[1] Its topics include architecture, urban planning, historical preservation, and the arts.
[2] The magazine was established to provide coverage of architectural criticism that had hitherto been absent in publications.
Barrie Scardino, William F. Stern, and Bruce C. Webb, the editors of the book Ephemeral City, a collection of essays from Cite, stated that the magazine had a "tough love" attitude towards the City of Houston.
"[5] According to De Jong, the fact that the publication caters to ordinary people as well as specialists, its comprehensive coverage of topics, and its "excellent, provocative writing and criticism" contributed to its "longevity".
[6] Ephemeral City re-published twenty-five Cite essays originally published from 1982 to 2000.