Urban-type settlement (Russian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, posyolok gorodskogo tipa (abbreviated: п.г.т., p.g.t.); Ukrainian: селище міського типу, selyshche mis'koho typu (abbreviated: с.м.т., s.m.t.)) is an official designation for a type of locality used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union. Several specific criteria are associated with this settlement classification, which basically requires the settlement to have some sort of urban-like infrastructure.
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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.
In the Russian SFSR, urban-type settlements were subdivided into three types:
In 1981, the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic defined an urban-type settlement as follows:[1] "To the category of an urban-type settlement may be included any settlement located near industrial enterprises, buildings, railroad connections, hydro-technical constructions, and enterprises in production and refining of a agrarian products as well as settlements that include higher or middle occupation educational establishments, science-researching institutions, sanatoria, and other stationary treatment and recreation establishments that have a state housing provided to no less than 2,000 inhabitants[2] out which no less than two-thirds consist of workers, servicemen, and their families.
In exceptional cases, to the category of an urban-type settlements could be classified settlements with the amount of population less than 2,000, but more than 500 if they have a close perspective of an economic and social development potential, increase in number of people.
According to a 1998 law of Belarus,[3] there are three categories of urban-type settlement in the country:
In accordance with the 2008 Law on Administrative and Territorial Subdivision of Kyrgyzstan,[4] urban-type settlements are those that comprise economically significant facilities such as industrial plants, railway stations, construction sites, etc., as well as settlements with a recreational potential with population of at least 2,000. In exceptional cases, administrative, economic and cultural centers with a potential of economical development and population growth can be classified as urban-type settlements.
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.