A district municipality is a designation for a class of

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

found in several locations, including Canada, Lithuania, and South Africa.

Canada

British Columbia

Under provincial law, municipalities in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

are to be designated "district municipalities" on incorporation if the area to be incorporated is greater than 800 hectares (8 km²) and has an average population density of less than 5 persons per hectare (500 persons per km²). Municipalities may be incorporated under different classifications under the direction of the province's lieutenant governor, as is the case with the District of North Vancouver.

Nova Scotia

A district municipality, also called a rural municipality, is one of three municipal types, along with towns and regional municipalities. District municipalities and county municipalities are further considered rural municipalities. The province's twelve district municipalities are referred to as

municipal district A municipal district is an administrative entity comprising a clearly-defined territory and its population. It can refer to a city, a town, a village, a small grouping of them, or a rural area. Brazil In Brazil, municipal districts are, in genera ...

s by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

Ontario

Currently, only one district municipality exists in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

– District Municipality of Muskoka. It was formerly a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

but has undergone heavy

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

and

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

, particularly from

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

, as it is the heart of Ontario's

cottage country Cottage country is a common name in Ontario, New Brunswick, and other regions of Canada for areas that are popular locations for recreation, recreational properties such as cottages and summer homes. Cottage country is often socially, culturally, ...

. As a result, it was "upgraded" from a district (such as neighbouring

Parry Sound District Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its boundaries are District of Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District to the north-northwest, the French River and Lake Nipissing in the north, Nipissing Distri ...

) to having powers similar to a

regional municipality A regional municipality (or region) is a type of Municipal government in Canada, Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipality, municipal local government, government level as a county, although the specific structure an ...

, such as

York Regional Municipality The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional ...

South Africa

In South Africa,

municipalities are administrative divisions of a province. South Africa recognizes three types of municipality; metropolitan, district and local. District municipalities are made up of a number of local municipalities. The vast majority of land consists of district municipalities, with metropolitan municipalities being reserved for large cities and the areas around them. There are eight metropolitan municipalities, and 44 district municipalities subdivided into 226 local municipalities.

References

* Census divisions of Canada Subdivisions of Canada Local government in Canada Local government in South Africa Subdivisions of South Africa Municipalities Types of administrative division {{geo-term-stub