Town
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A town is a type of a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities,[1] though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Etymology
The word "town" shares an origin with the German word Zaun, the Dutch word tuin, and the Old Norse tún.[2] The original Proto-Germanic word, *tūnan, is thought to be an early borrowing from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (cf. Old Irish dún, Welsh din).[3]
The original sense of the word in both Germanic and Celtic was that of a fortress or an enclosure. Cognates of town in many modern Germanic languages designate a fence or a hedge.
Old English tūn became a common place-name suffix in England and southeastern Scotland during the Anglo-Saxon settlement period. In
In
Meaning
In some cases, town is an alternative name for "city" or "village" (especially a small city or large village; and occasionally even
A place's population size is not a reliable determinant of urban character. In many areas of the world, e.g. in India at least until recent times, a large village might contain several times as many people as a small town. In the United Kingdom, there are historical cities
The modern phenomenon of extensive suburban growth, satellite urban development, and migration of city dwellers to villages has further complicated the definition of towns, creating communities urban in their economic and cultural characteristics but lacking other characteristics of urban localities.
Some forms of non-rural settlement, such as temporary mining locations, may be clearly non-rural, but have at best a questionable claim to be called a town.
Towns often exist as distinct governmental units, with legally defined borders and some or all of the appurtenances of local government (e.g. a
The distinction between a town and a city similarly depends on the approach: a city may strictly be an administrative entity which has been granted that designation by law, but in informal usage, the term is also used to denote an urban locality of a particular size or importance: whereas a medieval city may have possessed as few as 10,000 inhabitants, today some[who?] consider an urban place of fewer than 100,000 as a town, even though there are many officially designated cities that are much smaller than that.
193 countries have been involved in a common effort to agree on a common statistical definition of the three categories: cities, towns and rural areas.[6][failed verification][7][failed verification]
Age of towns scheme
Australian geographer Thomas Griffith Taylor proposed a classification of towns based on their age and pattern of land use. He identified five types of towns:[8]
- Infantile towns, with no clear zoning
- Juvenile towns, which have developed an area of shops
- Adolescent towns, where factories have started to appear
- Early mature towns, with a separate area of high-class housing
- Mature towns, with defined industrial, commercial and various types of residential area
History
Through different periods of recorded history, many towns have grown into sizeable settlements, with the development of properties, centres of culture, and specialized economies.
Neolithic
Çatalhöyük, currently an archaeological site, was considered to be the oldest inhabited town, or proto-city, that existed from around 7500 BC. Inscribed as a World Heritage Site, it remains a depopulated town with a complex of ruins.
Roman era
This section possibly contains original research. (December 2021) |
In Roman times, a villa was a rural settlement formed by a main residential building and another series of secondary buildings. It constituted the center from which an agricultural holding was administered. Subsequently, it lost its agricultural functions and reduced its activity to residential.[citation needed] With the consolidation of large estates during the Roman Empire, the town became the center of large farms.[citation needed]
A distinction was created between rustic and urban settlements:
- Rustic villas, from where the exploitation of resources was directed, slave workers resided, livestock were kept and production was stored.
- Urban villas, in which the lord resided and which increasingly adopted the architectural and beautification forms typical of urban mansions. When from the first century the great territorial property was divided between the area directly exploited by the lord and that ceded to tenant settlers, urban villas became the centers of the administrative power of the lords,[citation needed] appearing the forms of vassalage typical of feudalism of the fourth century.[citation needed]
By country
Afghanistan
In
Albania and Kosovo
In Albania and Kosovo qytezë means 'town', which is very similar to the word for city (qytet), although there is no official use of the term for any settlement. In Albanian qytezë means 'small city' or 'new city', while in ancient times it referred to a small residential center within the walls of a castle.
Australia
In Australia, most rural and regional centres of population can be called towns; many small towns have populations of less than 200.[10] The smallest may be described as townships.
In addition, some local government entities are officially styled as towns in
Austria
The Austrian legal system does not distinguish between villages, towns, and cities. The country is partitioned into 2098 municipalities (German: Gemeinden) of fundamentally equal rank. Larger municipalities are designated as market towns (German: Marktgemeinden) or cities (Städte), but these distinctions are purely symbolic and do not confer additional legal responsibilities. There is a number of smaller communities that are labelled cities because they used to be regional population centers in the distant past. The city of Rattenberg for example has about 400 inhabitants. The city of Hardegg has about 1200 inhabitants.
There are no unincorporated areas.
Of the 201 cities in Austria, 15 are
Brazil
In Brazil, since 1938, it was defined that the seat of the municipalities would pass to the category of city and give it the name and the districts would be designated by the name of their respective seats, and if they were not municipal seats, they would have the category of village.
Bulgaria
Bulgarians do not, in general, differentiate between 'city' and 'town'. However, in everyday language and media the terms "large towns" and "small towns" are in use. "Large towns" usually refers to Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas, which have population over 200,000. Ruse and Stara Zagora are often included as well due to presence of relatively developed infrastructure and population over 100,000 threshold. It is difficult to call the remaining provincial capitals "large towns" as, in general, they are less developed and have shrinking population, some with as few as 30,000 inhabitants.
In
Canada
The legal definition of a town in Canada varies by province or territory, as each has jurisdiction over defining and legislating towns, cities and other types of municipal organization within its own boundaries.
The province of Quebec is unique in that it makes no distinction under law between towns and cities. There is no intermediate level in French between village and ville (municipality is an administrative term usually applied to a legal, not geographical entity), so both are combined under the single legal status of ville. While an informal preference may exist among English speakers as to whether any individual ville is commonly referred to as a city or as a town, no distinction and no objective legal criteria exist to make such a distinction under law.
Ontario allows municipalities to select whichever administrative term they like with no legal distinction existing between towns, townships, cities, and villages.[11] Instead all municipalities, with the exception of Toronto and Ottawa, fall into one of three legal categories under the Municipalities Act: Single-tier (I.e. towns that are located within a region or county but that are considered separate for municipal purposes such as Hamilton), lower-tier (i.e. municipalities a that are part of a region or county such as St. Catharines), or upper-tier (i.e. regional municipalities such as Niagara).[12] Accordingly, many larger municipalities continue to use the title of town due to it better reflecting the character of the municipality. For example, Oakville (2021 Population: 213,759) is the largest municipality to use the title of town to reflect its largely suburban character while other municipalities such as Richmond Hill (2021 Population: 202,022) have opted to change their status from "town" to "city" to encourage investment.[13]
Chile
In Chile, towns (Spanish: pueblos) are defined by the National Statistics Institute (INE) as an urban entity with a population from 2001 to 5000 or an area with a population from 1001 to 2000 and an established economic activity.
Czechia
In Czechia, a municipality can obtain the title of a city (Czech: statutární město), town (Czech: město) or market town (Czech: městys). The title is granted by law.
Statutory cities (in English usually called just "cities"), which are defined by law no. 128/2000 Coll.,[14] can define their own self-governing municipal districts. There are 26 such cities, in addition to Prague, which is a de facto statutory city. All the Czech municipalities with more than 40,000 inhabitants are cities.
Town and market town are above all ceremonious honorary degrees, referring to population, history and regional significance of a municipality. As the statistics of Czech municipalities shows, towns usually have between 1,000 and 35,000 inhabitants, with median around 4,000 and average around 6,500. Nowadays a municipality must have at least 3,000 inhabitants to have the right to request the town title. Market towns usually have between 500 and 4,000 inhabitants, with median and average both around 1,000.
Denmark
In Denmark, in many contexts no distinction is made between "city", "town" and "village"; all three translate as by. In more specific use, for small villages and hamlets the word landsby (meaning 'country town') is used, while the Danish equivalent of English city is storby (meaning 'large town'). For formal purposes, urban areas having at least 200 inhabitants are considered by.[15]
Historically some towns held various privileges, the most important of which was the right to hold market. They were administered separately from the rural areas in both fiscal, military and legal matters. Such towns are known as købstad (roughly the same meaning as borough albeit deriving from a different etymology) and they retain the exclusive right to the title even after the last vestiges of their privileges vanished through the reform of the local administration carried through in 1970.
Estonia
In Estonia, there is no distinction between a town and a city as the word linn is used for both bigger and smaller settlements, which are bigger than villages and boroughs. There are 30 municipal towns (omavalitsuslik linn) in Estonia and a further 17 towns, which have merged with a municipal parish (vallasisene linn).
Finland
In Finland, there is no distinction between a town and a city as the word kaupunki is used for both bigger and smaller settlements, which are bigger than villages and boroughs; although when talking about the word town, the word pikkukaupunki is used (pikku means 'little' or 'small'). There are over one hundred municipal towns in Finland.
France
From an administrative standpoint, the smallest level of local authorities are all called communes. They can have anywhere from a handful to millions of inhabitants, and France has 36,000 of them. The French term for town is bourg[16] but French laws generally do not distinguish between towns and cities which are all commonly called villes. However, some laws do treat these authorities differently based on the population and different rules apply to the three big cities Paris, Lyon and Marseille. For historical reasons, six communes in the Meuse département exist as independent administrative entities despite having no inhabitants at all.
For statistical purposes, the national statistical institute (
Germany
Germans do not, in general, differentiate between 'city' and 'town'. The German word for both is Stadt, as it is the case in many other languages that do not differentiate between these concepts. The word for a 'village', as a smaller settlement, is Dorf. However, the International Statistics Conference of 1887 defined different sizes of Stadt, based on their population size, as follows: Landstadt ('country town'; under 5,000), Kleinstadt ('small town'; 5,000 to 20,000), Mittelstadt ('middle town'; between 20,000 and 100,000) and Großstadt ("large town"; 100,000 to 1,000,000).[17] The term Großstadt may be translated as 'city'. In addition, Germans may speak of a Millionenstadt, a city with anywhere between one and five million inhabitants (such as Cologne, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin). Also, a city with more than five million inhabitants is often referred to as a Megastadt (commonly translated as megacity).[18]
Historically, many settlements became a Stadt by being awarded a Stadtrecht in medieval times. In modern German language use, the historical importance, the existence of central functions (education, retail etc.) and the population density of an urban place might also be taken as characteristics of a Stadt. The modern local government organisation is subject to the laws of each state and refers to a Gemeinde (municipality), regardless of its historic title. While most Gemeinden form part of a Landkreis (district) on a higher tier of local government, larger towns and cities may have the status of a kreisfreie Stadt, combining both the powers of a municipality and a district.
Designations in different states are as diverse as e.g. in Australian States and Territories, and differ from state to state. In some German states, the words Markt ('market'), Marktflecken (both used in southern Germany) or Flecken ('spot'; northern Germany e.g. in Lower Saxony) designate a town-like residential community between Gemeinde and Stadt with special importance to its outer conurbation area. Historically those had Marktrecht (market right) but not full town privileges; see Market town. The legal denomination of a specific settlement may differ from its common designation (e.g. Samtgemeinde – a legal term in Lower Saxony for a group of villages [Dorf, pl. Dörfer] with common local government created by combining municipalities [Gemeinde, pl. Gemeinden]).
Greece and Cyprus
In ordinary speech, Greeks use the word χωριό ('village') to refer to smaller settlements and the word πόλη or πολιτεία ('city') to refer to larger ones. Careful speakers may also use the word κωμόπολη to refer to towns with a population of 2,000–9,999. In Greek administrative law there used to be a distinction between δήμοι, i.e. municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants or considered important for some other geographical (county seats), historical or ecclesiastical (bishops' seats) reason, and κοινότητες, referring to smaller self-governing units, mostly villages. A sweeping reform, carried out in two stages early in the 21st century, merged most κοινότητες with the nearest δήμοι, dividing the whole country into 325 self-governing δήμοι. The former municipalities survive as administrative subdivisions (δημοτικά διαμερίσματα, δημοτικές ενότητες).
Cyprus, including the Turkish-occupied areas, is also divided into 39 δήμοι (in principle, with at least 5,000 inhabitants, though there are exceptions) and 576 κοινότητες.
Hong Kong
Hungary
In Hungary there is no official distinction between a city and a town (the word for both in Hungarian is város). Nevertheless, the expressions formed by adding the adjectives kis ('small') and nagy ('large') to the beginning of the root word (e.g. nagyváros) have been normalized to differentiate between cities and towns (towns being smaller, therefore bearing the name kisváros.) In Hungary, a village can gain the status of város ('town'), if it meets a set of diverse conditions for quality of life and development of certain public services and utilities (e.g. having a local secondary school or installing full-area sewage collection pipe network). Every year the Minister of Internal Affairs selects candidates from a committee-screened list of applicants, whom the President of Republic usually affirms by issuing a bill of town's rank to them. Since being a town carries extra fiscal support from the government, many relatively small villages try to win the status of városi rang ('town rank') nowadays.
Before the fall of communism in 1990, Hungarian villages with fewer than 10,000 residents were not allowed to become towns. Recently some settlements as small as 2,500 souls have received the rank of town (e.g. Visegrád, Zalakaros or Gönc) and meeting the conditions of development is often disregarded to quickly elevate larger villages into towns. As of middle 2013, there are 346 towns in Hungary, encompassing some 69% of the entire population.
Towns of more than 50,000 people are able to gain the status of megyei jogú város (town with the rights of a county), which allows them to maintain a higher degree of services. (There are a few exceptions, when towns of fewer than 50,000 people gained the status: Érd, Hódmezővásárhely, Salgótarján and Szekszárd)[19] As of middle 2013, there are only 23 such towns in Hungary.[20]
Iceland
India
The
- Minimum population of 5,000
- At least 75% of male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits
- Density of population at least 400/km2. (1,000 per sq. mile).
All the statutory towns, census towns and out growths are considered as urban settlements, as opposed to rural areas.[21]
Towns in India usually have basic infrastructure like shops, electricity, bituminised roads,
In state of
Iran
In contemporary Persian texts, no distinction is made between city and town; both translate as Shahr (شهر). In older Persian texts (until the first half of the 20th century), the Arabic word Qasabeh (قصبه) was used for a town. However, in the past 50 years,[as of?] this word has become obsolete.
There is a word in Persian which is used for special sort of satellite townships and city neighborhoods. It is Shahrak (شهرک), (lit.: 'small city'). Another smaller type of town or
The pace in which different large villages have gained city status in Iran shows a dramatic increase in the last two decades.
Bigger cities and towns usually are centers of a township (in Persian: Shahrestan (شهرستان). Shahrestan itself is a subdivision of Ostan (استان), 'province'.
Iraq
The word Jarayeh (جرَية) is used to describe villages, the word Garmat (كَرمة) to describe towns, and the word Wilaya (ولاية) to describe cities.
Ireland
The Local Government act 2001 provides that from 1 January 2002 (section 10 subsection (3)):
Within the county in which they are situated and of which they form part, there continue to be such other local government areas as are set out in Schedule 6 which –
- (a) in the case of the areas set out in Chapter 1 of Part 1 of that Schedule, shall be known as boroughs, and
- (b) in the case of the areas set out in Chapter 2 of Part 1 and Part 2 of that Schedule,
shall be known as towns, and in this Act a reference to a town shall include a reference to a borough.
These provisions affect the replacement of the boroughs, towns and urban districts which existed before then. Similar reforms in the nomenclature of local authorities (but not their functions) are affected by section 11 part 17 of the act includes provision (section 185(2))
Qualified electors of a town having a population of at least 7,500 as ascertained at the last preceding census or such other figure as the Minister may from time to time prescribe by regulations, and not having a town council, may make a proposal in accordance with paragraph (b) for the establishment of such a council
and contains provisions enabling the establishment of new town councils and provisions enabling the dissolution of existing or new town councils in certain circumstances
The reference to "town having a population of at least 7,500 as ascertained at the last preceding census" hands much of the power relating to defining what is in fact a town over to the Central Statistics Office and their criteria are published as part of each census.
Planning and Development Act 2000
Another reference to the Census and its role in determining what is or is not a town for some administrative purpose is in the Planning and Development act 2000 (part II chapter I which provides for Local area plans):
A local area plan shall be made in respect of an area which—
- (i) is designated as a town in the most recent census of population, other than a town designated as a suburb or environs in that census,
- (ii) has a population in excess of 2,000, and
- (iii) is situated within the functional area of a planning authority which is a county council.
Central Statistics Office criteria
These are set out in full at 2006 Census Appendices.
In short they speak of "towns with legally defined boundaries" (i.e. those established by the Local Government Act 2001) and the remaining 664 as "census towns", defined by themselves since 1971 as "a cluster of 50 or more occupied dwellings in which within a distance of 800 meters there is a nucleus of 30 occupied houses on both sides of the road or twenty occupied Houses on one side of the road". There is also a "200 meter criterion" for determining whether a house is part of a census town.
Isle of Man
There are four settlements which are historically and officially designated as towns (Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Castletown); however
- Peel is also sometimes referred to as a city by virtue of its cathedral.
- Onchan and Port Erin are both larger in population than the smallest "town", having expanded in modern times, but are designated as villages.
Israel
Modern Hebrew does provide a word for the concept of a town: Ayara (עיירה), derived from Ir (עיר), the biblical word for 'city'. However, the term ayara is normally used only to describe towns in foreign countries, i.e. urban areas of limited population, particularly when the speaker is attempting to evoke nostalgic or romantic attitudes. The term is also used to describe a Shtetl, a pre-Holocaust Eastern European Jewish town.
Within Israel, established urban areas are always referred to as cities (with one notable exception explained below) regardless of their actual size. Israeli law does not define any nomenclature for distinction between urban areas based on size or any other factor – meaning that all urban settlements in Israel are legally referred to as "cities".
The exception to the above is the term Ayeret Pituakh (עיירת פיתוח, lit. 'Development Town') which is applied to certain cities in Israel based on the reasons for their establishment. These cities, created during the earlier decades of Israeli independence (1950s and 1960s, generally), were designed primarily to serve as commercial and transportation hubs, connecting smaller agricultural settlements in the northern and southern regions of the country (the "Periphery") to the major urban areas of the coastal and central regions. Some of these development towns have since grown to a comparatively large size, and yet are still referred to as development towns, particularly when the speaker wishes to emphasize their (often low) socio-economic status. Nonetheless, they are rarely (if ever) referred to simply as towns; when referring to one directly, it will be called either a development town or a city, depending on context.
Italy
Although Italian provides different words for city (città), town (cittadina or paese) and village (villaggio, old-fashioned, or
Japan
In Japan city status (市 shi) was traditionally reserved for only a few particularly large settlements. Over time however the necessary conditions to be a city have been watered down and today the only loose rules that apply are having a population over 50,000 and over 60% of the population in a "city centre". In recent times many small villages and towns have merged in order to form a city despite seeming geographically to be just a collection of villages.
The distinction between towns (町
Korea
In both of South Korea and North Korea, towns are called eup (읍). Most cities in North Korea are built around a central square. Perhaps it is to symbolize the importance of the society over the individual, or just a handy place for mass gatherings and celebrations.[22]
Latvia
In Latvia, towns and cities are indiscriminately called pilsēta in singular form. The name is a contraction of two Latvian words: pils ('castle') and sēta ('fence'), making it very obvious what is meant by the word – what is situated between the castle and the castle fence. However, a city can be called lielpilsēta in reference to its size. A village is called ciemats or ciems in Latvian.
Lithuania
In Lithuanian, a city is called miestas and a town is called miestelis (literally 'small miestas'). Metropolises are called didmiestis (literally 'big miestas').
Malaysia
In Malaysia, a town is the area administered by a municipal council (Malay: Majlis Perbandaran).
Netherlands
Before 1848 there was a legal distinction between stad and non-stad parts of the country, but the word no longer has any legal significance. About 220 places were granted stadsrechten ('city rights') and are still so called for historical and traditional reasons, though the word is also used for large urban areas that never obtained such rights. Because of this, in the Netherlands, no distinction is made between city and town; both translate as stad. A hamlet (gehucht) usually has fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, a village (dorp) ranges from 1,000 up to 25,000 inhabitants, and a place above 25,000 can call itself either village or city, mostly depending on historic reasons or size of the place. As an example, The Hague never gained city rights, but because of its size – more than half a million inhabitants – it is regarded as a city. Staverden, with only 40 inhabitants, would be a hamlet, but because of its city rights it may call itself a city.
For statistical purposes, the Netherlands has three sorts of cities:
- kleine stad (small city): 50,000–99,999 inhabitants
- middelgrote stad (medium-sized city): 100,000–249,999 inhabitants
- grote stad (large city): 250,000 or more
Only Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht are regarded as a grote stad.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, a town is a built-up area that is not large enough to be considered a city. Historically, this definition corresponded to a population of between approximately 1,000 and 20,000. Towns have no independent legal existence, being administered simply as built-up parts of districts, or, in some cases, of cities.
New Zealand's towns vary greatly in size and importance, ranging from small rural service centres to significant regional centres. Typically, once a town reaches a population of somewhere between 20,000 and 300,000 people, it will begin to be informally regarded as a city. One who regards a settlement as too small to be a town will typically call it a "township" or "village."
Norway
In Norway, city and town both translate to
Norway has had inland the northernmost city in the world: Hammerfest. Now the record is held by New Ålesund on the Norwegian island Svalbard.[citation needed]
The oldest town in Norway is Tønsberg, founded during the Viking Age. The year when the town was founded and which person who founded it is unknown, but Snorri Sturluson says in the Saga of Harald Fairhair that the market town existed before the Battle of Hafrsfjord in the year 872. Nowadays Tønsberg is considered a city (storby).[23]
Philippines
In the
Unique in Philippine towns is that they have fixed budget, population and land requirements to become as such, i.e. from a barangay, or a cluster of such, to a town, or to become cities, i.e. from town to a city. Respectively, examples of these are the town of
A sharp, hierarchical distinction exists between Philippine
Poland
As of 30 April 2022, there are altogether 2477 municipalities (gmina) in Poland, including 1513 rural gminas, while the remaining 968 ones contain cities and towns. Among them, 666 towns are part of an urban-rural gmina while 302 cities and towns are standalone as an urban gmina. The latter group includes 107 cities (governed by a prezydent miasta), including 66 cities with powiat rights. 37 cities among the latter group are over 100,000, including 18 cities serving as a seat for voivode or voivodeship sejmik, informally called voivodeship cities.
In the Polish language there is no linguistic distinction between a city and a town. The word for both is miasto, as a form of settlement distinct from following: village (wieś), hamlet (przysiółek), settlement (osada), or colony (kolonia). Town status is conferred by government legislation; new towns are designated by the government in an annual regulation effective from the first day of the year. Such localities have usually a town mayor (burmistrz) as the head of the town executive. Towns may be called miasteczko, a diminutive colloquially used for localities with a few thousand residents. Some settlements tend to remain villages even though they have a larger population than many smaller towns, primarily in order not to lose eligibility for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
Cities are the biggest municipalities. In the Polish language, there is no linguistic distinction between a city and a town, both translated miasto. A city is, however, distinguished through being managed by a city mayor (prezydent miasta, literally translated city president) instead of a town mayor (burmistrz) as the head of the city executive, thus being informally called miasto prezydenckie, with such privilege automatically awarded to municipalities either inhabited by more than 100,000 residents (currently 37) or those enjoying the status of a city with powiat rights (currently 66). As of 2022, all of the former group fit into the latter, though it was not always the case in the past. There is, however, a number of exemptions due to historic or political reasons, when a municipality meets neither of these two conditions but nevertheless has the city status, including the only 3 capitals of the former voivodeships of Poland (1975–1998) not meeting the abovementioned criteria, as well as further 38 municipalities which do not fit into any of the mentioned categories but have nevertheless been allowed to keep the earlier awarded status due to unspecified historical reasons.
Portugal
Like other Iberian cultures, in Portugal there is a traditional distinction between towns (vilas) and cities (cidades). Similarly, although these areas are not defined under the Portuguese Constitution and have no political and administrative functions (with associated organs), they are defined by law,[24] and a town must have:
- at least 3,000 voters
- at least half of these services: health unit, pharmacy, cultural centre, public transportation network, post office, commercial food and drinking establishments, primary school and/or bank office
In this context, the town or city is an urban settlement located in the area of a local government (civil parish or municipality), in comparison to the North American context, where they have political functions. In special cases, some villages may be granted the status of town if they possess historical, cultural or architectonic importance.
Portuguese local governments heraldry reflects if the seat of the respective civil parish or municipality is a city, town or another type of settlement. The coat of arms of a local government with a seat in a town bears a mural crown with four towers, while the coat of arms of a local government with a set in a city bears a crown with five towers. [25]
This difference between towns and cities is still in use in other Portuguese-speaking countries. In Brazil, since the beginning of the 20th century, all municipal seats receive the status of city.
Romania
In Romania there is no official distinction between a city and a town (the word for both in Romanian is oraş). Cities and towns in Romania can have the status either of oraş municipiu, conferred to large urban areas, or only oraş to smaller urban localities. Some settlements remain villages (comune) even though they have a larger population than other smaller towns.
Russia
Unlike English, the Russian language does not distinguish the terms city and town—both are translated as город (gorod). Occasionally the term город is applied to urban-type settlements as well, even though the status of those is not the same as that of a city/town proper.
In Russia, the criteria an inhabited locality needs to meet in order to be granted city/town (gorod) status vary in different federal subjects. In general, to qualify for this status, an inhabited locality should have more than 12,000 inhabitants and the occupation of no less than 85% of inhabitants must be other than agriculture. However, inhabited localities which were previously granted the city/town status but no longer meet the criteria can still retain the status for historical reasons.
Singapore
In Singapore, towns are large scale satellite housing developments which are designed to be self-contained. It includes public housing units, a town centre and other amenities.[26] Helmed by a hierarchy of commercial developments, ranging from a town centre to precinct-level outlets, there is no need to venture out of town to meet the most common needs of residences. Employment can be found in industrial estates located within several towns. Educational, health care, and recreational needs are also taken care of with the provision of schools, hospitals, parks, sports complexes, and so on. The most populous town in the country is Bedok.
South Africa
In South Africa the Afrikaans term dorp is used interchangeably with the English equivalent town. A town is a settlement that has a size that is smaller than that of a city.
Spain
In Spain, the equivalent of town would be villa, a population unit between a village (pueblo) and a city (ciudad), and is not defined by the number of inhabitants, but by some historical rights and privileges dating from the Middle Ages, such as the right to hold a market or fair. For instance, while Madrid is technically a villa, Barcelona, with a smaller population, is known as a city.
Sweden
The
Before 1971, 132 larger
For statistical purposes,
Ukraine
In Ukraine the term town (містечко, mistechko) existed from the Medieval period until 1925, when it was replaced by the
United Kingdom
England and Wales
In England and Wales, a town traditionally was a settlement which had a charter to hold a
In parallel with popular usage, however, there are many technical and official definitions of what constitutes a town, to which various interested parties cling.
In modern official usage the term town is employed either for old market towns, or for settlements which have a town council, or for settlements which elsewhere would be classed a city, but which do not have the legal right to call themselves such. Any parish council can decide to describe itself as a town council, but this will usually only apply to the smallest "towns" (because larger towns will be larger than a single civil parish).
Not all settlements which are commonly described as towns have a town council or borough council. In fact, because of many successive changes to the structure of local government, there are now few large towns which are represented by a body closely related to their historic borough council. These days, a smaller town will usually be part of a local authority which covers several towns. And where a larger town is the seat of a local authority, the authority will usually cover a much wider area than the town itself (either a large rural hinterland, or several other, smaller towns).
Additionally, there are "
.Some settlements which describe themselves as towns (e.g. Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire) are smaller than some large villages (e.g. Kidlington, Oxfordshire).
The status of a city is reserved for places that have
It appears that a city may become a town, though perhaps only through administrative error: Rochester in Kent had been a city for centuries but, when in 1998 the Medway district was created, a bureaucratic blunder meant that Rochester lost its official city status and is now technically a town.
It is often thought that towns with bishops' seats rank automatically as cities: however, Chelmsford was a town until 5 June 2012 despite being the seat of the diocese of Chelmsford, created in 1914. St Asaph, which is the seat of the diocese of St Asaph, only became a city on 1 June 2012 though the diocese was founded in the mid-sixth century. In reality, the pre-qualification of having a cathedral of the established Church of England, and the formerly established Church in Wales or Church of Ireland, ceased to apply from 1888.
The word town can also be used as a general term for urban areas, including cities and in a few cases, districts within cities. In this usage, a city is a type of town; a large one, with a certain status. For example, central
In recent years the division between cities and towns has grown, leading to the establishment of groups like the Centre for Towns, who work to highlight the issues facing many towns.[30] Towns also became a significant issue in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, with Lisa Nandy making significant reference to Labour needing to win back smaller towns which have swung away from the party.[31]
Scotland
In Scotland the word town has no specific legal meaning and (especially in areas which were or are still Gaelic-speaking) can refer to a mere collection of buildings (e.g. a farm-town or in Scots ferm-toun), not all of which might be inhabited, or to an inhabited area of any size which is not otherwise described in terms such as city, burgh, etc. Many locations of greatly different size will be encountered with a name ending with -town, -ton, -toun etc. (or beginning with the Gaelic equivalent baile etc.).[32]
"
The term no longer describes units of local government, although various claims are made from time to time that the legislation used was not competent to change the status of the Royal Burghs described below. The status is now chiefly ceremonial but various functions have been inherited by current councils (e.g. the application of various endowments providing for public benefit) which might only apply within the area previously served by a burgh; in consequence a burgh can still exist (if only as a defined geographical area) and might still be signed as such by the current local authority. The word 'burgh' is generally not used as a synonym for 'town' or 'city' in everyday speech, but is reserved mostly for government and administrative purposes.
Historically, the most important burghs were royal burghs, followed by burghs of regality and burghs of barony. Some newer settlements were only designated as police burghs from the 19th century onward, a classification which also applies to most of the older burghs.
United States
The definition of town varies widely from state to state, and in many states there is no official definition. In some states, the term town refers to an area of population distinct from others in some meaningful dimension, typically population or type of government. The characteristic that distinguishes a town from another type of populated place — a city, borough, village, or township, for example — differs from state to state. In some states, a town is an incorporated municipality; that is, one with a charter received from the state, similar to a city (see incorporated town), while in others, a town is unincorporated. They're originally based around a population center and in most cases correspond to the geographical designations used by the United States Census Bureau for reporting of housing and population statistics. Municipalities vary greatly in size, from the millions of residents of New York City and Los Angeles to the few hundred people who live in Jenkins, Minnesota.[33] In some instances, the term town refers to a small incorporated municipality of less than a population threshold specified by state statute, while in others a town can be significantly larger. Some states do not use the term town at all, while in others the term has no official meaning and is used informally to refer to a populated place, of any size, whether incorporated or unincorporated. In some other states, the words town and city are legally interchangeable.
Small-town life has been a major theme in American literature, especially stories of rejection by young people leaving for the metropolis.[34]
Since the use of the term varies considerably by state, individual usages are presented in the following sections:
Alabama
In Alabama, the legal use of the terms town and city is based on population. A municipality with a population of 2,000 or more is a city, while less than 2,000 is a town (Code of Alabama 1975, Section 11-40-6). For legislative purposes, municipalities are divided into eight classes based on population. Class 8 includes all towns, plus cities with populations of less than 6,000 (Code of Alabama 1975, Section 11-40-12).
Arizona
In Arizona, the terms town and city are largely interchangeable. A community may incorporate under either a town or a city organization with no regard to population or other restrictions according to Arizona law (see Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 9). Cities may function under slightly differing governmental systems, such as the option to organize a district system for city governments, but largely retain the same powers as towns. Arizona law also allows for the consolidation of neighboring towns and the unification of a city and a town, but makes no provision for the joining of two adjacent cities.
California
In California, the words town and city are synonymous by law (see Cal. Govt. Code Secs. 34500–34504). There are two types of cities in California: charter and general law. Cities organized as charter cities derive their authority from a charter that they draft and file with the state, and which, among other things, states the municipality's name as "City of (Name)" or "Town of (Name)." Government Code Sections 34500–34504 applies to cities organized as general law cities, which differ from charter cities in that they do not have charters but instead operate with the powers conferred them by the pertinent sections of the Government Code. Like charter cities, general law cities may incorporate as "City of (Name)" or "Town of (Name)."
Some cities change what they are referred to as. The sign in front of the municipal offices in Los Gatos, California, for example, reads "City of Los Gatos", but the words engraved on the building above the front entrance when the city hall was built read "Town of Los Gatos." There are also signs at the municipal corporation limit, some of which welcome visitors to the "City of Los Gatos" while older, adjacent signs welcome people to the "Town of Los Gatos." Meanwhile, the village does not exist in California as a municipal corporation. Instead, the word town is commonly used to indicate any unincorporated community that might otherwise be known as an unincorporated village. Additionally, some people may still use the word town as shorthand for township, which is not an incorporated municipality but an administrative division of a county.
Hawaii
The Hawaiian Island of Oahu has various communities that may be referred to as towns. However, the entire island is lumped as a single incorporated city, the City and County of Honolulu. The towns on Oahu are merely unincorporated census-designated places.
Illinois
In Illinois, the word town has been used both to denote a subdivision of a county called a township,[35] and to denote a form of municipality similar to a village, in that it is generally governed by a president and trustees rather than a mayor.[36] In some areas a town may be incorporated legally as a village (meaning it has at large trustees) or a city (meaning it has aldermen from districts) and absorb the duties of the township it is coterminous with (maintenance of birth records, certain welfare items). Evanston, Berwyn and Cicero are examples of towns in this manner. Under the current Illinois Municipal Code, an incorporated or unincorporated town may choose to incorporate as a city or as a village, but other forms of incorporation are no longer allowed.[37]
Indiana
In
Louisiana
In Louisiana, a town is defined as being a municipal government having a population of 1,001 to 4,999 inhabitants.[39]
Maryland
While a town is generally considered a smaller entity than a city, the two terms are legally interchangeable in Maryland. The only exception is the independent city of Baltimore, which is a special case, as it was created by the Constitution of Maryland.
Nevada
In
New England
In the six
Though the U.S. Census Bureau defines New England towns as "minor civil divisions" for statistical purposes, all New England towns are
New Jersey
A town in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. While town is often used as a shorthand to refer to a township, the two are not the same. The Town Act of 1895 allowed any municipality or area with a population exceeding 5,000 to become a Town through a petition and referendum process. Under the 1895 Act, a newly incorporated town was divided into at least three wards, with two councilmen per ward serving staggered two-year terms, and one councilman at large, who also served a two-year term. The councilman at large served as chairman of the town council. The Town Act of 1988 completely revised the town form of government and applied to all towns incorporated under the Town Act of 1895 and to those incorporated by a special charter granted by the Legislature prior to 1875.
Under the 1988 Act, the mayor is also the councilman at large, serving a term of two years, unless increased to three years by a petition and referendum process. The council under the Town Act of 1988 consists of eight members serving staggered two-year terms with two elected from each of four wards. One council member from each ward is up for election each year. Towns with different structures predating the 1988 Act may retain those features unless changed by a petition and referendum process. Two new provisions were added in 1991 to the statutes governing towns, First, a petition and referendum process was created whereby the voters can require that the mayor and town council be elected to four-year terms of office. The second new provision defines the election procedure in towns with wards. The mayor in a town chairs the town council and heads the municipal government. The mayor may both vote on legislation before council and veto ordinances. A veto may be overridden by a vote of two-thirds of all the members of the council. The council may enact an ordinance to delegate all or a portion of the executive responsibilities of the town to a municipal administrator. Fifteen New Jersey municipalities currently have a type of town, nine of which operate under the town form of government.
New York
In
North Carolina
In North Carolina, all cities, towns, and villages are incorporated as municipalities. According to the North Carolina League of Municipalities,[40] there is no legal distinction among a city, town, or village—it is a matter of preference of the local government. Some North Carolina cities have populations as small as 1,000 residents, while some towns, such as Cary, have populations of greater than 100,000.
Oklahoma
In Oklahoma, according to the state's municipal code, city means a municipality which has incorporated as a city in accordance with the laws of the state, whereas town means a municipality which has incorporated as a town in accordance with the laws of the state, and municipality means any incorporated city or town.[41] The term village is not defined or used in the act.[41] Any community of people residing in compact form may become incorporated as a town; however, if the resident population is one thousand or more, a town or community of people residing in compact form may become incorporated as a city.[42]
Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, the incorporated divisions are townships, boroughs, and cities, of which boroughs are equivalent to towns (example: State College is a borough). However, one borough is incorporated as a town: Bloomsburg.
Texas
In Texas, although some municipalities refer to themselves as "towns" or "villages" (to market themselves as an attractive place to live), these names have no specific designation in Texas law; legally all incorporated places are considered cities.
Utah
In Utah, the legal use of the terms town and city is based on population. A municipality with a population of 1,000 or more is a city, while less than 1,000 is a town. In addition, cities are divided into five separate classes based on the population.[43]
Virginia
In Virginia, a town is an incorporated municipality similar to a city (though with a smaller required minimum population). But while cities are by Virginia law independent of counties, towns are contained within counties.[44]
Washington
A town in the state of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin has towns which are areas outside of incorporated cities and villages. These towns retain the name of the civil township from which they evolved and are often the same name as a neighboring city. Some towns, especially those in urban areas, have services similar to those of incorporated cities, such as police departments. These towns will, from time to time, incorporate into cities, such as Fox Crossing in 2016 from the former town of Menasha.[47] Often this is to avoid annexation into neighboring cities and villages.
Wyoming
A Wyoming statute indicates towns are incorporated municipalities with populations of less than 4,000. Municipalities of 4,000 or more residents are considered "first-class cities".[48]
Vietnam
In Vietnam, a
See also
- Commuter town
- Company town
- Developed environments
- Fire sign (address)
- List of towns
- Location (geography)
- Megalopolis (city type)
- Proto-city
- Town charter
- Town Hall
- Town limits
- Town privileges
- Town square
References
- ^ a b "Town | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Town". Dictionary.com.
- ^ a b "Town". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ "Palisade", Wikipedia, 3 May 2023, retrieved 23 May 2023
- ^ Room 1996, p. 13.
- ^ "What makes a city a city?".
- ^ "Applying the Degree of Urbanisation — A methodological manual to define cities, towns and rural areas for international comparisons — 2021 edition".
- ^ Goodall, B. (1987) The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography. London: Penguin.
- ^ Raverty, Henry G. "A dictionary of the Puk'hto, Pus'hto, or language of the Afghans: with remarks on the originality of the language, and its affinity to other oriental tongues". University of Chicago. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics, "Frequently Asked Questions". https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/Frequently+Asked+Questions#Anchor12 Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ https://www2.oboa.on.ca/digitizer/pdf/106.pdf
- ^ "Ontario Municipalities | AMO".
- ^ "Richmond Hill changes status from town to city". 26 March 2019.
- ^ "Consolidated version of Law no. 128/200 Coll" (in Czech). Zakonyprolidi.cz. 15 May 2000. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- ^ "Byopgørelsen pr. 1. januar – Varedeklaration – Danmarks Statistik". Dst.dk. 22 March 2005. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
- ^ "BOURG : Définition de BOURG" [BOURG: Definition of BOURG]. Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales' (in French). n.d. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ Universität Dortmund: Kleine und mittlere Städte – Blaupausen der Großstadt?, Dokumentation des Expertenkolloquiums am 29. April 2004 in Dortmund
- ^ "Megastadt". www.spektrum.de (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- ^ Megyei jogú városok – essay of Hungarian Central Statistical Office (Hungarian, July 2012)
- ^ "Magyarország megyei jogú városai" Archived 2021-04-16 at the Wayback Machine – list of Hungarian town with the rights of a county on "Térport" related webpage of Ministry of National Development (Hungarian, access date: 4 May 2013.)
- ^ "Some Concepts and Definitions" (PDF). Census of India. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "What is a North Korean City Really Like? - Koryo Tours". koryogroup.com. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Tønsbergs historie". Visit Vestfold (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Law no. 11/82 (Lei das designações e determinação de categoria das povoações), of June 2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
- ^ "Portuguese municipal flags". Flags of the World. Crwflags.com.
- S2CID 52236776.
- ^ Kommungruppsindelning, Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2020
- ^ Uppsala blir ingen storstad, Upsala Nya Tidning. Retrieved 16 May 2020
- ^ Mistechko. Public electronic dictionary of Ukrainian language (ukrlit.org)
- ^ Design, Concom Website. "About Us". Centre For Towns. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ PoliticsHome.com (8 October 2019). "Lisa Nandy MP: Britain's towns are short-changed as cities capture an ever-greater share of foreign investment". PoliticsHome.com. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ "Here all the Scottish towns and areas applying for city status in 2021". The Scotsman. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "State and Local Government". The White House. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ Miles Orvell, The Death and Life of Main Street: Small Towns in American Memory, Space, and Community (University of North Carolina Press; 2012)
- ^ See the Township Code, 60 ILCS 1 et seq.
- ^ See Phillips v. Town of Scales Mound, 195 Ill. 353, 357, 63 N.E. 180 (1902)
- ^ See generally Article 2 of the Illinois Municipal Code, 65 ILCS 5/2‑1‑1 et seq.
- ^ "Town vs. City". Townofclarksville.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ "Individual State Descriptions: 2002" (PDF). Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- ^ "How NC Cities Work". North Carolina League of Municipalities. Archived from the original on 16 May 2010.
- ^ a b "11 O.S. 1-102 (Oklahoma Statutes, Title 11, Cities and Towns; Chapter 1, Oklahoma Municipal Code; Section 1-102, Definitions)". Oklahoma State Courts Network. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "11 O.S. 2-101 (Oklahoma Statutes, Title 11, Cities and Towns; Chapter 1, Oklahoma Municipal Code; Section 2-101, Incorporation of a Municipality)". Oklahoma State Courts Network. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Utah Code, Title 10, Chapter 2, Section 301". Utah State Legislature. Archived from the original on 8 August 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
- ^ Charles A. Grymes. "County vs. Town vs. City in Virginia". Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
Cities own and maintain their roads, while Virginia counties (except for Arlington and Henrico) rely upon VDOT for road maintenance. Cities get a fixed allocation of state funding for building and maintaining those roads, while counties must compete with each other and other VDOT priorities for a substantial portion of their road budget. Cities have been granted more authorities, such as the right of city councils to issue bonds to build roads without a voter referendum (counties must get voter approval in a referendum before issuing road bonds). In Virginia, towns have distinct boundaries, established by the General Assembly or by courts guided by laws passed by the legislature. Towns are not independent from counties; residents of towns are still residents of the county in which the town is located. For example, residents of the four towns of Haymarket, Quantico, Dumfries, and Occoquan are also residents of Prince William County. They pay both town and county property taxes, and town residents get to vote for a town council/mayor.
- ^ "Classification of Washington Cities". Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
- ^ "A Comparison of the Powers of a Town and a Noncharter Code City". Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
- ^ "Incorporation Information - Town of Menasha Town of Menasha". Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Title 15 - Cities and Towns; Chapter 1 - General Provisions; Article 1 - Powers and Miscellaneous Matters; 15-1-101. Definitions". State of Wyoming. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
Sources
- Room, Adrian (1996). An Alphabetical Guide to the Language of Name Studies. Lanham and London: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810831698.
External links
- Australian Bureau of Statistics: Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) 2005
- Open-Site Regional — Contains information about towns in numerous countries.
- Geopolis : research group, university of Paris-Diderot, France — Access to Geopolis Database