Rural & Urban settlement - Geography GR12 summary/notes.

 Chapter 1
- The study of settlements

 A settlement is a place where …
 A group of people live.
 An infrastructure exists.
 Buildings occur.
 Social and economic activities happen.
 A settlement can be as small as a village or as large as a city, with the
main criteria being that it operates as a single integrated system on a
regular daily basis.

Factors that can influence the site of a settlement:
- Physical factors = the availability of resources.
- Economic factors = the availability of valuable minerals.
- Trade and transport factors = the availability of a natural harbour
or the crossing point of a large river.
- Cultural or social factors = new towns have been built away from
existing urban settlements that are congested, polluted and
overpopulated. These are designed to …
 Improve the living conditions and lifestyles of people.
 Attract light industries.
 Have road networks that allow for easy traffic flow.
 Provide easy access to schools, clinics, shops and other
facilities.
- Political factors = government policies can influence the site of
settlements.
- Historical factors.
Situation of a settlement: the relationship between a settlement and its
region e.g., soil, climate, rivers, geology and vegetation.




- Rural settlement: a small settlement with a small population
involved in primary activities.
- Urban settlement: a large settlement with a large population
involved in secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities.



The difference between rural and urban
settlements:
 Size and population.
 Economic activity.
 Services.
 Land use.

,Size and population:
- Settlements can be classified as urban or rural according to their size.
- Rural settlements are small in physical size and in human population size.
- Urban settlements are larger in size and in population.


Economic activity and function:
- Rural settlements are usually unifunctional, meaning they have one
function.
- The inhabitants of rural settlements are involved mainly in primary
activities.
- Urban settlements are predominantly multifunctional and have a wide
variety of functions.
- The people living in urban settlements are usually involved in secondary,
tertiary, and quaternary sectors.
Services:
- In rural settlements, services such as high schools, universities,
hospitals, shopping malls and public transport are usually not
available or are limited.

Land use:
- In urban areas, a settlement is denser and buildings are closely grouped,
with a great variety and mixture of land use.
- Urban land use can be residential, industrial, commercial and recreational.
- In rural areas, the settlements tend to be widely spaced and the land is
used for one or two activities.



 Settlement classification:

Size and complexity:

- The simplest settlement is the isolated farmstead consisting of a few
buildings, people and social and economic activities.
- The more complex settlement has a variety of buildings, a complex
infrastructure, a larger population and many social and economic
activities.


KEYWORDS:


Nucleated pattern: settlement dwellings form a dense grouping of buildings.
Dispersed pattern: settlement dwellings are isolated and spaced far apart from
each other.
Function: the reasons for the existence of the settlement.

, RURAL URBAN
1. ISOLATED FARMSTEAD: 1. Town: a densely populated
smallest, least complex settlement urban area with a more complex
involving primary activities. infrastructure and varied economic
activities.
2. Hamlet: a loose grouping of a 2. City: a large urban area where
few farmsteads involving primary many people live and work.
activities.
3. Village: a denser grouping of 3. Conurbation: a large urban
many farmsteads involving primary area formed by the growth and
activities. coalescence of a number of cities
and towns.

4. Metropolis: a main city in a
region, which is
surrounded by dependent towns.

5. Megalopolis: a gigantic urban
complex formed when a number of
conurbations join to form the most
 Different types of settlements: complex settlement with regards
to economic activities, population
and infrastructure.




Function:
- The function relates to its economic and social
development, and determines its main activities.
- The functions is often closely related to:
 The site of the settlement.
 The reasons for a settlement’s existence.
 The way in which the inhabitants make their living.


Pattern:
- The pattern of a settlement is either nucleated or dispersed.
- Urban settlements display nucleated pattern because the buildings tend to
form a compact unit.
- The settlement unit is a dense structure of buildings and infrastructure.
- Isolated rural settlements show a dispersed pattern.
- The dwelling units are spread apart from each other so that their pattern is