Settlement and Urbanisation: notes

Settlement

• Site: the exact spot a settlement is built (dry, flat, near water). Situation: its position compared to the land around it.
• Patterns: nucleated (clustered), dispersed (scattered), linear (along a road, river or railway).
• Hierarchy: hamlet, village, town, city. Larger places have more services.

Urban Land Use

• Central business district: shops, offices, tall buildings, most expensive land.
• Industrial area: often near rail and roads.
• Residential: high density suburbs near the centre, low density suburbs further out.

Urban Problems

• Growth: people move to towns for jobs, so towns spread.
• Problems: housing shortage, informal settlements, traffic, waste, unemployment.
• Solutions: growth points and rural development so fewer people leave villages.