Municipal charter in the context of "Royal charter"

A city (Filipino: lungsod or siyudad) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities (nakakartang lungsod), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own specific municipal charters, in addition to the Local Government Code of 1991, which defines their administrative structure and powers. As of July 8, 2023, there are 149 cities in the country.

A city is entitled to at least one representative in the House of Representatives if its population reaches 250,000. Cities are also allowed to use a common seal. As corporate entities, they have the power to acquire, hold, lease, convey, and dispose of real and personal property for their general interests; condemn private property for public use (eminent domain); enter into contracts; sue and be sued; and exercise all other powers conferred on them by Congress. Only an act of Congress can create or amend a city charter, and through this charter, Congress may grant a city certain powers not available to regular municipalities—or even to other cities.

The bourgeoisie are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted with the proletariat by their wealth, political power, and education, as well as their access to and control of cultural, social, and financial capital.

The bourgeoisie in its original sense is intimately linked to the political ideology of liberalism and its existence within cities, recognised as such by their urban charters (e.g., municipal charters, town privileges, German town law), so there was no bourgeoisie apart from the citizenry of the cities. Rural peasants came under a different legal system.

The burgher class was a social class consisting of municipal residents (Latin: cives), that is, free persons subject to municipal law, formed in the Middle Ages. These free persons were subject to city law, medieval town privileges, a municipal charter, or German town law. After the fall of the estate monarchy, this social class, more often referred to as the bourgeoisie (from French: bourgeoisie – city residents) and less often as the burgher class, generally refers to town or city inhabitants. Due to the ideological and pejorative connotations of the terms 'burgher class' and 'bourgeoisie,' modern sociology prefers to use the term 'middle class.'

Gradually, within the burgher class, a wealthy stratum emerged, engaged in banking and overseas trade, organized in guilds and trading companies. The rise of this stratum is associated with the beginning of capitalism.

The New York City Charter is the municipal charter of New York City. It establishes the basic framework of New York City government, including the elective offices of the mayor, comptroller, public advocate, and members of the City Council. It also enumerates the powers and duties of those officers and many appointed officials, such as the commissioners of city agencies. In contrast, more detailed local laws and regulations governing New York City are typically found in the New York City Administrative Code and the Rules of the City of New York. As of November 2025, the New York City Charter includes a non-numbered introductory chapter, plus chapters identified by a number (1 through 79) or a number plus a letter suffix.

The modern charter's origins correspond with the establishment of Greater New York. As part of the 1898 consolidation of New York City, the New York State Legislature enacted a charter for the consolidated city (Laws of 1897, chapter 378, effective January 1, 1898). The Charter was amended periodically and throughout the twentieth century and overhauled in 1989, after the New York City Board of Estimate had been declared unconstitutional, to redistribute power from the Board of Estimate to the mayor and City Council.