Town

A view of the Cornhill inIpswich,Suffolkone ofEngland’soldest towns.

Atownis usually a place with a lot of houses, but not acity.As with cities, there is more than one way to say what a town is in different countries. In some places, it is a kind oflocal government.When they say "town" people are normally thinking of a big, important place. It may even be acity.

Generally, a town is smaller than a city and larger than avillage,but that is not always the case, and thedefinitioncan differ in eachcountry.

Generally, the difference between towns and villages orhamletsis the sort ofeconomythey have. People in towns usually get money fromindustry(factoriesetc.),commerce(shops etc.) and public service (working for the town), notagriculture(growing food).

The number of people who live in a place does not tell us if it is a town or a village. In many areas of the world, likeIndia,a big village can have many more people than a small town. It is also difficult to say if a place is a town because today, some towns are becoming bigger.

Sometimes a place is a city because it got the name "city" bylaw.However, people often call a place a "town" if it is small.

In theMiddle Ages,a place became a town by means of atown charter,which gave ittown privileges.

United States

In theUnited States of America,the meaning of the termtownis different in eachstate.In somestates,a town is a town if the state says it is. In other states, likeWisconsin,a town is a subdivision of a county. In other states, likeMichigan,the name "town" has no official meaning. People use it to describe any place where many people live.

In the sixNew Englandstates, a town is a smaller part of thecounty.In all six, towns do things that, in most other states, the counties do. In many of these towns,town meetingsare the main form of government, so citizens can say what happens where they live by directdemocracy.In these states, the towns are really more important than the county. InConnecticutandRhode Island,counties are only on the map and have no power. In the other four states,courts are the main work of counties. The counties with other functions are mostly inNew HampshireandVermont.

Alabama

InAlabama,whether or not a place is a "town" or a "city" is based on how many people live there. A place with 2,000 people or more is a city. A place with less than 2,000 people is a town (Code of Alabama 1975,Section 11-40-6). For legislative purposes, places are put into eight categories based on the number of people. Class 8 includes all towns, and it includes all cities with that have less than 6,000 people (Code of Alabama 1975,Section 11-40-12).

Kansas

All incorporated places inKansasare called cities. Once a city is incorporated in Kansas, it will continue to be a city no matter what. There are three categories for cities:

• 3rd Class Cities - When a city incorporates, it becomes a 3rd class city. To incorporate, a city must generally have at least 300 people living there.
• 2nd Class Cities - A city may ask to become a 2nd class city when there are 2,000–15,000 people living there. A city that has 2,000–5,000 people may choose to still be a city of the 3rd class. However, they must become a 2nd class city when they have 5,000 people.
• 1st Class Cities - A city may ask to become a 1st class city when at least 15,000 people live there. A city with only 15,000–25,000 people may choose to still be a 2nd class city. However, it must become a 1st class city when they have 25,000 people.

Louisiana

InLouisiana,a "town" is a place that has acity government,and it has 1,001–4,999 people living there.

New York

InNew York,a town is also a smaller part of the county, but it is less important than in New England. Towns provide almost all municipal services to places, calledhamlets,that are not in villages, and some services to places that are invillages.In New York, a town usually has some hamlets and villages. But, because villages have power without towns (they areindependent) they can be in two towns or even two counties. Everyone in New York State who does not live in anIndian reservation(a special place for American Indians) or a city lives in a town, and perhaps in one of the town's hamlets or villages. A city may be part of a county, but even if it is surrounded by a town that has more people than the city, it is not part of the town.

Utah

InUtah,the terms "town" and "city" is based on the number of people living there. A place with 1,000 or more people is a city. A place with fewer than 1,000 people is a town. Cities are divided into five different categories based on the number of people.

Virginia

InVirginia,a town is similar to a city, but it can have a smaller number of people in it. By Virginia law cities are independent of counties (they have power without counties), towns are part of a county.

Wyoming

Wyominglaw says towns are incorporated places that have less than 4,000 people living there. Places with 4,000 or more people are "first-class cities".

England and Wales

InEnglandandWales,the name "city" is only for places that have aRoyal Charter(a specialdocument) saying they can have that name.

In the past, cities usually had acathedral.Some English people think that a place with acathedralmust be a city, but it is not true today. For example,Northampton,BlackburnandMiddlesbrough(where is the cathedral??) are all towns with a cathedral.

In the past, a place was usually a town, not a village, when it had a regularmarketor fair (a market, but not so often). There are some English villages (for exampleIpswich,Oxfordshire) larger than some small towns (e.g.Middleham,North Yorkshire).

Japan

In Japan, The population of a town ( đinh ) is less than 50,000 people.