Settlement

Settlement

1. Definitions

   • Site
     • The actual location of a settlement.
   • Situation
     • Location of a settlement in relation to human and physical objects surrounding it.
   • Human Settlement
     • Permanent community where people live
   • Sphere of Influence
     • Area served by a settlement - how far people travel to use its services.
   • Green Belt
     • Set up in most MEDCs to prevent cities building on this zone to prevent urban sprawl
   • Conurbation
     • When cities and towns merge into each other
   • Counter - Urbanisation
     • Movement of people out of urban areas into rural areas looking for a better quality of life
   • Problems in cities
     • Urbanisation
       • Growth of towns and cities
     • Urban Sprawl
       • Unplanned spread of the city into the suburbs
     • Rural - Urban Fringe
       • The meeting of the urban and rural land use in a transition zone

2. Type of settlement

   • Dispersed settlement
     • Spread out settlement, usually farmhouses that own land around them
   • Nucleated settlement
     • A settlement grown around a central point.
   • Linear settlement
     • A settlement that grows in a linear pattern, along a road or a river.

3. Factors that affect where it locates

   • Wet-point site
   • Aspect
   • Building Materials
   • Nodal Point
   • Shelter
   • Dry-point site
   • Bridging Point
   • Food Supplies
   • Defense
   • Fuel Supply

4. Functions

   • Market town
   • Mining town
   • Industrial / Manufacturing
   • Port
   • Route Centre
   • Commercial
   • Cultural / Religious
   • Administive
   • Residential
   • Tourist resort

5. Hierarchy

   • Metropolis (Megacity)
     • 10 million +
   • Conurbation
     • Made up of a group of cities
   • City
     • Place with lots of facilities
   • Town
     • Place with lots of facilities but not as nig as a city
   • Village
     • Place with few facilities and a small population
   • Hamlet
     • Place with few houses usually found in remote rural areas
   • 1 isolated house

6. Services

   • Convenience goods
   • Comparison goods
   • Specialist goods
   • High Order Services
   • Low Order Services
   • Public Services
     • Provided by the government
   • Shopping Centres
     • Why do they locate out of town?
       • More Space
         • to grow
         • for parking
       • Cheap Land
       • Good road connections
         • Easy to access
       • Near to high class residential

7. CBD Redevelopment

   • Because many of the CBDs grew up historically. Many areas are old now and have become run down.
     • Pollution levels rise
     • Ugly
     • Businesses left
     • Unemployment
     • Crime
   • To improve these areas and make people want to visit them again

8. Slums

   • Problems
     • Water Pollution
     • Malnutrition
     • Low education
     • Unsafe
       • Not weather-proof
       • Crime
         • drug + alcohol abuse
     • Lack of clothing / materials
     • Unhygienic
     • No electricity / infrastructure
     • Air Polution
     • High unemployment
     • Overcrowding
   • The Informal Sector
     • People paid "cash in hand"
     • No regular wages
     • No document proving you are working
     • No security / health care
     • No pensions / taxes

9. Patterns in settlements