A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms that exist in other languages, such as "centre-ville" in French, Stadtzentrum in German, or shìzhōngxīn (市中心) in Chinese. In the United States, the term "downtown" is generally used, though a few cities, like Philadelphia, use the term "Center City" or "City Center".
In the term is used both colloquially and officially as the name of the commercial district that lies at the geographical center of the Western city. This area is many times larger, denser and more active than any of the city's other commercial centres. The formation of a dedicated city centre resulted partially from geographical necessity; pedestrian travel between different neighborhoods is difficult due to the hilly terrain, so public transportation and wider roadways instead pull residents to one centralized location - atop the city's central ridge-line - where they can congregate effectively. At the edges of the district the urban make-up shifts almost abruptly into residential neighborhoods, creating palpable boundaries. Much-smaller commercial centres within each residential neighborhood may meet day-to-day shopping needs, but mostly attract only local residents. In this way, Jerusalem's residential neighborhoods function more like suburbs to the Jerusalem City Centre.
Jerusalem
By contrast, follows a much more decentralized urban design scheme, with services, shopping, entertainment and cultural institutions spread out more evenly throughout the entire city. This design philosophy applies also to Tel Aviv's many satellite cities (the "Gush Dan" metropolitan area), creating a much more uniform sprawl of commercial activity that only gradually decreases towards the suburbs. Decentralization provides a vast proportion of Tel Aviv's residents with access to a large variety of services, shopping, and leisure activities very close to home, typically within walking or biking distance. As a result, the term "Tel Aviv centre" is often more of a geographical reference to the city's central region, in contrast with "north Tel Aviv" and "south Tel Aviv" which have their own unique social atmospheres. This central region, encompassing roughly one third of the city's total municipal area, does feature a higher concentration of leisure and shopping businesses, but is simultaneously also strongly residential - housing one third of the city's residents. Nevertheless, most skyscrapers and non-service businesses in Gush Dan are situated at the edges of Tel Aviv centre or completely outside it - as result of a conscious decision of the municipal government to keep them out. This gives central Tel Aviv a very laid-back atmosphere relative to its central location within the heavily populated metropolis.
Tel Aviv
Israel's third largest city, has its Central Business District situated at its geographical north along the shoreline of Haifa Bay. This flat, seaside area is called the "Lower City" of Haifa, in contrast to the neighborhoods on the slopes and peak of Mount Carmel to its southeast. Though it contains a few residential neighborhoods, the Lower City houses only 5% of the city's entire population, and features almost all of its tallest structures, most of which are office spaces. Commercial and leisure centers in Haifa are mostly found outside the Lower City, and have attracted much more activity than the Lower City since the 1980s, leaving the Lower City partially dilapidated. New developments in the Lower City since the start of the 21st century aim to reverse this trend.
