Fundamentals Of Human Geography Chapter 10 Human Settlements

B.

Linear

A.

Primary

D.

Mesopotamia

B.

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C.

Natural

Settlement refers to an organised colony of human beings together with the buildings in which they live or use and paths and streets over which they travel. A settlement may include a temporary camp of the hunters or herders and also the permanent settlement called village, town, city which are large agglomeration.

The study of settlement is essential and basic to human geography because the form of settlement in any particular region reflects the human relationship with the environment.

A settlement or a place of dwelling is commonly identified as a village or town or city.

Rural settlements are the dwelling places of people who directly or indirectly depend on land.
They are dominated by primary activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing etc. As such they tend to be small and are therefore at the lower end of size scale.

Urbanisation is a process in which a rural settlement gradually change into urban in its structure form and functions.

There were 438 million plus cities in the world in 2005.

The number of mega cities in the world today is 25.

Dharawi is the Asia’s largest slum and it is situated in central Mumbai.

The global cities like London, New York and Tokyo play a very significant role.

(i) In the production and transformation of international economic relation by providing house to massive complexes of financial business services and TNCs.

(ii) They create opportunities for interaction through face to face contract.

(iii) These three cities together cover the world for the purpose of financial trading and work largely as a unit in the same system of endless transactions. They can transfer finance round the world in no time.

World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests that, among other things, a ‘healthy city’ must have;

(a) A clean and safe environment.

(b) Meets and balance needs of all its inhabitants.

(c) Involves the community in local government.

(d) Provides easily accessible health services.

Linear pattern.

London.

A settlement refers to an organised colony of human beings together with buildings in which they live or use and the paths and streets over which they travel.

Planned rural settlements are constructed by government by providing shelters, water and other infrastructure on acquired lands.

Linear pattern settlements.

Planned settlements constructed by government by providing shelter, water and infrastructure are called canal colonies built along the banks of canal.
Eg. In India Indira Gandhi Canal Command Area has such colonies.

Main patterns of rural settlement are mentioned below:

On the basis of size function and services available urban settlements can be classified into five categories as under:

On the basis of functions, towns are classified into the following categories:

Rural settlements in the developing countries are large in number and poorly equipped with infrastructure.
The problems associated with rural settlements are stated below:

Tokyo was the first city.

Urbanisation is the process of change from rural to an urban population. It is not only a demographic growth of villages leading to the formation of cities. It is also a change from quantitative living pattern to qualitative.

an organised colony of humans living together with the buildings in which they live or use and the paths and streets over which they travel.

seen in river valley and fertile plain.

Tundra.

linear

Sao Paulo

5000

400

linear

438

48%

 Population size criteria used by most countries to define urban areas :

The lower limit of the population size for the settlement to be designated as urban is-

(i)1,500 in Colombia.

(ii)2,000 in Argentina and Portugal

Characteristics of clustered rural settlements of India :

(i)The Clustered rural settlement is a compact or closely built up area of houses.

(ii)In this type of village, the general living area is distinct and separated from the surrounding farms, barns and pastures.

(iii)The closely built-up area and its intervening streets present some recognisable pattern of geometric shape such as rectangular, radial, linear etc 

The basic differences between rural and urban settlements are as follows:

 (i) The rural settlements derive their life support or basic economic needs from land based primary economic activities, whereas, urban settlements, depend on processing of raw materials and manufacturing of finished goods on the one hand and a variety of services on the other.

 (ii) Cities act as nodes of economic growth, provide goods and services not only to urban dwellers but also to the people of the rural settlements in their hinterlands in return for food and raw materials. This functional relationship between the urban and rural settlements takes place through transport and communication network.

 (iii) Rural and urban settlements differ in terms of social relationship, attitude and outlook. Rural people are less mobile and therefore, social relations among them are intimate. In urban areas, on the other hand, way of life is complex and fast, and social relations are formal.

Patterns of rural settlements in the world on the basis of forms or shapes:

 (i) Linear pattern- In such settlements houses are located along a road, railway line, river, canal edge of a valley or along a levee.

 (ii)  Rectangular pattern- Such patterns of rural settlements are found in plain areas or wide inter montane valleys. The roads are rectangular and cut each other at right angles.

 (iii) Circular pattern- Circular villages develop around lakes, tanks and sometimes the village is planned in such a way that the central part remains open and is used for keeping the animals to protect them from wild animals.

 (iv) Star like pattern- Where several roads converge, star shaped settlements develop by the houses built along the roads.

 (v) T-shaped, Y-shaped, Cross-shaped or cruciform settlements- T-shaped settlements develop at tri-junctions of the roads (T) while (Y) shaped settlements emerge as the places where two roads converge on the third one and houses are built along these roads.

Urban settlements

Problems of rural settlements in the developing countries:

(i) Rural settlements in the developing countries are large in number and poorly equipped with infrastructure.

(ii) Supply of water to rural settlements in developing countries is not adequate. People in villages, particularly in mountainous and arid areas have to walk long distances to fetch drinking water.

(iii) The general absence of toilet and garbage disposal facilities cause health related problems.

(iv) The design and use of building materials of houses vary from one ecological region to another. The houses made up of mud, wood and thatch, remain susceptible to damage during heavy rains and floods, and require proper maintenance every year.

(v) Unmetalled roads and lack of modern communication network creates a unique problem. During rainy season, the settlements remain cut off and pose serious difficulties in providing emergency services.

Human Settlement means cluster of dwellings of any type or size where human beings live.

Division of the population of the world on the basis of residence:

(i) Urban

(ii) Rural

Two points of difference:

(i) Density of population is higher in Urban.

(ii) Sex ratio also varies in this region.

Rural settlements are most closely and directly related to land. They are dominated by primary activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing etc. The settlements size is relatively small.

The two types of the rural settlements in the world:

(i) Compact or Nucleated settlements

(ii) Dispersed Settlements

Difference:

(i) Compact or Nucleated settlements are those in which large number of houses are built very close to each other while dispersed settlements, houses are spaced far apart and often interspersed with fields.

(ii) Compact or Nucleated settlements develop along river valleys and in fertile plains. Whereas in dispersed Settlements, cultural feature such as a place of worship or a market, binds the settlement together.

(iii) Communities are closely knit and share common occupations in compact or nucleated settlements.

(9.1) Cross shaped/Rectangular

(9.2) They are found in plain areas where roads and railways cut each other at about right angle.

(9.3) The houses are built: (i) Side by side (ii) In a compact fashion (iii) They are specific to plains and valleys.

According to WHO a healthy city must have:
(i) A clean and safe environment.
(ii) Meets the ‘Basic Needs’ of ‘All’ its inhabitants.
(iii) Involves the community in local government.

Metropolitan City is a general term for city together with their suburbs with a population of more than 10 million people.

Problems of rural settlements in the developing countries:

(i) Rural settlements in the developing countries are large in number and poorly equipped with infrastructure.

(ii) Supply of water to rural settlements in developing countries is not adequate. People in villages, particularly in mountainous and arid areas have to walk long distances to fetch drinking water.

(iii) The general absence of toilet and garbage disposal facilities cause health related problems.

(iv) The design and use of building materials of houses vary from one ecological region to another. The houses made up of mud, wood and thatch, remain susceptible to damage during heavy rains and floods, and require proper maintenance every year.

(v) Unmetalled roads and lack of modern communication network creates a unique problem. During rainy season, the settlements remain cut off and pose serious difficulties in providing emergency services.

Settlement is classified into urban and rural, but there is no consensus:

i. Population size is small in rural settlement than urban settlements but it is not a universally applied because many villages of India and China have population exceeding that of some towns of Western Europe and United States.

ii. People living in villages pursued agriculture or other primary activities, but presently in developed countries, large sections of urban populations prefer to live in villages even though they work in the city.

iii. Petrol pumps are considered as a rural function in the United States while it is an urban function in India.

iv. Facilities available in the villages of developed countries may be considered rare in villages of developing and less developed countries.

Hamleted settlement

1 These settlements are fragmented into several units separated from each other. Thus, one site is easily recognisable and other houses are physically separated. They have local

names such as para, panna, pali etc. There is complete diffusion and isolation of huts in the entire area.

2 Because of increasing pressure of a population on the existing site, people seek a place outside the village. This has given rise to hamleted settlements. They are formed because of the scarcity of arable land and water, and they have less fertile soil.

3 They are found in the middle Ganges plain, Chhattisgarh and Tarai region.

Dispersed settlement

i.There is complete diffusion and isolation of huts in the entire area.

2.They are formed because of the scarcity of arable land and water, and they have less fertile soil.

3. They are found on the slopes of the Himalayas, Rajasthan and the Eastern Himalayas.