<P> A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city . In larger cities, it is often synonymous with the city's "financial district". Geographically, it often coincides with the "city centre" or "downtown", but the two concepts are separate: many cities have a central business district located away from its commercial or cultural city centre or downtown . </P> <P> The CBD is often also the "city centre" or "downtown", but this is also often not the case . Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in New York City and in the world; yet Lower Manhattan, commonly called Downtown Manhattan, represents the second largest distinct CBD in New York City and is geographically situated south of Midtown . For example, London's "city centre" is usually regarded as encompassing the historic City of London and the medieval City of Westminster, whereas the City of London and the transformed Docklands area are regarded as its two CBDs . Mexico City also has a historic city centre, the colonial - era Centro Histórico, along with two CBDs: the mid-late 20th century Paseo de la Reforma - Polanco, and the new Santa Fe . In Taipei, Taiwan, the area around its main railway station is regarded as the historic city centre while the Xinyi Planned Area located to the east of the said railway station is the current CBD of Taipei, being both the financial district and the premier shopping area, and the location of Taipei 101, Taipei's tallest building . </P> <P> The shape and type of a CBD almost always closely reflect the city's history . Cities with maximum building height restrictions often have a separate historic section quite apart from the financial and administrative district . In cities that grew up relatively quickly and more recently, such as those in the western half of North America, a single central area or downtown will often contain all the tallest buildings and act both as the CBD and the commercial and cultural city centre . It has been said that downtowns (as understood in North America) are therefore conceptually distinct from both CBDs and city centres . No two CBDs look alike in terms of their spatial shape, however certain geometric patterns in these areas are recurring throughout many cities due to the nature of centralized commercial and industrial activities . </P> <P> In Germany, the terms Innenstadt and Stadtzentrum may be used to describe the central business district . Both terms can be literally translated to mean "inner city" and "city centre". Some of the larger cities have more than one central business district, like Berlin, which has three . </P>

How was new york reshaped in its central business districts in the 1950s and 60s