ABSTRACT
The urban habitat arises through the combination, in a fixed settlement, of a variety of special functions that are needed in the service of a civilized society. Many of these functions may be, and are, carried on separately in settlements that are not urban. But when such functions combine, the settlement so formed assumes an urban character. Such settlements vary in character and status, and in consequence various names are used to characterize them at different periods. A town, however, has the minimum number of such traits and has a functional status, and in consequence a mode of grouping of its buildings, that distinguish it from the rural village. The particular urban functions require particular building structures or form-elements. These are grouped areally (i.e. topographically) in the space-structure of the urban habitat in such a manner as to serve a mode of living that is distinct from that of the rural community. The urban functions will first be considered, with special reference to their location in the urban complex, and the character of the structures associated with them. This subject will be introduced by means of an historical definition of the terms, town and city.
