inner city

[ in-er sit-ee ]

noun

1. an older part of a city, densely populated and usually deteriorating, inhabited mainly by poor, often minority, groups: Compare central city.

   Struggling schools in the inner city face substantial challenges to prepare students for college.

adjective

1. of or relating to such a section within a city: low-income residents in inner-city neighborhoods.

   after-school programs for inner-city youth;

   low-income residents in inner-city neighborhoods.

inner city

noun

1. 1. the parts of a city in or near its centre, esp when they are associated with poverty, unemployment, substandard housing, etc
   2. ( as modifier )

      inner-city schools

inner city

1. A general term for impoverished areas of large cities. The inner city is characterized by minimal educational opportunities, high unemployment and crime rates, broken families, and inadequate housing. ( See ghettos .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of inner city¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

This is my offering to those of us who have experienced trauma in inner cities.

From Essence.com

There's an epidemic of violence in the inner city, and they’re worried it could spread.

From Washington Post

At the same time, a report from the World Economic Forum predicts that the number of commercial delivery vehicles will increase by 36% in inner cities by the year 2030.

From TechCrunch

It’s been long understood that people living in inner cities face conditions that have clear correlations to overall health.

From MIT Technology Review

Minority communities are often located in inner cities, far from national parks and other public lands, and the price of gym passes, equipment, transportation to gyms, and mentorship programs are all typically steep.

From Outside Online

This can be seen not just in distant exurbs or suburbs, but in prime inner-city neighborhoods.

From The Daily Beast

Today, to oversimplify somewhat, the white working class resembles the inner city blacks of 1965.

From The Daily Beast

During that same 50-year period, conditions for a segment of the black community—the inner city—have gotten worse.

From The Daily Beast

She could have used her Cornell degree to seek wealth, but she chose to teach at an inner city school.

From The Daily Beast

Ryan has said he misspoke, but I doubt it—he probably does think first about black inner-city men when he thinks about poverty.

From The Daily Beast

At last we reach the walls of the inner city—for till now we have been merely in the outer town.

From Project Gutenberg

The picturesque old buildings of Amsterdam, especially those in the inner city, will delight the visitor.

From Project Gutenberg

Through this they passed without parley, and the journey across the inner city was begun.

From Project Gutenberg

On the east there was also a protecting moat, while the inner city was surrounded by thick walls and guarded by towers.

From Project Gutenberg

The inner city has many peony beds of that sort, both the tree and tuber kind, but they have only leaves to show now.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• central city
• downtown
• slum