According to the Russian classifierthe territories of municipalities (OKTMO) in Russia, there are more than 155 thousand different settlements. Localities are separate administrative units that involve the settlement of people within the built-up area. An important condition for the designation of such a territory as a settlement is the constancy of residence on it, even if it is not throughout the year, but during the seasonal period.
The problem of determining and comparing settlements
For the uninitiated person all settlementsdivided into cities and villages. However, their classification is much more diverse. In the modern world it is difficult to independently understand all the intricacies of the distribution between territories. The boundaries of cities with the expansion, the creation of new areas are blurred, absorbing the surrounding villages, agricultural land. The fact that yesterday was part of another region, today submits to the new administrative centers.
Yet the division classificationinhabited and equipped territories on the principle of "city / village", the most common, not only in our country, but throughout the world. The complexity of the choice of criteria is due to various factors, especially clearly seen in sparsely populated territories.
What is a city?
The city is much easier and easier to identify.Such settlements are the largest settlements of people within a single territory. In this case, the city is considered to be a settlement whose population is not engaged in agriculture and industries adjacent to it. Typical urban occupations are industry, commerce, science, culture. In addition, such administrative units are characterized by their own distinctive, highly individual features.
What makes the city special, makes it special?
Most often it is a large population density of people.On average, this number passes for several tens of thousands per square kilometer. To provide all people with housing, they have to create special housing, which is also typical for the city. Urban architecture in recent years has tended to search for new opportunities in order to fit the maximum possible number of residential premises on the smallest piece of land. Thus, cities grow not only in breadth, but also upwards.
Urban settlements are alsoconcentration of cultural, political, legal life of a country or a particular region. Most often this is due to the fact that it is in the city that the administrative and economic hub of a certain region is located. This contributes to the creation of a certain center that gathers the best specialists, technologies, institutions and resources.
Is urbanization good at first glance?
Concentration of opportunities in one place leads towhat the authorities are trying to fight, but perhaps so far without success. This is a rapid decline in the number of people in rural areas. This happens for various reasons - a high mortality rate, despite the fact that the birth rate is very low. The outflow of youth to the cities also provokes a lack of work, cultural environment, places of recreation, a low standard of living and completely destroyed infrastructure.
Differences of cities, their types by the number of inhabitants
City city discord.The distance between cities belonging to cities can be several tens and hundreds of kilometers. Such uneven urbanization is especially clearly seen in such a large country as Russia. And if in the North-West and Central regions about 80% of the population live in large settlements, in Altai, in Ingushetia, Kalmykia - no more than 40%.
The life of some citizens revolves around industrialzones, others focused on administrative matters, there are so-called military camps. The main activity of such settlements is the maintenance of a military unit located in the immediate vicinity of the city. Such settlements are most often closed settlements; their inhabitants are counted not by hundreds and tens, but by units.
Big cities | Super large | From 500 thousand people |
Large | Up to 500 thousand people | |
Medium Cities | Welterweight | From 50 to 100 thousand people |
Medium | From 20 to 50 thousand people | |
Small cities | Small | From 10 to 20 thousand people |
Townships | Up to 10 thousand people |
Однако доля городов среди всего количества settlements is not so high. About 75% of the total population of the country live in cities (this trend is widespread throughout the world), but their number in relation to villages is several times smaller. For example, according to the state registry, in the Russian Federation there are a little more than a thousand, at the same time, the total number of villages and villages passes for a hundred thousand.
The division of villages by type
Rural settlements are very difficultany classification. Settlement in different regions of the country took place in different ways. Historically, some areas, because of their proximity to trade routes, natural resources, and industrial enterprises, are more densely populated. The distance between settlements in these regions is small. Districts are clearly divided, and each has its own structure, subordination to the center, and management hierarchy.
In general, rural settlements can be divided according to two main features - the number of people living and the sphere of employment.
My village, proud of you!
A village is not always a small settlement ona dozen courtyards. Places in which functioning enterprises are located, developed agriculture, social infrastructure, can number up to 10 thousand people. Such villages are equipped with good roads, their own educational, cultural, medical institutions, post office and retail outlets. Most often, this is an economically developed region, the settlement of which belongs to it and is not in an abandoned state, in the future it can claim to be even larger.
Since in Russia the classification of settlements is not fixed by law depending on the number of people living in them, it happens that villages can be larger than small towns.
Differences of the village from the village
The boundaries of the settlements falling underThe definition of "village" is very small. Most often, they do not go beyond one or two dozen courtyards, and the total number of residents does not exceed a few hundred. In such places people are not very well established. The nearest shops, medical assistants can be located at a distance of several kilometers. At the same time, in such settlements, elementary living conditions are often lacking - mobile communications, the Internet, gas, and normal traffic interchanges. The state is really trying to improve life in the most remote corners of the country, but the main problem remains the outflow of young people and the able-bodied population from the villages. Thus, over the past few decades, according to the state register, 14 settlements have received the status of "former settlement" in connection with the absolute departure of residents.
What is a farm?
One of the smallest formations thatfall under the status of individual villages, are farms. Most often this is a remote group of houses or even one yard. People in them have land, livestock. They may be engaged in forestry, water management, and farmland. Between settlements of larger size and the farm sometimes may not be a great distance. They can be located through the forest, river, uniting the same road, but still being different administrative units.
In addition, there are many other species.settlements that specialize in certain activities. For example, country cooperatives, resort towns, motels, forestry, railway stations and even roadblocks.
There are also settlements typical of some nations, reflecting the mentality and culture of the historical territory (aul, ulus, somon, kishlak).
