World Travel City Photography

In the Netherlands a city is called stad, in common with other Germanic languages. In the Dutch language there is no distinction between town and city (both are stad). Small settlements are distinguished similarly as in English, being called dorp (village) or gehucht (hamlet). In medieval times, a settlement had to achieve city-rights to be called a stad. In modern times, there's no Dutch law saying what can be called a city or not, although generally places with more than 50,000 inhabitants are called a city. Settlements between 20,000 and 50,000 are most often called kleine stad or stadje, which literally means "little city". Settlements under about 20,000 may be called dorp, "village". The four largest cities are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, which together form the heart of the Randstad metropolitan conurbation.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, a local authority may be proclaimed a city only if it meets certain criteria. Specifically, "a city ... must have a minimum population of 50,000, be predominantly urban in character, be a distinct entity and a major centre of activity within the region." Some early settlements, such as Nelson and Christchurch, were proclaimed cities by royal charter. Later, laws established criteria for a town to meet before it could officially be proclaimed a city, and these criteria have changed over time. As of 1 November 2010, 13 of New Zealand's 67 territorial authorities will be officially styled cities.
In informal usage, a city is simply a large, important urban centre, regardless of the composition of its local government (which may be a combination of one or more cities or districts). For example, Gisborne, which purports to be the first city to see the sun, has a population of only 44,500 (2006), many of whom live outside the Gisborne urban area; it is, therefore, administered by a district council, not a city council. Some city councils, such as Christchurch and Dunedin, also administer large areas of rural hinterland; the communities in these areas, such as the towns of Akaroa and Middlemarch, are not often thought of as part of their cities, except for certain legal and administrative purposes. Meanwhile, the cities of Wellington and Auckland are generally regarded as single cities, despite Wellington and, until recently, Auckland's being divided into several local government areas.