In order to avail ourselves of the best statistics it will therefore be necessary at times to regard as urban population all the inhabitants of places of 2,000 or more.
As the foregoing table indicates, Germany divides the urban population into classes. The practice is a common one among official statisticians, but they seldom agree on the lines of division. In most cases 10,000 appears as one limit; France and Austria add 50,000, etc. But in nearly every instance, a separate class is made of cities that exceed 100,000 souls in population. Such cities are rightly called great-cities (Grossstädte, les grandes villes). They differ from smaller cities in that their influence extends not merely beyond their county, but beyond the commonwealth or province, becoming national or even international, Hence the grande ville has become recognized not only in the official statistics, and in the writings of savants, but also in the legislation of many modern states. The Institut International de Statisque made it the only sub-class in the urban portion of the population.[1]
The discussion on classification of population according to the size of dwelling-place may be summarized in the following manner:
| Rural Population. |  |
Scattered. |
 |
Agglomerated. | |
 |
1. Hamlets and villages (less than 2,000 pop.). | |
 |
2. Towns (from 2,000 to 10,000 pop.). | |
| Urban Population. |  |
3. Cities (more than 10,000 pop.). |
 |
a. Great cities (more than 100,000 pop.). |
One point still calls for notice regarding the comparability of urban statistics, namely, the area that constitutes the urban unit. In American usage, outside of New England, it is the incorporated village or city within the township;[2]
- ↑ Bulletin, ii, 366.
- ↑ “Township” is the common American name of the primary political division. But there are numerous variations, e. g., “parish” in Louisiana, “precinct” in Texas, “district” in Virginia, etc. In New England the term “town” is unfortunately substituted for township. Historically, this latter usage is incorrect, as well as confusing. In primitive Anglo-Saxon times, “township” (tunscip) was, without much doubt, regularly used to designate the municipality in its entirety (i. e., the whole area within the hedge or walls); and “town” (tun) meant the settled portion (Cf. W. F. Allen, “Town, Township and Tithing” in Essays and Monographs). In the course of time, however, the term “town” usurped the name “township,” being applied to the whole area : and in this significance was brought to America by the Pilgrims. Consequently, in New England, the word means the entire municipality, while the settled portion is variously designated as the “village,” the “middle of the town,” etc. The use of the word “town” for “township,” is, moreover, productive of confusion, because “town” is also frequently used to designate a dwelling-centre of a size intermediate between the village and the city. On the other hand, the English use it constantly in the place of the word “city;” with them London is always a “town.” But the American practice is far more logical and convenient and conforms more closely with historic usage; for “city” has always signified a town of high rank and dignity, as appears in the classic phrase, “free and imperial city.”
