A
township (or
municipality) is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government. Specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country.
Uses of the term
Township (or municipality) is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule, especially in the
U.S. and
Canada. In the
Scottish Highlands the term describes a very small
agrarian community, usually a local rural or semi-rural government within a county.
"Municipality" refers to a town or "an area governed like a town". Small (in terms of population) rural subdivisions with limited administrative responsibilities are better referred to as "parishes" or "communities", and this (rather than "municipality") is the preferred translation of the expressions
commune,
gemeende,
Gemeinte,
comuna,
obec, etc referred to below.
In most
countries, a
municipality is the smallest administrative subdivision to have its own
democratically elected representative leadership.
The largest municipalities can be found in Canada and Greenland. Possibly the largest municipality in the world is
Baie-James in northern
Quebec,
Canada, with a land area of 297,330 km² (114,800 sq. miles), which is larger than the
United Kingdom.
Australia
In
Australia and
New Zealand the designation of "township" traditionally refers to a small town: a place that in Britain might qualify as a
village or a
hamlet.
Belgium
In
Belgium, a
municipality (
commune in French,
gemeente in Dutch or
Gemeinde in German) is the equivalent of a township and is the lowest level of administrative division. It is a part of a
province.
Brazil
In
Brazil, a municipality (
município) is part of a state (
estado). However, the
Federative Republic of Brazil is defined as a Tripartite
Federal Republic - that is, the federal government, the states and municipalities are in a co-federation with each other, so there is not a proper federal hierarchy in Brazil. Except for the
Federal District (the area of the national capital city,
Brasília), which has special status and no municipalities, all land in Brazil is in the territory of some municipality. A
city is defined in Brazilian law as the urban seat of a municipality, and a municipality always has the same name as its seat. Thus, in Brazil the
Portuguese word
cidade (for "city") refers only to such urban areas, but if the definition current in some other countries is used — that is, the entire area under the administrative jurisdiction of a specially incorporated urban area — that would mean that even in the remotest wilderness areas of Brazil, one would still be technically in a "city." Brazilian law establishes no difference between cities and towns; all it takes for an urban settlement to be called a "city" is to be the seat of a municipality, and some have a very small population.
Canada
In
Canada, two kinds of township occur in common use.
- In western Canada townships exist only for the purpose of land division by the Dominion Land Survey and do not form administrative units. These townships are six miles by six miles (36 square miles, or roughly 93.24 km²).
Townships are designated by their township number and range number. Township 1 is the first north of the First Base Line, and the numbers increase to the north.
China
In
China, townships are found at the fourth level of the
administrative hierarchy, together with
ethnic townships,
towns and
subdistricts.
France
In
France, a municipality (
commune) is the lowest level of administrative division. A
commune can be either a village or township, a small town, or a large city. The word
municipalité is usually used to designate the administration running a
commune.
New Zealand
In local government in
New Zealand there are no longer towns or townships. All land is part of either a "city" (mostly urban) or a "district" (mostly rural). The term "municipality" has become rare in New Zealand since about 1979 and has no legal status.
South Africa
In
South Africa the word originally meant a segregated town.
Under
Apartheid the term
township came to mean a residential development which confined non-whites (Blacks, "coloureds" and Indians) who lived near or worked in white-only communities.
Soweto ("SOuth-WEstern TOwnships") furnishes a well-known example. However, the term township also has a precise legal meaning, and is used on land titles (in all areas, not only traditionally non-white areas).
Taiwan
In
Taiwan, a township (鎮 or 鄉) is refered to a third level unit of the administrative hierarchy. It has same level as a city (市) but usually has a smaller population.
United Kingdom
In the
United Kingdom the term township is no longer in official use, but the term still has some meaning.
- In England, Township referred to a subdivision used to administer a large parish.
This use became obsolete at the end of the nineteenth century when local government reform converted many townships which up to then had been subdivisions of ancient parishes into the newer
civil parishes in their own right. This formally separated the connection between the ecclesiastical functions of ancient parishes and the civil administrative functions that had been started in the sixteenth century. Recently, some councils, normally in the north of England, have revived the term. Municipalities as a term lived on longer until the local government reforms of 1974. A municipal council was the name given to a type of local government council administering a
Municipal Borough that could contain civil parishes or could be
unparished.
- In Jersey, a township is a redundant term as the only surviving local government level at present are the 12 Parishes of the island.
- In Scotland the term is still used for some rural settlements.
United States
In the
United States, townships are often distinct from other types of municipalities.
Two kinds of township occur. A
state may have only one or both of these. In states that have both, the boundaries usually coincide.
- A civil township is a widely-used yet loose term applied to varying entities of local government, with and without municipal status. Though all townships are generally given names and may be abbreviated "Twp.," their function differs greatly from state to state. While cities, towns, boroughs, or villages are common terms for municipalities; townships, counties, and parishes are sometimes not considered to be municipalities. In many states, counties and townships are organized and operate under the authority of state statutes. In contrast, municipal corporations are often chartered entities with a degree of home rule. However, there are some exceptions. Most notably, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, townships are a class of incorporation with fixed boundaries and equal standing to a village, town, borough or city, analogous to a New England town or towns in New York.
Vietnam
In
Vietnam, a township is an urban part of a rural district, with the same level as a commune. The township is usually the capital of a district.
Zimbabwe
In
Zimbabwe the term township was used for segregated parts of suburban areas. During colonial years of
Rhodesia, the term township referred to a residential area reserved for black citizens within the boundaries of a city or town, and is still commonly used colloquially. This reflected the
South African usage.
In modern Zimbabwe it is also used to refer to a residential area within close proximity of a rural growth point.
See also
