शहर हा शब्द मुळचा अरबी भाषेतला आहे. शहरे म्हणजे नागरी वसाहत होय. तसेच शहरामध्ये मानवाच्या सर्व गरजा पूर्ण करण्यासाठी आवश्यक असलेल्या सोयीसुविधा उपलब्ध असतात. शहरात नोकरीच्या संधीही उपलब्ध असतात. शहरात ज्याप्रमाणे सर्व सोयीसुविधा यांचे फायदे आहेत त्याचप्रमाणे त्यांचे तोटेही आहेत, जसे की, शहरात वेगवेगळ्या प्रकाराचे प्रदूषण होत असते.

A city is a human settlement of a notable size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agreed definition of the lower boundary for their size. In a more narrow sense, a city can be defined as a permanent and densely settled place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work primarily on non-agricultural tasks. Cities generally have extensive systems for housing, transportation, sanitation, utilities, land use, production of goods, and communication. Their density facilitates interaction between people, government organizations, and businesses, sometimes benefiting different parties in the process, such as improving the efficiency of goods and service distribution.