Unit 5: Settlement

1. Origin of Settlements

A settlement is a cluster of human habitations of any type or size where human beings reside. The study of human settlements forms a core component of Human Geography, as it reflects the spatial relationship between humans and their physical environment.

The Evolutionary Timeline

• Paleolithic Era (Nomadic Life): Early humans were hunter-gatherers. They did not form permanent settlements, relying instead on temporary shelters like caves, rock overhangs, or basic tents while moving in search of food.
• Neolithic Revolution (Agricultural Transition): The domestication of plants and animals (circa 10,000 BCE) marked the most significant shift in human history. The requirement to tend crops forced humans to abandon nomadic lifestyles and establish permanent settlements.
• Bronze and Iron Ages (Urban Revolution): Surplus agricultural production allowed a portion of the population to engage in non-agricultural activities (artisans, traders, administrators). This led to the emergence of the first early cities in river valleys (e.g., Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, Nile Valley, Huang He).

Factors Influencing the Origin and Location of Settlements

• Physical Factors:
  • Water Supply (Wet Point Settlements): Settlements almost always originated near freshwater sources (rivers, lakes, springs) for drinking, cooking, washing, and irrigation.
  • Land and Soil: Fertile alluvial soils attracted agricultural communities.
  • Relief and Altitude: Favorable topography (flat plains) encouraged settlement, while harsh climates or steep gradients discouraged it.
  • Shelter (Dry Point Settlements): In flood-prone areas, settlements were built on elevated land or terraces to avoid inundation.
• Cultural and Economic Factors:
  • Defense: Historical settlements were often located on hills, islands, or promontories to protect against invasions.
  • Trade routes: Crossroads of land routes or navigable waterways became natural centers for trade settlements.

2. Classification of Settlements

Settlements are primarily classified into broad categories based on their temporal nature, size, and primary economic functions.

A. Based on Time/Duration

• Temporary Settlements: Occupied for a short period. Built by people engaged in deep forest hunting, shifting cultivation, transhumance, or nomadic herding.
• Permanent Settlements: Occupied continuously for long periods or indefinitely. Most modern settlements fall into this category, supported by stable economic activities.

B. Based on Rural-Urban Dichotomy

The most universal classification of permanent settlements is the division into rural and urban.

• Rural Settlements:
  • Economic Base: Dominated by primary activities (agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining).
  • Demographics: Lower population density, smaller population size.
  • Social Structure: Intimate social relations, strong kinship ties, and a slower pace of social change.
• Urban Settlements:
  • Economic Base: Dominated by secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services, administration, trade) activities.
  • Demographics: High population density, large population size.
  • Social Structure: Complex, heterogeneous societies with formal social relations and a faster pace of life.

Note: The exact criteria (population size threshold) to differentiate a rural settlement from an urban one varies greatly from country to country (e.g., 2,500 in the USA; 5,000 in India; 30,000 in Japan).

3. Types of Rural Settlement

The "type" of rural settlement refers to the degree of dispersion or nucleation of the dwellings. It is dictated by the extent of the built-up area and the inter-house distance.

A. Clustered / Agglomerated / Nucleated Settlements

• Characteristics: Houses are built very close to each other, forming a compact cluster. Streets are usually narrow and winding. The settlement is often surrounded by agricultural fields or pastures.
• Factors: Built for defense (safety in numbers), resource scarcity (e.g., clustering around a single water source), or shared socio-cultural bonds.
• Examples: Common in the fertile alluvial plains of the Ganges, the Nile Valley, and parts of Western Europe.

B. Semi-Clustered / Fragmented Settlements

• Characteristics: Formed due to the fragmentation of a large, clustered settlement. A dominant community usually occupies the central, prime location, while people of lower socio-economic strata or minority groups settle on the outer fringes.
• Examples: Widely found in the Gujarat plains and parts of Rajasthan in India.

C. Hamleted Settlements

• Characteristics: The settlement is fragmented into several physical units or clusters, but all units share a common name and identity.
• Factors: Often dictated by social or ethnic factors, where different castes, tribes, or families live in distinct but proximate clusters.
• Examples: Known locally in India as Panna, Para, Palli, Nagla, Dhani. Common in the middle and lower Ganga plain.

D. Dispersed / Isolated Settlements

• Characteristics: Dwellings are widely spaced apart, often consisting of isolated farms, homesteads, or small clusters of 2-3 houses scattered across a vast landscape.
• Factors: Abundant land, highly mechanized farming, extreme terrain, or specific land-tenure systems.
• Examples: Farmsteads in the USA and Canada, sheep stations in Australia, and settlements in mountainous terrains like the Himalayas or the Alps.

4. Patterns of Settlement

While "type" refers to spacing, "pattern" refers to the geometric shape and spatial arrangement of the settlement, primarily determined by the physical landscape and transport networks.

• Linear Pattern: Houses are arranged in a single line. This pattern develops along a road, railway line, river, canal edge, or a valley bottom.
• Rectangular / Square Pattern: Develops in plain areas where intersecting roads form a grid. Houses are built in rectangular blocks.
• Circular Pattern: Settlements develop in a circle around a central feature, such as a lake, tank, or a village green. Historically, this was also done to keep livestock protected in the center.
• Star-like Pattern: Originates where several roads converge (a nodality point). Houses spread out along all the roads radiating from the center, forming a star shape.
• T-shaped, Y-shaped, Cross-shaped Patterns:
  • T-shaped: Develops at a tri-junction where a minor road joins a major road at a right angle.
  • Y-shaped: Develops where two roads converge to form a single road.
  • Cross-shaped: Develops at the crossroads of two major intersecting routes.
• Double Village: Settlements that develop on both sides of a physical feature like a river (connected by a bridge) or a canal.

5. Classification of Urban Settlement Based on Function and Size

Urban centers can be extremely complex, and while most cities are multi-functional, they are usually classified based on their dominant function or their demographic size.

A. Classification Based on Size (Urban Hierarchy)

1. Town: The lowest level of urban settlement. It has specific urban functions (retail, local administration) but lacks the complex infrastructure of a city. Population typically ranges from a few thousand to under 100,000.
2. City: Larger than a town, with a greater number of economic functions, advanced transport systems, administrative centers, and financial institutions. Typically has a population over 100,000.
3. Million City: A city whose population surpasses the one million mark. (e.g., London reached this in 1800, Paris in 1850).
4. Conurbation: A term coined by Patrick Geddes (1915). It refers to a massive continuous urban area formed by the coalescing of originally separate towns or cities through urban sprawl. (e.g., Greater London, Tokyo-Yokohama, Chicago-Gary).
5. Megalopolis: A term popularized by Jean Gottmann (1957). Also known as a "super-city," it is a chain of roughly adjacent metropolitan areas and conurbations. (e.g., the BosWash corridor in the USA from Boston to Washington D.C., or the Tokaido Megalopolis in Japan).

B. Classification Based on Dominant Function

1. Administrative Towns: Headquarters of higher administration. Examples: National capitals (Washington D.C., New Delhi, London) or state/provincial capitals.
2. Industrial Towns: Cities whose primary driving force is manufacturing and heavy industry. Examples: Pittsburgh (USA), Jamshedpur (India), Manchester (UK).
3. Transport/Port Towns: Hubs of transportation, primarily engaged in export and import activities, or inland transport nodes. Examples: Rotterdam, Singapore, Mumbai (ports); Agra, Frankfurt (inland hubs).
4. Commercial Towns: Centers specializing in trade, commerce, and financial services. Examples: New York, Frankfurt, Hong Kong.
5. Mining Towns: Settlements that grew around the exploitation of mineral resources. Examples: Johannesburg (South Africa - Gold), Broken Hill (Australia), Digboi (India).
6. Garrison / Cantonment Towns: Established primarily for military purposes, housing armed forces and defense infrastructure. Examples: Ambala, Mhow (India), Aldershot (UK).
7. Educational Towns: Centers of higher education that have grown into major urban areas. Examples: Oxford, Cambridge (UK), Heidelberg (Germany).
8. Religious / Cultural Towns: Cities recognized primarily for their religious significance and pilgrimage. Examples: Mecca, Jerusalem, Varanasi, Vatican City.
9. Tourist / Resort Towns: Cities relying heavily on tourism, offering recreation, pleasant climates, or historical monuments. Examples: Miami, Monaco, Shimla.

6. World Pattern of Urbanisation

Urbanisation is the demographic process whereby an increasing proportion of a population lives in urban areas. It is accompanied by social, economic, and environmental transformations.

Historical Context

• Prior to the 18th century, global urbanization was negligible (under 5%).
• The Industrial Revolution triggered the first major wave of urbanization in Europe and North America due to factory labor demand.
• The 20th century saw explosive urban growth globally. In 1950, only about 30% of the world was urban. By 2007, the world crossed the 50% threshold—more people lived in cities than in rural areas for the first time in human history.

The Stages of Urbanization (The 'S' Curve)

1. Initial Stage: Rural traditional society. Urban population is low (under 20%) and growth is slow. Agriculture is the dominant occupation.
2. Acceleration Stage: Industrialization takes off. Massive rural-to-urban migration occurs. The urban population grows rapidly (from 20% to 70%).
3. Terminal Stage: Urbanization levels off. The vast majority of the population (over 70-80%) already lives in cities. Migration slows, and urban growth aligns with natural population increase.

Current Global Trends and Patterns

• Developed Countries (Global North): Have reached the terminal stage of urbanization. Regions like North America, Western Europe, and Australasia have urbanization rates exceeding 80%. They are experiencing phenomenons like counter-urbanization (people moving from urban cores to rural or peri-urban areas) due to congestion and the rise of remote work.
• Developing Countries (Global South): Currently in the acceleration stage. Asia and Africa are experiencing the fastest rates of urbanization in the world today. This rapid shift is driven by a combination of rural push factors (poverty, lack of land) and urban pull factors (jobs, better infrastructure).
• Latin America: An anomaly in the developing world; it is already highly urbanized (over 80%), resembling the developed world in terms of urban population percentages.

The Rise of Megacities

• A Megacity is an urban agglomeration with a population of over 10 million.
• In 1950, there were only two megacities globally: New York and Tokyo.
• Today, there are over 30 megacities. The geographical center of megacities has shifted dramatically from the Global North to the Global South. Cities like Delhi, Shanghai, Dhaka, Mumbai, Lagos, and Kinshasa dominate the list of the largest and fastest-growing cities.

Impacts and Challenges of Global Urbanization

• Economic: Cities generate over 80% of global GDP, driving innovation and wealth creation.
• Social: Unplanned urbanization in developing nations leads to the proliferation of slums, informal settlements, and increased crime rates.
• Environmental: High carbon emissions, urban heat island effects, severe air and water pollution, and rapid depletion of local resources (especially groundwater).
• Infrastructural: Massive strain on housing, transportation, healthcare, and sanitation systems in developing-world cities.