A village is a
clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than
a town, with a population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Though
often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain
urban neighbourhoods. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed dwellings;
however, transient villages can occur. Further, the dwellings of a village are
fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a
dispersed settlement.
In the past, villages were a usual form of community for
societies that practise subsistence agriculture, and also for some
non-agricultural societies. In Great Britain, a hamlet earned the right to be
called a village when it built a church. In many cultures, towns and cities
were few, with only a small proportion of the population living in them. The
Industrial Revolution attracted people in larger numbers to work in mills and
factories; the concentration of people caused many villages to grow into towns
and cities. This also enabled specialization of labor and crafts, and
development of many trades. The trend of urbanization continues, though not
always in connection with industrialization.
Villages have been eclipsed in
importance as units of human society and settlement.
Although many patterns of village life have existed, the
typical village was small, consisting of perhaps 5 to 30 families. Homes were
situated together for sociability and defence, and land surrounding the living
quarters was farmed. Traditional fishing villages were based on artisan fishing
and located adjacent to fishing grounds.
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