNotes/{{Sydney}}: The largest city in UsefulNotes/{{Australia}} (and the South Pacific region overall).
* UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}: The capital and largest city of UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, at the heart of one of the most populous metro areas in the world.

* UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}: The largest city in UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}.
* UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC: The capital of the United States.
** TheWhiteHouse

* TheCityVsTheCountry

* LayeredMetropolis: A big city with many overlapping buildings, roads, streets, and structures.

* UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}: The second-largest city in the US state of UsefulNotes/{{Florida}}.

* UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}: The largest city in the US state of UsefulNotes/{{Florida}}.
** OnlyInMiami: Works set in Florida are overwhelmingly centered in and around the state's biggest city, Miami.

** NewYorkIsOnlyManhattan

* OutlawTown: A city inhabited (and ruled by) all sorts of thieving criminals.

** CaughtInTheBadPartOfTown: A character finds themselves stuck in a part of the city with a high crime rate (and they're not from that area).

* CityOfGold

* WelcomeToTheBigCity

** VanishingVillage

* InnerCitySchool: Schools in poor urban neighborhoods, often offering very low-quality education.

* SunkenCity

* UnderCity

** UrbanHellscape

* CapitalOffensive: An invading army launches an attack on a capital city.
* CaughtInTheBadPartOfTown: A character finds themselves stuck in a part of the city with a high crime rate (and they're not from that area).

* CityOfAdventure

* FantasticGhetto: FantasticRacism meets UrbanSegregation.
* FriendlyLocalChinatown
* GangsterLand

* GhostCity: A former big city that is now abandoned.
* GhostTown: A former small town that is now abandoned.

* LandOfOneCity: City-states are sovereign countries with very little territory, consisting of just one major settlement.

* UrbanHellscape
* UrbanRuins: A former city reduced to rubble, with every building showing signs of severe decay.

* VanishingVillage
* ViceCity: An entire city full of crime and corruption from top to bottom.
* WallsOfTyranny

* WretchedHive: A CrapsackWorld in the form of a town or city.
* WrongSideOfTheTracks: The impoverished part of a city.

** FultonStreetFolly

* UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco: A major city in the US state of California, and of its most recognizable after Los Angeles.

* UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}: The largest city in UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}.