Town

For other uses, seeTown (disambiguation)andTowns (disambiguation).

"Small town" redirects here. For other uses, seeSmall Town (disambiguation).

Atownis a type of ahuman settlement.Towns are generally larger thanvillagesand smaller thancities,though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.

Left to right, from top:Readingin England,Porvooin Finland,Lemgoin Germany,Davosin Switzerland,Skalicain Slovakia,Meccain Saudi Arabia (1880s),Fátimain Portugal,Viljandiin Estonia

Etymology

The word "town" shares an origin with theGermanwordZaun,theDutchwordtuin,and theOld Norsetún.The originalProto-Germanicword, *tūnan,is thought to be an early borrowing fromProto-Celtic*dūnom(cf.Old Irishdún,Welshdin).

The original sense of the word in both Germanic and Celtic was that of a fortress or an enclosure. Cognates oftownin many modern Germanic languages designate a fence or a hedge.In English and Dutch, the meaning of the word took on the sense of the space which these fences enclosed, and through which a track must run.In England, a town was a small community that could not afford or was not allowed to build walls or other larger fortifications, and built apalisadeor stockade instead.In the Netherlands, this space was a garden, more specifically those of the wealthy, which had a high fence or a wall around them (like the garden of the palace ofHet LooinApeldoorn,which was the model for the privy garden ofWilliam IIIandMary IIatHampton Court). In Old Norsetúnmeans a (grassy) place between farmhouses, and the word is still used with a similar meaning in modern Norwegian.

Old Englishtūnbecame a common place-name suffix in England and southeastern Scotland during the Anglo-Saxon settlement period. InOld Englishand Early and MiddleScots,the wordston,toun,etc. could refer to diverse kinds of settlements from agricultural estates and holdings, partly picking up the Norse sense (as in the Scots wordfermtoun) at one end of the scale, to fortified municipalities.Other common Anglo-Saxon suffixes includedham'home',stede'stead', andburh'bury, borough, burgh'.

Intoponymicterminology, names of individual towns and cities are calledastyonymsorastionyms(fromAncient Greekἄστυ'town, city', andὄνομα'name').

Meaning

In some cases,townis an alternative name for "city" or "village" (especially a small city or large village; and occasionally evenhamlets). Sometimes, the wordtownis short fortownship.In general, today towns can be differentiated from townships, villages, or hamlets on the basis of their economic character, in that most of a town's population will tend to derive their living from manufacturing industry,commerce,andpublic servicesrather thanprimary sectorindustriessuch asagricultureor related activities.

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 citiesthat are far smallerthan the larger towns.

Mõisakülais a small town in the southern part ofEstonia,just next to the border ofLatvia.The town's current population is less than 1,000 inhabitants.

The modern phenomenon of extensivesuburbangrowth, 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 temporarymininglocations, 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. apoliceforce). In the United States these are referred to as "incorporated towns". In other cases the town lacks its own governance and is said to be "unincorporated". The existence of an unincorporated town may be legally set out by other means, e.g. zoning districts. In the case of someplanned communities,the town exists legally in the form of covenants on the properties within the town. TheUnited States Censusidentifies manycensus-designated places(CDPs) by the names of unincorporated towns which lie within them; however, those CDPs typically include rural and suburban areas and even surrounding villages and other towns.

Aerial view ofMariehamn,the town inÅlandwith over 10,000 inhabitants

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 amedievalcity may have possessed as few as 10,000 inhabitants, today someconsider 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 countrieshave been involved in a common effort to agree on a common statistical definition of the three categories: cities, towns and rural areas.

Age of towns scheme

AustraliangeographerThomas Griffith Taylorproposed a classification of towns based on their age and pattern ofland use.He identified five types of towns:

• Infantile towns,with no clearzoning
• Juvenile towns,which have developed an area ofshops
• Adolescent towns,wherefactorieshave started to appear
• Early mature towns,with a separate area ofhigh-classhousing
• Mature towns,with definedindustrial,commercialand various types ofresidential area

The city ofHancock,Michiganalong Quincy Street

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, orproto-city,that existed from around 7500 BC. Inscribed as aWorld Heritage Site,it remains a depopulated town with a complex of ruins.

Roman era

Main article:Roman villa

InRoman 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.With the consolidation of large estates during theRoman Empire,the town became the center of large farms.

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 thelordresided 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,appearing the forms of vassalage typical of feudalism of the fourth century.

By country

Afghanistan

Further information:List of cities in Afghanistan

InAfghanistan,acityand a town are both referred to asshār(Dari:شهر;Pashto:ښار).Thecapitalof each of its 34provincesmay include a major city such asKabulwhose population is over five million people or a town such asParun,the capital ofNuristan Province,whose population is less 20,000 people.

Albania and Kosovo

InAlbaniaandKosovoqytezëmeans 'town', which is very similar to the word for city (qytet), although there is no official use of the term for any settlement. InAlbanianqytezëmeans '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.The smallest may be described as townships.

In addition, some local government entities are officially styled as towns inQueensland,South Australia,Western Australiaand theNorthern Territory,and formerly also (till the 1990s) inVictoria.

Austria

See also:List of cities and 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 ofRattenbergfor example has about 400 inhabitants. The city ofHardegghas about 1200 inhabitants.

There are no unincorporated areas.

Of the 201 cities in Austria, 15 arestatutory cities(Statutarstädte). A statutory city is a city that is vested, in addition to its purview as a municipality, with the duties of adistrict administrative authority.The status does not come with any additional autonomy: district administrative authorities are essentially just service centers that citizens use to interact with the national government, for example to apply for driver licenses or passports. The national government generally uses the provinces to run these points of contact on its behalf; in the case of statutory cities, the municipality gets to step up.

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

Main article:List of cities and towns in Bulgaria

The town ofPeshtera,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 toSofia,Plovdiv,VarnaandBurgas,which have population over 200,000.RuseandStara Zagoraare often included as well due to presence of relatively developed infrastructure and population over 100,000 threshold. It is difficult to call the remainingprovincial capitals"large towns" as, in general, they are less developed and have shrinking population, some with as few as 30,000 inhabitants.

InBulgariatheCouncil of Ministersdefines what constitutes a settlement, while thePresident of Bulgariagrants each settlement its title. In 2005 the requirement that villages that wish to classify themselves as town must have a social and technical infrastructure, as well as a population of no fewer than 3500 people. For resort settlements the requirements are lower with the population needing to be no fewer than 1000 people but infrastructure requirements remain.

Canada

Main articles:List of towns in CanadaandMunicipal government in Canada

The legal definition of a town in Canada varies byprovince or territory,as each has jurisdiction over defining and legislating towns, cities and other types of municipal organization within its own boundaries.

The province ofQuebecis unique in that it makes no distinction under law between towns and cities. There is no intermediate level in French betweenvillageandville(municipalityis an administrative term usually applied to a legal, not geographical entity), so both are combined under the single legal status ofville.While an informal preference may exist among English speakers as to whether any individualvilleis 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.

Ontarioallows municipalities to select whichever administrative term they like with no legal distinction existing between towns, townships, cities, and villages.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 asHamilton), lower-tier (i.e. municipalities that are part of a region or county such asSt. Catharines), or upper-tier (i.e. regional municipalities such asNiagara).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 asRichmond Hill(2021 Population: 202,022) have opted to change their status from "town" to "city" to encourage investment.

Chile

InChile,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

Main articles:ObecandList of cities and towns in the Czech Republic

InCzechia,a municipality can obtain the title of acity(Czech:statutární město), town (Czech:město) ormarket 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.,can define their own self-governing municipal districts. There are 26 such cities, in addition toPrague,which is ade factostatutory 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 municipalitiesshows, 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 asby.In more specific use, for small villages andhamletsthe wordlandsby(meaning 'country town') is used, while the Danish equivalent of Englishcityisstorby(meaning 'large town'). For formal purposes,urban areashaving at least 200 inhabitants are consideredby.

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 askøbstad(roughly the same meaning asboroughalbeit 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

InEstonia,there is no distinction between a town and a city as the wordlinnis used for both bigger and smaller settlements, which are bigger than villages and boroughs. There are 30municipal towns(omavalitsuslik linn) in Estonia and afurther 17 towns,which have merged with a municipal parish (vallasisene linn).

Finland

The town ofSastamala,Finland

In Finland, there is no distinction between a town and a city as the wordkaupunkiis used for both bigger and smaller settlements, which are bigger than villages and boroughs; although when talking about the wordtown,the wordpikkukaupunkiis used (pikkumeans 'little' or 'small'). There are over one hundredmunicipal townsin Finland.

France

The town ofSalins-les-Bains,France

From an administrative standpoint, the smallest level of local authorities are all calledcommunes.They can have anywhere from a handful to millions of inhabitants, and France has 36,000 of them. The French term fortownisbourgbut French laws generally do not distinguish between towns and cities which are all commonly calledvilles.However, some laws do treat these authorities differently based on the population and different rules apply to the three big citiesParis,LyonandMarseille.For historical reasons,six communesin theMeusedépartement exist as independent administrative entities despite having no inhabitants at all.

For statistical purposes, the national statistical institute (INSEE) operates a distinction between urban areas with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants and bigger communes, the latter being calledvilles.Smaller settlements are usually calledvillages.

Germany

Main article:List of cities and towns in Germany

"Großstadt" redirects here. For the painting, seeMetropolis(Dix).

PutbusonRügen Island,Germany

Germans do not, in general, differentiate between 'city' and 'town'. The German word for both isStadt,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, isDorf.However, the International Statistics Conference of 1887 defined different sizes ofStadt,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) andGroßstadt( "large town"; 100,000 to 1,000,000).The termGroßstadtmay be translated as 'city'. In addition, Germans may speak of aMillionenstadt,a city with anywhere between one and five million inhabitants (such asCologne,Munich,HamburgandBerlin). Also, a city with more than five million inhabitants is often referred to as aMegastadt(commonly translated asmegacity).

Historically, many settlements became aStadtby being awarded aStadtrechtin 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 aStadt.The modern local government organisation is subject to the laws of eachstateand refers to aGemeinde(municipality), regardless of its historic title. While mostGemeindenform part of aLandkreis(district) on a higher tier of local government, larger towns and cities may have the status of akreisfreie 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 wordsMarkt('market'),Marktflecken(both used in southern Germany) orFlecken('spot'; northern Germany e.g. inLower Saxony) designate a town-like residential community betweenGemeindeandStadtwith special importance to its outer conurbation area. Historically those hadMarktrecht(market right) but not full town privileges; seeMarket town.The legal denomination of a specific settlement may differ from its common designation (e.g.Samtgemeinde– a legal term inLower Saxonyfor a group of villages [Dorf,pl.Dörfer] with common local government created by combining municipalities [Gemeinde,pl.Gemeinden]).

Greece and Cyprus

In ordinary speech,Greeksuse the wordχωριό('village') to refer to smaller settlements and the wordπόληorπολιτεία('city') to refer to larger ones. Careful speakers may also use the wordκωμόποληto refer to towns with a population of 2,000–9,999. In Greek administrative law there used to be a distinction betweenδήμοι,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 mostκοινότητεςwith the nearestδήμοι,dividing the whole country into 325 self-governingδήμοι.The former municipalities survive as administrative subdivisions (δημοτικά διαμερίσματα,δημοτικές ενότητες).

Cyprus, including the Turkish-occupied areas, is also divided into 39δήμοι(in principle, with at least 5,000 inhabitants, though there are exceptions) and 576κοινότητες.

Hong Kong

Main article:List of cities and towns in Hong Kong

Nearly every town in Hong Kong has its own town hall. The picture shows theSha Tin Town Hallin the town ofSha Tin.

Hong Kongstarted developing new towns in the 1950s, to accommodate exponential population increase. The first new towns includedTsuen WanandKwun Tong.In the late 1960s and the 1970s, another stage of new town developments was launched. Nine new towns have been developed so far. Land use is carefully planned and development provides plenty of room for public housing projects. Rail transport is usually available at a later stage. The first towns areSha Tin,Tsuen Wan,Tuen MunandTseung Kwan O.Tuen Munwas intended to be self-reliant, but was not successful and turned into abedroom communitylike the other new towns. More recent developments areTin Shui WaiandNorth Lantau (Tung Chung-Tai Ho).

Hungary

In Hungary there is no official distinction between a city and a town (the word for both in Hungarian isváros). Nevertheless, the expressions formed by adding the adjectiveskis('small') andnagy('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 namekisváros.) In Hungary, a village can gain the status ofváros('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 ofvárosi rang('town rank') nowadays.

Before thefall of communismin 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 ofmegyei jogú város(town with the rights of acounty), which allows them to maintain a higher degree ofservices.(There are a few exceptions, when towns of fewer than 50,000 people gained the status:Érd,Hódmezővásárhely,SalgótarjánandSzekszárd)As of middle 2013, there are only 23 such towns in Hungary.

Iceland

Main article:List of cities and towns in Iceland

Town ofHúsavíkin Iceland

India

A street inParavurtown, India

The2011 Census of Indiadefines towns of two types: statutory town andcensus town.Statutory town is defined as all places with amunicipality,corporation,cantonment boardor notified town area committee. Census towns are defined as places that satisfy the following criteria:

1. Minimum population of 5,000
2. At least 75% of male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits
3. Density of population at least 400/km².(1,000 per sq. mile).

All the statutory towns, census towns andout growthsare considered as urban settlements, as opposed to rural areas.

Towns in India usually have basic infrastructure like shops, electricity, bituminised roads,post offices,banks, telephone facilities, high schools and sometimes a few government offices. The human population living in these towns may be a few thousand. There are some towns which can be labelled as Main road town.

In state ofKarnataka,towns are known asPeteorPurain theKannada language.Sometimes the termspattana('city') orooru,which generally means 'place', are used for towns. The administrative council which governs these towns is known asPura SabheorNagara Sabhein Kannada depending on the number of people living within the town's boundaries.

Iran

In contemporaryPersiantexts, no distinction is made betweencityandtown;both translate asShahr(شهر). In older Persian texts (until the first half of the 20th century), the Arabic wordQasabeh(قصبه) was used for a town. However, in the past 50 years,this word has become obsolete.

There is a word in Persian which is used for special sort of satellite townships and city neighborhoods. It isShahrak(شهرک), (lit.: 'small city'). Another smaller type of town orneighborhoodin a big city is calledKuy(کوی).ShahrakandKuyeach have different legal definitions. Large cities such asTehran,Mashhad,Isfahan,Tabriz,etc. which have millions inhabitants are referred to asKalan-shahr(کلانشهر),metropole.

The pace in which different large villages have gained city status inIranshows a dramatic increase in the last two decades.

Bigger cities and towns usually are centers of atownship(in Persian:Shahrestan(شهرستان).Shahrestanitself is a subdivision ofOstan(استان), 'province'.

Iraq

The wordJarayeh(جرَية) is used to describe villages, the wordGarmat(كَرمة) to describe towns, and the wordWilaya(ولاية) to describe cities.

Ireland

Main article:List of populated places in the Republic of Ireland

TheLocal Government act 2001provides 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 atown 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 at2006 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 occupiedHouseson 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 Hebrewdoes provide a word for the concept of a town:Ayara(עיירה), derived fromIr(עיר), the biblical word for 'city'. However, the termayarais 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 aShtetl,a pre-HolocaustEastern EuropeanJewish 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 termAyeret 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

Satriano di Lucania,a town in theMelandro Valley,Basilicata,South Italy

Although Italian provides different words for city (città), town (cittadina or paese) and village (villaggio,old-fashioned, orfrazione,most common), no legal definitions exist as to how settlements must be classified. Administratively, both towns and cities are ruled ascomuni/comunes,while villages might be subdivisions of the former. Generally, in everyday speech, a town is larger or more populated than a village and smaller than a city. Various cities and towns together may form a metropolitan area (area metropolitana). A city can also be a culturally, economically, or politically prominent community with respect to surrounding towns. Moreover, a city can be such byPresidentialdecree. A town, in contrast, can be an inhabited place which would elsewhere be styled a city, but has not received any official recognition. Remarkable exceptions do exist: for instance,Bassano del Grappa,was given the status ofcittàin 1760 byFrancesco Loredan'sdogaldecree and has since then carried this title. Also, the Italian word for 'town' (paesewith lowercase P) must not be confused with the Italian word for 'country/nation' (Paeseusually with uppercase P).

Japan

In Japan city status ( thịshi) 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 ( đinhmachi/chō) and villages ( thônmura/son) is largely unwritten and purely one of population size when the settlement was founded with villages having under 10,000 and towns 10,000–50,000.

Korea

Main article:Eup (administrative division)

In both of South Korea and North Korea, towns are calledeup(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.

Latvia

The town ofValka,Latvia

InLatvia,towns and cities are indiscriminately calledpilsētain singular form. The name is acontractionof two Latvian words:pils('castle') andsēta('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 calledlielpilsēta(big city) ormazpilsēta(small city/town) in reference to its size. Latvia also has administrative units such as state cities(valstspilsēta) A village is calledciematsorciemsin Latvian.

Lithuania

Main article:List of towns in Lithuania

InLithuanian,a city is calledmiestasand a town is calledmiestelis(literally 'smallmiestas').Metropolisesare calleddidmiestis(literally 'bigmiestas').

Malaysia

InMalaysia,a town is the area administered by a municipal council (Malay:Majlis Perbandaran).

Netherlands

The small town ofZierikzee,Netherlands

Before 1848 there was a legal distinction betweenstadand non-stadparts of the country, but the word no longer has any legal significance. About 220 places were grantedstadsrechten('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 betweencityandtown;both translate asstad.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 Haguenever 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

OnlyAmsterdam,Rotterdam,The HagueandUtrechtare regarded as agrote stad.

Norway

In Norway,cityandtownboth translate toby,even if a city may be referred to asstorby('large town'). They are all part of and administered as akommune('municipality').

Norway has had inland the northernmost city in the world: Hammerfest. Now the record is held by New Ålesund on the Norwegian island Svalbard.

The oldest town in Norway isTønsberg.Originally amarket town,it is today a big city.

The oldest town in Norway isTønsberg,founded during theViking Age.The year when the town was founded and which person who founded it is unknown, butSnorri Sturlusonsays in theSaga of Harald Fairhairthat themarket townexisted before theBattle of Hafrsfjordin the year 872. Nowadays Tønsberg is considered a city (storby).

Philippines

Main articles:List of cities and municipalities in the PhilippinesandMunicipalities of the Philippines

The town center ofLoboc, Bohol

In thePhilippines,the local official equivalent of the town is themunicipality(Filipino:bayan). Every municipality, or town, in the country has a mayor (alkalde) and a vice mayor (bise alkalde) as well as local town officials (Sangguniang Bayan). Philippine towns, otherwise called municipalities, are composed of a number of villages and communities calledbarangayswith one (or a few cluster of)barangay(s) serving as the town center orpoblacion.

Unique in Philippine towns is that they have fixed budget, population and land requirements to become as such, i.e. from abarangay,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 ofB. E. DujaliinDavao del Norteprovince, which was formed in 1998 from a cluster of fivebarangays,and the city ofEl Salvador,which was converted from a town to a city in 2007. Each town in the Philippines was classified by itsannual income and budget.

A sharp, hierarchical distinction exists between Philippinecities(lungsodorsiyudad) and towns, as towns in the country are juridically separate from cities, which are typically larger and more populous (some smaller and less populated) and which political and economic status are above those of towns. This was further supported and indicated by the income classification system implemented by the National Department of Finance, to which both cities and towns fell into their respective categories that indicate they are such as stated under Philippine law. However, both towns and cities equally share the status aslocal government units(LGUs) grouped under and belong toprovincesandregions;both each are composed ofbarangaysand are governed by a mayor and a vice mayor supplemented by their respective LGU legislative councils. However despite this some towns in the Philippines are significantly larger than some cities in the Philippines such asRodriguez, Rizal,Santa Maria, BulacanandMinglanilla, Cebuare actually bigger than some regional centers.

Poland

Main article:List of cities and towns in Poland

Zamośćin Poland is an example of autopianideal town.It was declared aUNESCO World Heritage Sitein 1992.

In thePolish language,there is no linguistic distinction between a city and a town, both translatedmiasto.The word for both ismiasto,as a form of settlement distinct from types of rural settlements: village (wieś),przysiółek,osada,orkolonia,seeClassification of localities and their parts in Poland.Cities are the biggest municipalities, 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 calledmiasto prezydenckie,with such privilege automatically awarded to municipalities either inhabited by more than 100,000 residents (currently 37) or those enjoying the status of acity 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 formervoivodeships 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. Towns may sometimes be calledmiasteczko,a diminutive colloquially used for localities with a few thousand residents. Such localities have a town mayor (burmistrz) as the head of the town executive.

Town/city rights are conferred by government legislation; new towns/cities are designated by the government in an annual regulation effective from the first day of the year. 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 theEuropean Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.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 aprezydent miasta), including 66cities with powiat rights.37 cities among the latter group are over 100,000, including 18 cities serving as a seat forvoivodeorvoivodeship sejmik,informally called voivodeship cities.

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 thePortuguese Constitutionand have no political and administrative functions (with associated organs), they are defined by law,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 parishormunicipality), in comparison to the North American context, where they have political functions. In special cases, somevillagesmay be granted the status of town if they possess historical, cultural or architectonic importance.

Portuguese local governments heraldryreflects if the seat of the respective civil parish or municipality is a city, town or another type of settlement. Thecoat of armsof 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.

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

Main article:List of cities and towns in Romania

In Romania there is no official distinction between a city and a town (the word for both inRomanianisoraş). Cities and towns in Romania can have the status either oforaşmunicipiu,conferred to large urban areas, or onlyoraşto smaller urban localities. Some settlements remain villages (comune) even though they have a larger population than other smaller towns.

Russia

Main article:Types of inhabited localities in Russia

The town ofVyborginLeningrad Oblast,Russia

Unlike English, the Russian language does not distinguish the termscityandtown—both are translated asгород(gorod). Occasionally the termгородis applied tourban-type settlementsas 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 differentfederal 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

Main article:New towns of Singapore

Bishan,one of Singapore's towns, is the 38th biggest in terms of geographical size and the 21st most populated planning area in the country.

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.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 isBedok.

South Africa

In South Africa theAfrikaanstermdorpis used interchangeably with the English equivalenttown.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 bevilla,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, whileMadridis technically avilla,Barcelona,with a smaller population, is known as a city.

Sweden

See also:Stad (Sweden)andKöping

View towardsSt Mary's CathedralinVisby,Sweden. Visby is one of the most well-preserved formerHanseaticcities in Sweden and aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site.Today it is the seat ofGotland Municipality.

TheSwedish languagedoes not differentiate between towns and cities in the English sense of the words; both words are commonly translated asstad,a term which has no legal significance today. The termtätortis used for anurban areaor a locality, which however is a statistical rather than an administrative concept and encompasses densely settled villages with only 200 inhabitants as well as the major cities. The wordköpingcorresponds to an Englishmarket town(chipping)or GermanMarktbut is mainly of historical significance, as the term is not used today and only survives in sometoponyms.Some towns with names ending in-köpingare cities with over 100,000 inhabitants today, e.g.Linköping.

Before 1971, 132 largermunicipalitiesin Sweden enjoyed special royal charters asstadinstead ofkommun(which is similar to a UScounty). However, since 1971 all municipalities are officially defined askommun,thus making no legal difference between, for instance,Stockholmand a small countryside municipality. Every urban area that was astadbefore 1971 is still often referred to as astadin daily speech. Since the 1980s, 14 of these municipalities have branded themselves asstadagain, although this has no legal or administrative significance, as they still have to refer to themselves askommunin all legal documentation.

For statistical purposes,Statistics Swedenofficially defines astadas an urban area of at least 10,000 inhabitants. Since 2017 it also defines astorstad(literally 'big town') as a municipality with a population of at least 200,000 of which at least 200,000 are in its largesttätort.This means thatStockholm,GothenburgandMalmöarestorstäder,i.e. 'major cities', whileUppsala,with a population of approximately 230,000 in the municipality, which covers an unusually large area, almost three times larger than the combined land area of the municipalities of Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö, is not. The largest contiguous urban area within Uppsala municipality has a population of well below 200,000, while the population of both Malmö municipality, with a land area only 1/14 the size of Uppsala municipality, and Malmötätort,i.e. contiguous urban area, is well over 300,000, and the population of theMalmö Metropolitan Area,with a land area only slightly larger than Uppsala Municipality, is well over 700,000. A difference in the size and population of the urban area between Uppsala and the smalleststorstadin Sweden, Malmö, is the reason Statistics Sweden changed the definition ofstorstadin 2017.

Ukraine

Fire station in town ofBohorodchany

In Ukraine the termtown(містечко,mistechko) existed from the Medieval period until 1925, when it was replaced by theSoviet governmentwithurban type settlement.Historically, a town in the Ukrainian lands was a smaller populated place that was chartered under theGerman town lawand had a market square (seeMarket town).

United Kingdom

Main article:City status in the United Kingdom

England and Wales

Main articles:List of urban areas in England by populationandlist of urban areas in Wales by population

A traditional English town centre atRugby

In England and Wales, a town traditionally was a settlement which had a charter to hold amarketorfairand therefore became a "market town".Market towns were distinguished from villages in that they were the economic hub of a surrounding area, and were usually larger and had more facilities.

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 termtownis employed either for old market towns, or for settlements which have atown council,or for settlements which elsewhere would be classed a city, but which do not havethe legal rightto 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 townisthe 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 "new towns"which were created during the 20th century, such asBasildon,RedditchandTelford.

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 acityis reserved for places that haveletters patententitling them to the name, historically associated with the possession of a cathedral. Some large municipalities (such asNorthamptonandBournemouth) are legallyboroughsbut not cities, whereas some cities are quite small — such asElyorSt David's.The city ofBrighton and Hovewas created from the two former towns and some surrounding villages, and within the city the correct term for the former distinct entities is somewhat unclear.

Bishop's Stortford

It appears that a city may become a town, though perhaps only through administrative error:Rochesterin Kent had been a city for centuries but, when in 1998 theMedwaydistrict was created, a bureaucratic blunder meant that Rochester lost its officialcity statusand is now technically a town.

It is often thought that towns withbishops' seatsrank automatically as cities: however,Chelmsfordwas a town until 5 June 2012 despite being the seat of thediocese of Chelmsford,created in 1914.St Asaph,which is the seat of thediocese 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 establishedChurch of England,and the formerly establishedChurch in WalesorChurch of Ireland,ceased to apply from 1888.

The wordtowncan 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, centralGreater Londonis sometimes referred to colloquially as "London town". (The "City of London"is the historical nucleus, informally known as the" Square Mile ", and is administratively separate from the rest of Greater London, while theCity of Westminsteris also technically a city and is also aLondon borough.)Camden TownandSomers Townare districts of London, asNew Townis a district ofEdinburgh– actually the Georgian centre.

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.Towns also became a significant issue in the2020 Labour Party leadership election,withLisa Nandymaking significant reference to Labour needing to win back smaller towns which have swung away from the party.

Scotland

Main articles:List of burghs in ScotlandandList of towns and cities in Scotland by population

In Scotland the wordtownhas no specific legal meaning and (especially in areas which were or are stillGaelic-speaking) can refer to a mere collection of buildings (e.g. afarm-townor inScotsferm-toun), not all of which might be inhabited, or to an inhabited area of any size which is not otherwise described in terms such ascity,burgh,etc. Many locations of greatly different size will be encountered with a name ending with-town,-ton,-tounetc. (or beginning with the Gaelic equivalentbaileetc.).

"Burgh"(pronouncedburruh) is theScotsterm for a town or a municipality. They were highlyautonomousunits oflocal governmentfrom at least the 12th century until their abolition in 1975, when a newregional structure of local governmentwas introduced across the country. Usually based upon a town, they had amunicipal corporationand certain rights, such as a degree ofself-governanceand representation in the sovereignParliament of Scotlandadjourned in 1707.

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 wereroyal burghs,followed byburghs of regalityandburghs of barony.Some newer settlements were only designated aspolice burghsfrom the 19th century onward, a classification which also applies to most of the older burghs.

United States

The tiny farming community ofWyatt, Indiana

The definition oftownvaries widely from state to state, and in many states there is no official definition. In some states, the termtownrefers 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, ortownship,for example — differs from state to state. In some states, a town is an incorporatedmunicipality;that is, one with acharterreceived from the state, similar to a city (seeincorporated 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.In some instances, the termtownrefers 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 termtownat 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 wordstownandcityare legally interchangeable. TheCensus of Governmentstreats jurisdictions called towns in theNew Englandstates,Minnesota,New York,andWisconsinastownshipsrather than municipalities.

Small-town life has been a major theme in American literature, especially stories of rejection by young people leaving for the metropolis.

Since the use of the term varies considerably by state, individual usages are presented in the following sections:

Alabama

InAlabama,the legal use of the termstownandcityis 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

InArizona,the termstownandcityare 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 (seeArizona 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

InCalifornia,the wordstownandcityare synonymous by law (see Cal. Govt. Code §§ 34500–34504).There are two types of cities in California: charter and general law. Cities organized as charter cities derive their authority from acharterthat 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 §§ 34500–34504 apply to cities organized asgeneral 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 inLos 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 wordtownis commonly used to indicate any unincorporated community that might otherwise be known as an unincorporated village. Additionally, some people may still use the wordtownas shorthand fortownship,which is not an incorporated municipality but an administrative division of a county.

Hawaii

InHawaii,the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism has the statutory authority to establish, modify, or abolish the statistical boundaries for cities, town, and. villages.However, the only municipal government in Hawaii is the City ad County ofHonolulu.

Illinois

InIllinois,the wordtownhas been used both to denote a subdivision of a county called a township,and to denote a form of municipality similar to avillage,in that it is generally governed by a president and trustees rather than a mayor.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,BerwynandCiceroare 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.

Indiana

InIndiana,atownis differentiated from acityin that a town can not become a city until it has a population of at least 2,000. The form of government is also different from that of a city in that the town council is both the legislative and executive branches of government. The mayor is selected by the council from within its ranks and operates as afirst among equals.

Louisiana

InLouisiana,a town is defined as being a municipal government having a population of 1,001 to 4,999 inhabitants.

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 theindependent cityofBaltimore,which is a special case, as it was created by theConstitution of Maryland.

Nevada

InNevada,a town has a form of government, but is not considered to be incorporated. It generally provides a limited range of services, such asland use planningand recreation, while leaving most services to the county. Many communities have found this "semi-incorporated" status attractive; the state has only 20 incorporatedcities,and towns as large asParadise(186,020 in 2000 Census), home of theLas Vegas Strip.Mostcounty seatsare also towns, not cities.

New England

Main article:New England town

A downtown ofIpswich, Massachusetts

In the sixNew Englandstates, atownis the most prevalent minor civil division, and in most cases, are a more important form of government than the county. InConnecticut,Rhode Islandand seven out of fourteen counties inMassachusetts,in fact, counties only exist as boundaries for state services and chambers of commerce at most, and have no independent legal functions. InNew Hampshire,Maine,andVermont,counties function at a limited scope, and are still not as important in northern New England as they are outside of the northeast. In all six states, towns perform functions that in most states would be county functions. The defining feature of a New England town, as opposed to a city, is that atown meetingand aboard of selectmenserve as the main form of government for a town, while cities are run by a mayor and a city council. For example,Brookline, Massachusettsis a town, even though it is fairly urban, because of its form of government. In the three southern New England states, the entire land area is divided into towns and cities, while the three northern states have small areas that are unincorporated. In Vermont and New Hampshire, the population of these areas is practically nonexistent, while in Maine, unincorporated areas make up roughly half of the state's area but only one percent of the state's population.

Though the U.S. Census Bureau defines New England towns as "minor civil divisions" for statistical purposes, all New England towns aremunicipal corporationsequivalent to cities in all legal respects, except for form of government. For statistical purposes, the Census Bureau usescensus-designated placesfor the built-up population centers within towns, though these have no legal or social recognition for residents of those towns. Similarly, the Census Bureau uses a special designation forurban areaswithin New England, theNew England city and town area,instead of themetropolitan statistical areait uses in the rest of the country.

New Jersey

Main article:Town (New Jersey)

Atownin the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. Whiletownis 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

Main article:Administrative divisions of New York (state) § Town

InNew York,a town is a division of the county that possesses home rule powers, but generally with fewer functions than towns in New England. A town provides a closer level of governance than its enclosing county, providing almost all municipal services to unincorporated communities, calledhamlets,and selected services to incorporated areas, calledvillages.In New York, a town typically contains a number of such hamlets and villages. However, due to their independent nature, incorporated villages may exist in two towns or even two counties (example:Almond (village), New York). Everyone in New York who does not live in a city orIndianreservation lives in a town and possibly in one of the town's hamlets or villages.New York CityandGenevaare the only two cities that span county boundaries. The only part of Geneva inSeneca Countyis water; each of theboroughs of New York Cityis a county.

North Carolina

InNorth Carolina,all cities, towns, and villages are incorporated asmunicipalities.According to the North Carolina League of Municipalities,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 asCary,have populations of greater than 100,000.

Oklahoma

InOklahoma,according to the state's municipal code,citymeans a municipality which has incorporated as a city in accordance with the laws of the state, whereastownmeans a municipality which has incorporated as a town in accordance with the laws of the state, andmunicipalitymeans any incorporated city or town.The termvillageis not defined or used in the act.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.

Pennsylvania

InPennsylvania,the incorporated divisions are townships, boroughs, and cities, of which boroughs are equivalent to towns (example:State Collegeis a borough). However, one borough is incorporated as a town:Bloomsburg.

Texas

InTexas,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 consideredcities.

Utah

See also:List of municipalities in Utah

InUtah,the legal use of the termstownandcityis 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.

Virginia

Main article:Administrative divisions of Virginia § Towns

InVirginia,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.

Washington

Further information:City government in Washington (state)

A town in the state ofWashingtonis a municipality that has a population of less than 1,500 at incorporation, however an existing town can reorganize as a code city.Town government authority is limited relative tocities,the other main classification of municipalities in the state.As of 2012,most municipalities in Washington are cities (see:List of towns in Washington).

Wisconsin

Main article:Administrative divisions of Wisconsin

See also:List of towns in Wisconsin

Wisconsinhas 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 asFox Crossingin 2016 from the former town ofMenasha.Often this is to avoid annexation into neighboring cities and villages.

Wyoming

AWyomingstatute indicates towns are incorporated municipalities with populations of less than 4,000. Municipalities of 4,000 or more residents are considered "first-class cities".

Vietnam

In Vietnam, adistrict-level town(Vietnamese:thị xã) is the second subdivision, below a province (tỉnh) or municipality (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương). Acommune-level town(thị trấn) a third-level (commune-level) subdivision, below adistrict(huyện).

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

Sources

• Room, Adrian (1996).An Alphabetical Guide to the Language of Name Studies.Lanham and London: The Scarecrow Press.ISBN978-0-8108-3169-8.

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