My first idea of 'city' was formed by London UK. It was where I was born and lived till 11. Oddly, the image in my head was always of a Victorian era London with soot covered buildings, grey skies, smoke bellowing from chimneys, and Mary Poppins standing on a roof top.
When my family moved to America (the Canadian part), Manhattan slowly replaced London when I thought of city or metropolis. It's still Manhattan for me although Montreal and Toronto factor into that imagery as well. Below ia a very iconic Toronto street scene. This couldn't be confused with any other city. A 1920s skyscraper, a Mies skyscraper, and one of those unmistakably Toronto streetcars. The second photo is more of the same. It's odd how I've come to associate the TTC logo with big city. Flags hanging from a 1914 skyscraper completes the picture.
Metropolis
Untitled by
Peter C, on Flickr
Big City
Untitled by
Peter C, on Flickr