In the United States, a town square is an area in the middle of a traditional town consisting of a park or plaza and surrounded by small shops. Shops often include bakeries, meat markets, cheese stores, clothing stores and many others. The town square often also has or had the historic original county or city courthouse.

Compare the European market square.

In urban planning, a city square is a planned open area in a city, usually or originally square in shape. Some are permanently or on certain days of the week used for an open market. See list of city squares.