[OSM-talk] Place: city,town,village,hamlet,suburb

[Richard Fairhurst]

Alex Mauer <hawke at hawkesnest.net> wrote:

> After some discussion on IRC, the conclusion I arrived at was that the
> US and the UK differ significantly in their determination of a
> city/town/village -- The US seems to define their terminology based on
> the type of local government, while the UK bases it primarily on certain
> amenities provided by the municipality

In the UK, "city" is merely an "honorific title" bestowed by Her  
Majesty Queen Brenda.

"City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign  
and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of  
the Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers. The grant of city status is  
purely honorific; it confers no additional powers or functions on the  
town. City status is not, and never has been, a right which can be  
claimed by a town fulfilling certain conditions. The use of specific  
criteria could lead to a town claiming city status as of right, which  
in turn might devalue the honour. All applications are considered on  
their individual merits."

(http://www.dca.gov.uk/constitution/city/citygj.htm)

Historically, any UK town with a diocesan Anglican cathedral is also a  
city (sometimes a "cathedral city"). The city-village of St David's  
(West Wales) is the most famous example of this. This has not applied  
to cathedrals/dioceses created since 1888.

A town is any settlement which either has a Town Council, or an (often  
medieval) market charter. Thus Charlbury (population 3,000) has both  
and is a town, while nearby Kidlington (population 18,000, more  
amenities) is still a village with a Parish Council.

There's (inevitably) more on Wikipedia if you need it, but to  
summarise, town/city/village status in the UK has nothing to do with  
anything of any use whatsoever.

cheers
Richard

P.S. please let's not get onto counties, otherwise we'll have to start  
explaining why Rutland is governed by - wait for it - "Rutland County  
Council District Council"