Urban-type settlement ( , posyolok gorodskogo tipa; , selyshche mis'koho typu; abbreviated as in Russian and as in Ukrainian) is an official designation for a certain type of urban localities used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union.

An urban-type settlement was one of the results of Soviet urban design, a locality intermediate in character and status between cities/towns and rural localities.

Some urban-type settlements are similar in size to some rural localities; however, their infrastructure is urban. Other urban-type settlements are similar in size and infrastructure to some small towns. Usually they are centered around a single industry. One of the defining features of an urban-type settlement in the former USSR was economic independence from agriculture.

Soviet Union

In the Soviet Union the criteria of urban-type settlements were set independently by the Soviet Republics. Those criteria, however, only differed very slightly from one republic to another.

Russian SFSR

In the Russian SFSR, urban-type settlements were subdivided into three types:

• Work settlements ( ): localities with factories, mining industry, power stations, construction industry, with population of at least 3,000 and with at least 85% of the population being workers, professionals, and the members of their families;
• Resort settlements ( ): localities focusing on resort and health facilities (around beaches, mineral water spas, etc.), with population of at least 2,000, with at least 50% of the average annual population being non-permanent residents;
• Suburban settlements (dacha settlements, ): settlements with a focus on private summer-time and weekend recreation, with no more than 25% of the permanent population being employed in the agricultural sector.

Ukrainian SSR

In 1981, the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic defined an urban-type settlement as follows:

• a locality of not less than 2,000 inhabitants, consisting of at least ⅔ workers or government employees or their families;
• with industrial enterprises, buildings, and a railroad connection;
• localities with educational or research institutions;
• with sanatoria or recreational institutions.

In exceptional cases, even localities of 500 to 2,000 inhabitants could attain urban-type settlement status, if they had economic development potential.

Russian Federation

In modern Russia, the task of setting the criteria of urban-type settlements is delegated to the federal subjects. In most cases, the federal subject's legislative body is responsible for all administrative and territorial changes, including granting and revoking of the urban-type settlement and town status.

See also

• Subdivisions of Russia
• Subdivisions of Ukraine

References