<P> In 1989, the structure of the local government in New Zealand was significantly reorganised . The new district councils and city councils were nearly always much larger geographically, and they covered both urban land and the surrounding rural land . Many locations that once had had a "city council" are now governed by a "district council". </P> <P> The word "city" is used in a general sense to describe the urban areas of New Zealand, independent of local body boundaries . This informal usage is jealously guarded . The district government of the town of Gisborne, for example, adamantly described itself as the first "city" in the world to see the new millennium . However, Gisborne is governed by a "district council", though its status as a city is not generally disputed in New Zealand . Similarly, there is no "city council" in Auckland, though its status as a city is not generally disputed due to its size . </P> <P> Today an urban area has to be at least 50,000 residents before it can be proclaimed as a city . </P> <P> The populations given in the table below are provisional New Zealand resident populations, June 2017, and they refer to the entire urban area, unless otherwise stated . </P>

When does a town become a city nz
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