town area; townspeople's district
Historical term from the Edo period referring to the commoner/town district, as opposed to samurai or temple areas. Not used for modern towns.
In the Edo period, the machikata was the district where merchants and artisans lived.
Compound of 町 (machi, 'town') and 方 (kata, 'direction' or 'side'), referring to the town/commoner quarter in Edo-period urban planning.