What are the differences between locality and municipality?

A summary to know how to distinguish between the concept of municipality and locality.

In the news we often hear the words "locality" and "municipality" used interchangeably.

This is why it is not uncommon to think that they are synonymous, or to think that their meanings refer to practically the same thing. But the truth is that these two words have quite different meanings and, especially if you live in rural areas, it is very clear how they differ.

We will now take a closer look at the differences between locality and municipality.understanding what is the definition of both words and putting some graphic examples to understand it better.

The main differences between locality and municipality

The words "locality" and "municipality" are often used as if they were synonymous. Because of this can lead to a lot of confusion when it comes to understanding what they mean, especially considering that in the media and in colloquial language they are often used interchangeably.This is especially true given that in the media and in colloquial language they are often used interchangeably.

This is not surprising, since their difference, although there is a significant one, can sometimes not be fully understood, especially if you live in municipalities with only one urban center.

Locality

The word locality means place or town, in the sense that it refers to a specific population center. It corresponds to an administrative or territorial division formed by a group of houses or buildings, in very variable quantity, shape, size and proximity.. Thus, a locality can be a village, a town or a city.

The boundaries of localities are usually fixed, although it is not uncommon to find unclear boundaries with respect to other localities in the same municipality. A locality may itself be an independent municipality or be part of one, whose town hall is located in the capital locality.

Municipality

The municipality is the portion of land whose urban centers are governed by the same government. In other words, a municipality may include one or more localities, more or less separated from each other and of different sizes, but which share the fact that they are governed by the same jurisdiction, set by the city council, the mayor's office, the council or the municipality.

Unlike what happens with the localities, the municipal boundaries are clearly markedThe same municipality should not be in possession of the same locality, as this can cause problems at the administrative level.

Examples

Having seen the definitions, we can understand what is the fundamental difference between municipality and locality. Localities are urban centers that, by themselves, do not necessarily have to be independent. There may be several localities that are governed by the same municipality, with the town hall located in the capital locality.

In other cases it may happen that the locality, in itself, is a municipality.. This may have happened for different reasons. For example, one of them may be that a locality has managed to become independent from its original municipality. Another case would be if a locality had grown so much that, by expanding, it had ended up phagocytizing nearby localities, transforming them into neighborhoods.

Here are some examples to understand the differences a little more and to understand why some people continue to confuse the two words

Metropolitan areas of Madrid and Barcelona

Madrid and Barcelona are two examples of how the main urban nucleus has been absorbing the nearby localitiesWhat was originally separated by fields is now a mass of buildings, divided into neighborhoods.

In the case of Barcelona, its expansion has been so great that not only is it no longer easy to differentiate between what was once Barcelona's main locality and the localities absorbed, but it has also grown so much that sometimes it is not easy to know where Barcelona municipality ends and neighboring municipalities, such as Hospitalet de Llobregat, Sant Adrià del Besós, Sant Cugat del Vallès or Santa Coloma de Gramenet, begin.

Es Mercadal and Fornells

In the Balearic and Canary Islands there are some municipalities that are divided into localities. A rather curious case occurs in Menorca, where a locality wants to become an independent municipality..

In the municipality of Es Mercadal, in the center of the island, there is a small town to the north called Fornells, which has been trying for years to form its own municipality. For the time being, they still depend on the Mercadelenca administration and, until they become independent, they will remain a locality without a town hall instead of being a municipality with one.

Rural areas

Although on the coast and the islands there are cases of municipalities with more than one locality, this occurs much more frequently in rural Spain.

Both in deep Catalonia and in the two Castilian regions, Extremadura, Aragon and other autonomous communities with territories far inland on the peninsula, there are many municipalities divided into more than one locality. there are many municipalities divided into several localities, especially if they are relatively far away from each other.especially if these are relatively far away from the main nucleus and this is, in itself, very small.

An example of this can be found in the province of Tarragona, in the case of the the case of the towns of Darmós, La Serra d'Almos, Llaberia and Tivissa, which are population centers that are already very small.which are population centers that belong to the same municipality, Tivissa, where the town hall is located.

Another example is in the case of Castilla y León, specifically in the province of Burgos. The towns of Rebolledo, Albacastro, Castrecías, La Rebolleda, Valtierra de Albacastro and Villeta belong to the same municipality, Rebolledo de la Torre, with its capital in the town of the same name.

Bibliographical references:

• Fornells de Menorca (2007). Jo dic sí al municipi de Fornells. Fornells, Spain. Fornells de Menorca Platform. Retrieved from http://fornellsdmenorca.blogspot.com/2007/10/la-plataforma-prepara-el-recurso-de.html
• Fundéu (2011) Are municipality and locality synonyms? Spain. Fundéu BBVA. Retrieved from https://www.fundeu.es/consulta/son-sinonimos-municipio-y-localidad-10935/.
• National Institute of Statistics and Census (INdEC). "Definiciones." Unidades Geoestadísticas. Cartography and geographic codes of the National Statistical System. Census locality.
• National Institute of Statistics and Census (April 2013). National Population, Households and Housing Census 2010. REDATAM database. Database definitions. p. P. 4.
• Merino Alegre, A (1998). Manual informativo Burgos y provincia. Burgos: ISBN 84-605-7685-X
• Martínez Díez, G (1983). Génesis Histórica de la provincia de Burgos y sus divisiones administrativas. Burgos: Aldecoa. ISBN 84-7009-214-6
• Elton, Charles Isaac (1884). "Municipality" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 (9th ed.).
• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, World Urbanization Prospects (2009 revision) Archived October 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, (United Nations, 2010), Table A.12. Data for 2007.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Competitive Cities in the Global Economy, OECD Territorial Reviews, (OECD Publishing, 2006),
• Urban Audit". Eurostat. 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-02-12