Town
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2008-07-15T15:37:27Z
194.178.167.72
/* Origin of the word and use around the world */
[[Image:Ronda La Ciudad2004.jpg|thumb|[[Ronda]], Spain]]
[[Image:Bastrop Texas1.jpg|thumb|[[Main street]] in [[Bastrop, Texas]], [[United States]], a small town.]]
[[Image:Luftbild Davos2.jpg|thumb|right|The alpine town of [[Davos]] in the [[Swiss Alps]].]]
A '''town''' is a type of [[human settlement|settlement]] ranging from a few hundred to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands) inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. Usually, a "town" is thought of as larger than a village but smaller than a "city", though there are exceptions to this rule. The words "[[city]]" and "[[village]]" came into English from [[Latin]] via [[French language|French]]. "Town" and "[[borough]]" (also "burrow", "burgh", "bury", etc.) are of native [[Germanic Languages|Germanic]] origin, from Old English ''burg'', a fortified settlement, and ''tūn'', an enclosed piece of land.<ref>The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edition, Erin McKean (Editor), 2096 pages, May 2005, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-517077-6</ref>
== Origin of the word and use around the world ==
In [[Old English]] and Old [[Scots language|Scots]], "Town" (or "toun", "ton", etc.) originally meant a fortified municipality, whereas a borough was not fortified. But that distinction did not last long, and "Edina Burgh" or "Edinburgh"—modernly called a "city"—was a fortified "town" from its founding.
Etymological the word '''Town''' is related to the [[German]] word '''Zaun''' [tsown ≈ English] and the [[Dutch]] word '''tuin''' [toin ≈ English]. The German word Zaun comes closest to the original meaning of the word, being some sort of wooden fence or wall. In English and Dutch the meaning of the word has converged with the space these fences used to enclose. In English that was a small city which (way into the 18th century) couldn't afford or wasn’t allowed to build walls or other larger fortifications, and build a palisade instead (lots of early english settlements in America are a good example of that). In Netherland this space was a garden, more specific the richer ones which had a high fence or a wall around them (like the garden of palace 't Loo in Apeldoorn which was an example for the privy garden of William and Mary at Hamptoncourt).
In modern [[American English|American]] [[English language|English]], a '''town''' is usually a municipal corporation that is smaller than a city but larger than a village. In some cases, "town" is an alternate name for "city" or "village" (especially a larger village). Sometimes, the word "town" is short for "township." Some US states designate towns and townships as political subdivisions of Counties. In general, towns can be differentiated from [[township]]s, [[village]]s, or [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]]s 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]], and public service rather than [[primary industry]] such as [[agriculture]] or related activities.
A place's population size is not a reliable determinant of urban character. In many areas of the world, as 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 [[List of towns and cities in England by population|that are far smaller]] than the larger towns.
The modern phenomenon of extensive [[suburb]]an growth, satellite urban development, and migration of city-dwellers to villages have 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.
The distinction between a town and a city similarly depends on the approach adopted: 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 [[Middle Ages|medieval]] city may have possessed as few as 10,000 inhabitants, today some consider an urban place of fewer than 100,000 as a town, even though there are many officially designated cities that are very, very much smaller than that.
==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 town:<ref>Goodall, B. (1987) The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography. London: Penguin.</ref>
* ''Infantile towns'', with no clear [[zoning]]
* ''Juvenile towns'', which have developed an area of [[Retailing|shop]]s
* ''Adolescent towns'', where [[factory|factories]] have started to appear
* ''Early mature towns'', with a separate area of [[social class|high-class]] [[house|housing]]
* ''Mature towns'', with defined [[industry|industrial]], [[commerce|commercial]] and various types of [[residential area]]
== Australia ==
In [[Australia]], the status of a town is formally applied in only a few states. Most states do define cities, and towns are commonly understood to be those centres of population not formally declared to be cities and usually with a population in excess of about 250 people.
The creation and delimitation of [[Local Government Areas in Australia|Local Government Areas]] is the responsibility of the state and territory Governments. In all states and the Northern Territory each incorporated area has an official status. The various LGA status types currently in use are -
*[[New South Wales]]: Cities (C) and Areas (A)
*[[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]: Cities (C), Rural Cities (RC), Boroughs (B) and Shires (S)
*[[Queensland]]: Cities (C), Shires (S), Regions, Towns (T) and Island Councils (IC)
*[[South Australia]]: Cities (C), Rural Cities (RC), Municipalities/Municipal Councils (M), District Councils (DC), Regional Councils (RegC) and Aboriginal Councils (AC)
*[[Tasmania]]: Cities (C) and Municipalities (M)
*[[Western Australia]]: Cities (C), Towns (T) and Shires (S)
*[[Northern Territory]]: Cities (C), Towns (T), Community Government Councils (CGC) and Shires (S).
===References===
* [http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/9f0b5791ed98061fca256f1900128409?OpenDocument Australian Bureau of Statistics: Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) 2005]
==Austria==
In [[Austria]] designations are similar to those in southern Germany with a [[trichotomy (mathematics)|trichotomy]] in ''Gemeinde'', ''Markt(gemeinde)'' and ''Stadt''.
== Chile ==
In [[Chile]] towns 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.
==Denmark==
In Denmark no distinction is made between "city", "town" and "village"; all three translate as "by".
For very small villages ([[hamlet (place)|hamlets]]) the word "landsby" is used (appr. "country town" or "rural town").
==France==
[[Image:Salins les Bains 2.JPG|thumb|left|250px|The town of Salins les Bains, [[France]]]]From an administrative standpoint, the smallest level of local authorities are all called “[[Communes of France|communes]]”. However, some laws do treat these authorities differently based on the population and specific rules apply to the three main cities [[Paris]], [[Lyon]] and [[Marseille]]. For historical reasons, six communes in the [[Meuse]] département still exist as independent entities despite having no inhabitant 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 called “villes”. Smaller settlements are usually called “villages”. In any case, the French language does not commonly make a difference between towns and cities.
==Germany==
Germans do not, in general, differentiate between ''city'' and ''town''. The German word for both is "Stadt" as it is in many other languages that do not make any difference between the Anglo-Saxon concepts. A town with more than 100,000 inhabitants is called a ''Großstadt'', which is the most adequate equivalence for ''city''. In Germany also the historical importance (many settlements became a ''Stadt'' by being awarded a [[Town privileges|''Stadtrecht'']] in medieval times), the centrality and the population density of an urban place might be taken as characteristics of a "city". The word for a ''village'', as a smaller settlement, is ''Dorf''.
In southern German states the word ''Markt'' or ''Marktflecken'' designates a town-like residential community between village and city.
The current local government organisation is subject to state law of a [[States of Germany|state]] and the related denomination of a specific settlement may differ from its common designation (e.g. ''Samtgemeinde'' - a [[Lower Saxony]] legal term for a group of villages (''Dorf'', pl. ''Dörfer'') with common local government). Designations in different states are as diverse as for example in Australian States and Territories and differ from state to state.
==Hungary==
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" nowadays.
Before the [[fall of communism]] in 1990, Hungarian villages under 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. Zalakaros or Gönc) and meeting the conditions of development are often disregarded to quickly elevate larger villages into towns. As of early 2007, there are 289 towns in Hungary, encompassing some 65% of the entire population.
Towns of more than 50,000 people are able to gain the status of "megyei jog" (town with the rights of a [[county]]), which allows them to maintain own courts and a higher degree of [[autonomy]]. As of early 2007, there are only 23 such towns in Hungary.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}
==(Republic of) Ireland==
{{mainarticle|List of towns in the Republic of Ireland}}
The expression "Town" in Ireland has a similar history as in England and Wales and is surrounded by a simililar penumbra of ambiguity. However it is used officially in several different contexts as follows
'''The Local Government act 2001''' provides that from [[January 1]], [[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) (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 effect the replacement of the boroughs, Towns and urban districts which existed before then. Similar reforms in the nomeclature of local authorities ( but not their functions) are effected 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 determuining 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 http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census_2006_Appendices.pdf
In short they speak of "towns with legally defined boundaries" ( ie 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 distrance of 800 metres there is a neucleus of 30 occupied houses on both sides of the road or twenty occupued houses on one side of the road'' there is also a ''200 metre criterion'' for determining whether a house is part of a census town.
==India==
In India, under most state laws, no village or settlement can be classified as a town unless its population crosses 20,000 inhabitants. On the basis of population and other issues, the state government notifies a larger community (over 10,000) as a ''[[notified area]]'', and its administration is under the locally elected ''[[notified area committee]]''. A settlement over 20,000 population would be classified, with a charter from the state government as a ''town'', with a ''town area committee''. Some laws distinguish only towns and villages from each other, but by usage, settlement with larger populations, such as those having a ''municipal committee'' or ''municipal corporation'' would be called cities. The recent Census of India classified all settlements above 5000 population (subject to some other rules) as urban areas for the sake of census. [http://www.censusindia.net/results/rudist.html]
==Netherlands==
In the Netherlands no distinction is made between "city" and "town"; both translate as "stad".
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 got "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 got such rights. The contrastive word for a ''village'' as a smaller settlement is ''dorp''.
==Poland==
[[Image:ZninZLotu.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Żnin]] - a medieval town in Poland]]
{{Commonscat|Coats of arms of cities and villages of Poland}}
{{Commonscat|Flags of cities of Poland}}
Similarly to Germany, in [[Poland]] there is no official distinction between a city and a town. The word for both is ''miasto'' (as distinct from a village or ''wieś''). Town status is conferred by administative decree – some settlements remain villages even though they have a larger population than many smaller towns. See [[List of cities and towns in Poland]].
==Russia==
{{Main|Types of inhabited localities in Russia}}
[[Image:moscow reutov.jpg|thumb|Only one highway separates the city of [[Moscow]] and the town of [[Reutov]]]]
Unlike English, the Russian language does not distinguish the terms "city" and "town"—both are translated as "{{lang|ru|город}}" (''gorod''). Traditionally, the term "city" is applied to large metropolitan areas and the term "town"—to smaller urban localities.
==Sweden==
Sweden cancelled the official legal term Town (in Swedish: Stad) in the year 1971. Only the word [[Municipality]] (in Swedish: Kommun. In US English approximately [[County (United States)|County]]) was used, making no legal difference between [[Stockholm]] and a countryside municipality. Before that there were a number of terms like "stad"/Town, "köping"/large village etc. The definition of Town (stad) was that it was given such a title. Since the 1980s some municipalities (13 out of 290), who were "stad" before 1971, again call themselves town (stad). This has no legal or administrative significance whatsoever, and the municipalities have to use the word "kommun" in laws. In other cases the seat of the municipality is called "town". There is no difference between city and town, both translates to "stad" in Swedish. The word "stad" is still in use in Sweden, referring to places which were "stad" before 1971.
==Ukraine==
There is no difference in the Ukrainian language between the notions of "town" and "city". Both these words are translated into Ukrainian as "{{lang|uk|місто}}" (''misto''). The smallest population of a city of Ukraine can be about 10,000. Cities/towns should be distinguished from [[urban-type settlement]]s ("{{lang|uk|селище міського типу}}", ''selyshche mis'koho typu''; informally "{{lang|uk|містечко}}", ''mistechko''), which, although urban in nature, do not have a city status. As a rule, the population of an urban-type settlement is between 2,000 and 10,000.
==United Kingdom==
===England and Wales===
[[Image:Rugby town centre.jpg|thumb|250px|A traditional English town centre at [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]]]]
In [[England]] and [[Wales]], a ''town'' traditionally was a settlement which had a charter to hold a [[market]] or [[fair]] and 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 modern usage the term ''town'' is used 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 [[City status in the United Kingdom|the legal right]] to call themselves such. Any [[civil parish|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).
[[Image:Windhill.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Bishop's Stortford]]]]
Additionally, there are "[[new town]]s" which were created during the 20th century, such as [[Basildon]], [[Redditch]] and [[Telford]]. [[Milton Keynes]] was designed to be a "new city" but legally it is still a town despite its size.
Some settlements which describe themselves as towns (e.g. [[Shipston-on-Stour]], [[Warwickshire]]) are smaller than some large villages (e.g. [[Kidlington]], [[Oxfordshire]]).
{{main|City status in the United Kingdom}}
The status of a ''city'' is reserved for places that have [[Letters Patent]] entitling them to the name, historically associated with the possession of a cathedral. Some large municipalities (such as [[Northampton]]) are legally [[boroughs]] but not cities, whereas some cities are quite small — such as [[Ely]] or [[St David's]] for instance.
It appears that a city may become a town, though perhaps only through administrative error: [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester (Kent)]] has been a city for centuries but, when in 1998 when the [[Medway]] district was created, a bureaucratic blunder meant that Rochester lost its official [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] and is now technically a town.
It is often thought that towns with [[cathedral|bishops' seats]] rank automatically as cities: however, [[Chelmsford, Essex|Chelmsford]] remains a town despite being the seat of the [[diocese of Chelmsford]]. [[St. Asaph]], which is the seat of the [[diocese of St Asaph]], is another such town. 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, [[Greater London]] is 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 the [[City of Westminster]] is also technically a city and is also a [[London borough]]). [[Camden Town]] and [[Somers Town]] are districts of London, as [[New Town, Edinburgh|New Town]] is a district of [[Edinburgh]] - actually the Georgian centre.
Going from the suburbs to central London is to "go into town".
====See also====
*[[List of towns in England]]
*[[List of towns in Wales]]
===Scotland===
{{main|burgh|List of burghs in Scotland}}
A burgh (pronounced ''burruh'') is the [[Scots language|Scots']] term for a town or a municipality. Burghs were highly [[Autonomous entity|autonomous]] units of [[local government (Scotland)|local government]] in [[Scotland]] from at least the [[12th century]] until their abolition in [[1975]] when a new [[Region (Scotland)|regional structure of local government]] was introduced across the country. Usually based upon a town, they had a [[municipal corporation]] and certain rights, such as [[self-government]] and representation in the sovereign [[Parliament of Scotland]] adjourned in [[1707]].
Historically, the most important burghs were [[royal burgh]]s, followed by [[burgh of regality|burghs of regality]] and [[burgh of barony|burghs of barony]]. Some newer settlements were only designated as [[police burgh]]s, a classification which also applies to most of the older burghs.
It should be noted that 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. Legally speaking, burghs in [[Scotland]] were abolished in [[1975]], and the term has since fallen into disuse.
see also [[List of towns and cities in Scotland by population]]
==United States==
{{refimprove|section|date=March 2007}}
[[Image:Wyatt-indiana-from-above.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The tiny farming community of [[Wyatt, Indiana]].]] In the [[United States|United States of America]], the meaning of the term ''town'' varies from [[U.S. state|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]]). In others, a town is unincorporated.
The types of municipalities in U.S. states include cities, towns, boroughs, villages, and townships (in the sense of [[Township (Pennsylvania)|Pennsylvania townships]] and [[Township (New Jersey)|New Jersey townships]]; for the meaning in other states, see [[civil township]]), although most states do not have all five types. Many states do not use the term "town" for incorporated municipalities. In some states, for example [[Wisconsin]], "town" is used in the same way that [[civil township]] is used in elsewhere. In other states, such as [[Michigan]], the term "town" has no official meaning and is simply used informally to refer to a populated place, whether incorporated or not.
===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 city in California - charter and general law. Cities organised 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 organised 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 their minds as to how they want to be called. The sign in front of the municipal offices in [[Colma, California]], for example, reads "City of Colma", but the words engraved on the building above the front entrance when the city hall was build read "Town of Colma." There are also signs at the municipal corporation limit, some of which welcome visitors to the "City of Colma" while older, adjacent signs welcome people to the "Town of Colma." Meanwhile, the village does not exist in California, either in colloquial speech or 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.
===Nevada===
In [[Nevada]], a town has a form of government, but is not considered to be incorporated. It generally provides a limited range of services, such as [[land use planning]] and recreation, while leaving most services to the county. Many communities have found this "semi-incorporated" status attractive; the state has only 20 incorporated [[List of cities in Nevada|cities]], and towns as large as [[Paradise, Nevada|Paradise]] (186,020 in 2000 Census), home of the [[Las Vegas Strip]]. Most county seats are also towns, not cities.
===New England===
In the six [[New England]] states, a [[New England town|town]] is a municipality and a more important unit than the [[county]]. In [[Connecticut]], [[Rhode Island]] and 7 out of 14 counties in [[Massachusetts]], in fact, counties only exist as map divisions and have no legal functions; in the other three states, counties are primarily judicial districts, with other functions primarily in [[New Hampshire]] and [[Vermont]]. In all six, 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 a [[town meeting]] and a [[board of selectmen]] serve as the main form of government for a town, while cities are run by a mayor and a city council. For example, [[Brookline, Massachusetts]] is a town, even though it is fairly urban, because of its form of government.
===New York===
In [[Administrative divisions of New York|New York]], a town is similarly a division of the county, but with less importance than in New England. Of some importance is the fact that, in New York, a town provides a closer level of governance than its enclosing county, providing almost all municipal services to unincorporated areas, called [[Administrative divisions of New York#Hamlet|hamlets]], and selected services to incorporated areas, called [[Administrative divisions of New York#Village|villages]]. 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. Everyone in New York State who does not live in an [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] reservation or a city lives in a town and possibly in one of the town's hamlets or villages. (Some other states have similar entities called [[wiktionary:Township|townships]].) In New York, "town" is essentially short for "township."
===Pennsylvania===
In [[Pennsylvania]], there is only one municipality which is incorporated as a "town": [[Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania|Bloomsburg]]. Most of the rest of the state is incorporated as townships (there are also boroughs and cities), which function in much the same way as the towns of New York or New England, although they may have different forms of government.
===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 a county.
According to the 2006 United States Census [[Town of Hempstead, New York|Hempstead, New York]] (western most Town in [[Long Island, New York]]) is the largest town in the United States. The town of Hempstead has a population of over 760,000 people, making it larger than San Francisco, Boston, or Seattle.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
{{wiktionary}}
* [[Developed Environments]]
* Settlement types:
** [[Hamlet (place)|Hamlet]]
** [[Village]]
** [[Town]]
** [[City]]
** [[Megalopolis (city type)|Megalopolis]]
** [[Types of settlements in Russia]]
* [[List of towns]]
* [[Company town]]
* [[Town Hall]]
* [[Township]]
* [[Town square]]
* [[Town privileges]]
* [[Town charter]]
* [[Townland]]
* [[Town limits]]
* Developed environments:
** [[Rural]]
** [[Suburb]]an
** '''[[Urban area|Urban]]'''
** '''[[Exurb]]an'''
* [[Location (geography)]]
==External links==
* [http://www.open-site.org/Regional Open-Site Regional] — Contains information about towns in numerous countries.
{{Types of administrative country subdivision}}
[[Category:Towns| ]]
[[Category:Town| ]]
[[Category:Settlements]]
{{Link FA|pt}}
[[als:Stadt]]
[[ar:بلدة]]
[[an:Ziudat]]
[[arc:ܡܕܝܢܬܐ]]
[[frp:Vila]]
[[ay:Marka]]
[[ba:Ҡала]]
[[be:Горад]]
[[be-x-old:Горад]]
[[bcl:Ciudad]]
[[bar:Ståd]]
[[bs:Grad (naseljeno mjesto)]]
[[bg:Град]]
[[ca:Ciutat]]
[[cv:Хула]]
[[cs:Město]]
[[cy:Tref]]
[[da:By]]
[[pdc:Schtadt]]
[[de:Stadt]]
[[et:Linn]]
[[el:Πόλη]]
[[eml:Sitê]]
[[eo:Urbo]]
[[eu:Hiri]]
[[fa:شهر]]
[[fr:Ville]]
[[fy:Stêd]]
[[fur:Citât]]
[[gv:Balley]]
[[gl:Cidade]]
[[ko:시 (행정 구역)]]
[[hi:शहर]]
[[hr:Grad]]
[[io:Urbo]]
[[id:Kota]]
[[iu:ᓄᓇᓖᑦ/nunaliit]]
[[os:Сахар]]
[[is:Bær]]
[[it:Città]]
[[he:עיר]]
[[ka:ქალაქი]]
[[ku:Bajarok]]
[[lad:Sivdad]]
[[la:Oppidum]]
[[lv:Pilsēta]]
[[lt:Miestas]]
[[li:Sjtad]]
[[hu:Város]]
[[mk:Град]]
[[mi:Tāone]]
[[ms:Bandar]]
[[nah:Āltepētl]]
[[nl:Stad]]
[[nds-nl:Stad (woonstee)]]
[[cr:ᐅᑌᓈᐤ]]
[[ja:村落]]
[[no:By]]
[[nn:By]]
[[nrm:Ville]]
[[oc:Vila]]
[[nds:Stadt]]
[[pl:Miasto]]
[[pt:Cidade]]
[[crh:Şeer]]
[[ksh:Stadt]]
[[ro:Oraş]]
[[rmy:Foro]]
[[qu:Hatun llaqta]]
[[ru:Город]]
[[sq:Qyteti]]
[[scn:Cità]]
[[simple:Town]]
[[sk:Mesto]]
[[so:Magaalo]]
[[sr:Град]]
[[fi:Kaupunki]]
[[sv:Stad]]
[[tl:Lungsod]]
[[th:เมือง]]
[[vi:Thành phố]]
[[chr:ᎦᏚᎲᎢ]]
[[tr:Şehir]]
[[tk:Şäher]]
[[uk:Місто]]
[[ur:شہر]]
[[vec:Çità]]
[[vls:Stad]]
[[zh-yue:城市]]
[[bat-smg:Miests]]
[[zh:镇]]