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Township

The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems, especially in the U.S., no town need be involved. Specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within a county.

• In Canada, there are two kinds of township in common use. See: Township (Canada)
  • In eastern Canada a township is one form of the subdivision of a county. This is translated into French as canton in Quebec.
  • In western Canada townships exist only for the purpose of land division by the Dominion Land Survey and are not administrative units.
• In England the township has been long obsolete, but was a subdivision used to administer a large parish. See Township (England)
• In South Africa under Apartheid, the term township came to mean a residential development which confined non-whites (Africans, "coloureds" and Indians) who lived near or worked in white-only communities. Soweto is the most well-known of these. See Township (South Africa)
• In the United States, there are two kinds of township in common use. A state may have neither, only one, or both of these. In states that have both, the boundaries usually coincide. See: Township (United States)
  • A survey township is a unit of land measure defined by the Public Land Survey System. These are generally referenced by a numbering system.
  • A civil township is a widely-used unit of local government. These are generally given names.

• In the context of the Soviet Union, the term is sometimes used to denote a small semi-urban, often industrial, settlement, see townlet, posad.