Quarter (urban subdivision)



A quarter is a part of an urban settlement.

A quarter can be administratively defined and its borders officially designated, and it may have its own administrative structure (subordinate to that of the city, town or other urban area). Such a division is particularly common in countries like Bulgaria (квартал), Croatia (četvrt), France (Quartier), Georgia (კვარტალი, k'vart'ali), Italy (Quartiere), Romania (Cartier), and Serbia (четврт / četvrt). It may be denoted as a borough (in English-speaking countries), Portugal/Brazil (bairro), Spain (barrio); or some other term (e.g. Cambodia (សង្កាត់ sangkat), Germany (Stadtteil), and Poland (dzielnica)).

Quarter can also refer to a non-administrative but distinct neighbourhood with its own character: for example, a slum quarter. It is often used for a district connected with a particular group of people: for instance, some cities are said to have Jewish quarters, diplomatic quarters or Bohemian quarters.

History
Most ancient Roman cities were divided to four parts, called Quarters, by their two main avenues: the Cardo and the Decumanus Maximus.