Huh, there shouldn't be a globaldefines file, only a globaldefinesalt. I guess another thing I'll have to fix.
As for the quoted sections, they are important. There are some functions that use the city's radius (like the function that lets the National Preserve national wonder give the bonus for forest preserves, and the function that determines the health bonus from forests) that need to make sure they're using the proper radius. I'll admit, I did not comment these properly. You should also notice these changes in CvCityAI and CvUnitAI.
As for the quoted sections, they are important. There are some functions that use the city's radius (like the function that lets the National Preserve national wonder give the bonus for forest preserves, and the function that determines the health bonus from forests) that need to make sure they're using the proper radius. I'll admit, I did not comment these properly. You should also notice these changes in CvCityAI and CvUnitAI.