The Specialized Municipality dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent Specialized Municipalities in Alberta. Specialized Municipality is a type of municipality which does not meet the needs of the residents of a proposed municipality such as City, Municipal District, Town or Village. but formed to provide for a form of local government that will provide for the orderly development of the municipality or by any other reason that is appropriate in the circumstances. Specialized municipalities are unique municipal structures that can be formed without resorting to special Acts of the legislature. Often, specialized municipalities allow urban and rural communities to coexist in a single municipal government.

The Urban Service Area dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent Urban Service Areas in Alberta. Urban Service Area is a municipality type defined under the authority of the Municipal Government Act. The formation of an Urban Service Area can occur if there is a large unincorporated community within a Specialized Municipality that is recognized as an equivalent to a City by the Government of Alberta. It has a population, public utility services, and other characteristics.

Minor urban center is one of the 7 Niagara Escarpment Plan land use designations. This designation includes rural settlements, villages and hamlets. The boundaries of minor urban centres are defined by the municipality in an approved official plan and/or secondary plan. [More information](http://www.escarpment.org)

A single-tier municipality doesn't form part of an upper-tier municipality and assumes all municipal responsibilities set out under the Municipal Act and other Provincial legislation. A lower-tier municipality forms part of an upper-tier municipality. Municipal responsibilities set out under the Municipal Act and other Provincial legislation are split between the upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities.

Specific location of addresses, excluding apartment numbers.Attributes:Municipality - Municipality Code - Municipality CodeNo_Civic - Civic NumberType_Lane - Road Type_Lane - LinkName_Lane - LinkName_Lane - Link Road - Name of the wayOrientation - Name of the wayOrientation - Orientation of the lane (N, S, E, O) STREET - Full name of the streetAddress - Address**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

Hamlets are smaller settlement areas identified in municipal official plans, generally without municipal water and sewer servicing. For precise boundaries and locations of hamlets, the appropriate municipality should be consulted.

The Town dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent Towns in Alberta. Town is a municipality type defined under the authority of the Municipal Government Act. The formation of a Town can occur if a majority of buildings are on parcels of land smaller than 1850 square metres and there is a population of 1000 or more.

The City dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent Cities in Alberta. City is a municipality type defined under the authority of the Municipal Government Act. The formation of a City can occur when a majority of the buildings are on parcels of land smaller than 1850 square meters and there is a population of 10 000 or more.

The Municipal District dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent Municipal Districts in Alberta. Municipal District is a municipality type defined under the authority of the Municipal Government Act. The formation of a Municipal District occur when a majority of the buildings used as dwellings are on parcels of land with an area of at least 1850 square meters and there is a population of 1000 or more. A municipal district is a government form in rural areas of the province.

Development areas located within the urbanization perimeter.attributs:ID - Unique IdentifierType - Type of zone**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**