<P> Statistics Sweden uses the term localities (tätort) for various densely populated places . The common English - language translation is urban areas . </P> <P> The UK Department for Communities and Local Government uses the term "urban settlement" to denote an urban area when analysing census information . The Registrar General for Scotland defines settlements as groups of one or more contiguous localities, which are determined according to population density and postcode areas . The Scottish settlements are used as one of several factors defining urban areas . </P> <P> The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has a Geographic Names Information System that defines three classes of human settlement: </P> <Ol> <Li> Populated place − place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population (city, settlement, town, village). A populated place is usually not incorporated and by definition has no legal boundaries . However, a populated place may have a corresponding "civil" record, the legal boundaries of which may or may not coincide with the perceived populated place . </Li> <Li> Census − a statistical area delineated locally specifically for the tabulation of Census Bureau data (census designated place, census county division, unorganized territory, various types of American Indian / Alaska Native statistical areas). </Li> <Li> Civil − a political division formed for administrative purposes (borough, county, incorporated place, municipio, parish, town, township)." </Li> </Ol>

What kinds of places grow as settlements now-a-days