New York City

The most populous city in the United States and arguably the cultural capital of the world. Spanning five boroughs across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island, NYC is a dense collision of finance, fashion, art, food, and ambition unlike anywhere else. It is the city that gave the world hip-hop, abstract expressionism, the Harlem Renaissance, Wall Street, and Broadway. Its sheer density of influence -- cultural, economic, linguistic -- makes it a reference point for nearly every global conversation about what cities can be.

Added by @jakemorrison