Kalwan Education Society’s

Arts, Commerce and Science College, Kalwan (Manur),

F.Y.B.Sc.- Semester II
Paper V
Population and Settlement Geography
Unit 3 :- Settlement
Presented by,
P. P. Waghere
Assistant Professor in Geography
Settlement
• Introduction:
• Settlements can vary in size from the very small to extremely
large. They can be small as one house and as large as a
megacity, home to tens of millions of people. That can be
permanent or temporary. Settlements start in different places
for different reasons.
• A settlement is an existence of occupancy for shelter where
people live Settlement is man's structural transformation
towards application to his environment. The study of
settlements is largely a product of the twentieth century.
• A settlement is man's first step towards adaptation to his
environment. Settlement designates an organized colony of
human beings, together with their residences and other
buildings, ( shops , hotels , banks etc .) , the roads , streets
which are used for travel .Settlements are located as
advantageously as possible with respect to natural features
such as water .fuel , food , protection and drainage and access
to transportation and communication .
What Is Settlement Geography?
Settlement geography is the study of human land, water
and resource use, population density patterns, and settlement
growth.
It is essential to urban planning and urban landscape.
Group of people living together forms a settlement.
Settlement geography studies these villages, towns, etc. and also
the types of relationships they generate.
“A human settlement is place inhabited more or less permanent
by human groups”
Definition
Jordan (1966) “Emphasizes that settlement geography not
completely investigates the distributions, but even more the
structures, processes and interactions between settlements and its
environment (such as soil, geomorphology, economy or society),
which produce them.” “settlement geography describes and
explains the settlements„ location, substance, form and structure,
as well as the functions and processes that produced them over
time.”
Settlement geography is the study of human land, water and
resource use, population density patterns, and settlement growth.
 Nature of settlement Geography :
Settlements, facilities built by man in the process of land
occupancy and their groupings , from the most expressive feature
of the cultural landscape . Settlement clusters or agglomerations
may vary in size from a small hamlet and village to metropolis ,
mega city and megalopolis , and in occupational structure and
functional mix from predominantly agricultural and other primary
productions to secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities and in
their sphere of influence from a village and locality to macro-
regions, sometimes of supra - national dimension. The branch of
geographical knowledge concerned with the study of patterns and
variation in the spatial distribution of settlement features and their
groupings on all scales in the present as well as in the past and
future may , in general, is called Settlement Geography .
The latter involves description , classification , analysis ,
synthesis and explanation of networks , linkages , surfaces and
hierarchies in their varying combinations as phenomena in the
space accessible to man and his technology. Advances in
knowledge of the phenomena studied , as a result of improved
techniques of data acquisition , monitoring , analysis and display ,
have encouraged geographers , especially the geographers , to
draw on other disciplines to an even greater extent , while
focusing the ideas and material so derived on the study and
explanation of spatial aerations on the earth ' surface.
 Scope of settlement Geography:
The primary aim of studying settlement geography is to
acquaint with the spatial and structural characteristics of human
settlements under varied environmental conditions Settlement site
and structure- Internal morphology and external form, field patterns
functions and house-types. Settlement geography being an offshoot
of social g or a recent most sprout from the venerable trunk of
human was mainly concerned with urban settlements before the
turn of the twentieth century. As the post is the key to the present
and we walk to a certain degree in every village among the ruins of
antiquity 18. The themes form proposed for international
symposium had at Varanasi in 1971 out lined below comprehensive
subject matter of and approaches to the study of settlement
geography in general and rural settlements geography in particular
A) Approaches to rural settlement geography:
1) Relation to rural settlement geography.
2) Field survey and first hand observation and data collection.
3) Census records and maps and other historical records
4) Data analysis and mapping development of models Paradigms,
hypothesis etc. and
5) Other sources materials such as place names.

B) Histogenesis of Rural settlement and settlements pattern

1) Historic culture areas
2) Systems of land division, proprietary grant systems and water
rights etc. and their relation to settlement growth patterns.
3) Pioneer settlement areas and their problems and Sequence of
occupancies Neolithic, bronze, iron, ages, ancient, medieval and
modern periods.
C) Basic Regional Types and patterns of rural settlements.
1) Relation of settlement types and patterns to various physical ethnic
and social factors and
2) Relation to systems of agriculture water and soil management and
land tenure theories of land use intensity,, zoning, labour and input
output costs etc. marketing of products and other locational spatial
theories.
D) Morphogenesis of Rural settlements :
Various geomorphologic form patterns and their relation to various
factors.
E) Functional pattern of rural settlements:
1) Analysis of functional types of rural settlements, methodology
development etc.
2) Functional analysis of service villages and service and trading
centers hierarchy of such centres in relation to general central place
theory
3) Rural seasonal migration community patterns etc.
Categories of Settlement:
Based on above discussed factors, human settlement is categorized as
follows:
1) Clustered Settlement: The settlement in which the houses are
closely built up and compact is known as clustered settlement.
The shape of clustered settlement normally varies from
rectangular, radial, to linear. Clustered settlement in India
normally found in fertile alluvial plains and in the northeastern
states.
2) Semi-Clustered:
The settlement, clustering in a restricted area of dispersed
settlement normally looks like semi-clustered. Examples of such
settlement can be seen in Gujarat plain and some parts of
Rajasthan.
3) Hamleted Settlement:
Some settlement is fragmented into several units and physically
separated from each other is known as hamleted settlement.
Examples of hamleted settlement can be seen in the middle and
lower Ganga plain, Chhattisgarh and lower valleys of the
Himalayas.
4) Dispersed Settlement :
The isolated settlement is known as dispersed settlement.
Examples of such settlement can be seen in parts of Meghalaya,
Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala have this type of
settlement.
Types and Patterns of Rural Settlement:
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
Definition :
Any settlement in which most of the people are en-gaged in
agriculture, forestry, mining and fishery is known as rural settlement.
It Is often called as agri-cultural workshop.
Types of the settlement are determined by the extent of the built-up
area and inter- house Semi-Clustered Settlements distance. In India
compact or clustered village of a few hundred houses is a rather
universal feature, particularly in the northern plains. However, there
are several areas, which have other forms of rural settlements.
 There are various factors and conditions responsible for
having different types of rural settlements in India.
These include
A) Physical features: Nature of terrain, altitude, climate and
availability of water
B) Cultural and Ethnic factor: Social structure, caste and religion
C) Security factors: Defence against thefts and robberies.

Rural settlements in India can broadly be put into four types.

1) Compact settlements:
2) Semi-compact settlements:
3) Hamlated settlements:
4) Dispersed settlements:
1) Compact settlements:
If the number of villages equals the number of
hamlets in an area unit, the settlement is designated as
compact. Such settlements are found throughout the plateau
region of Malwa, in the Narmada Valley, Nimar upland, large
parts of Rajasthan, paddy lands in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Vindhyan Plateau and several other cultivated parts of India.
In such villages all the dwellings are concentrated in one
central site. The inhabitants of the village live together and
enjoy the benefits of community life. Such settlements range
from a cluster of about thirty to hundreds of dwellings of
different forms, sizes and functions. Their size varies from
500 to 2,500 persons in sparsely populated parts like
Rajasthan to more than 10,000 in the Ganga plain.
2) Semi-compact settlements:
If the number of villages equals more than half of the hamlets, it
is semi-compact settlement. These are found both in plains and plateaus
depending upon the environmental conditions prevailing there. The
dwellings in such settlements are not very closely knitted and are
huddled together at one common site. It covers more area than the
compact settlements; the hamlets occupy new sites near the periphery of
the village boundary.
3) Hamlated settlements:
If the number of villages is equal to half of hamlet number, it is
a hamlet settlement. The hamlets are spread over the area with
intervening fields and the main or central settlement is either absent or
has feeble influence upon others. Often the original site is not easily
distinguishable and the morphological diversity is rarely noticed. Such
settlements are found in West Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh and coastal plains.
4) Dispersed settlements:
If the number of villages is less than half the number of
hamlets, the settlement is regarded as dispersed. The inhabitants
of dispersed settlements live in isolated dwellings scattered in the
cultivated fields. Individualism, sentiments of living freely,
Custom of marriage relations are conducive to such settlements.
However, these dwellings are deprived of neighborhood
communal Interdependence and social interaction. Dispersed
settlements are found in tribal areas covering central part of India,
eastern and southern Rajasthan, Himalayan slopes and land with
dissected and uneven topography. Homesteads or farmsteads or
wheat producing areas in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar
Pradesh also belong to this category.
Rural Settlement Patterns:
Patterns of rural settlements reflect the way the houses are
sited in relation to each other. The site of the village, the
surrounding topography and terrain influence the shape and size of
a village. Rural settlements may be classified on the basis of a
number of criteria:
1) On the basis of setting: The main types are plain villages,
plateau villages, coastal villages, forest villages and desert
villages.
2) On the basis of functions: There may be farming villages,
fishermen's villages, lumberjack villages, pastora villages etc.
3) On the basis of forms or shapes of the settlements: These
may be a number of geometrical forms and shapes such as Linear
rectangular, circular star like, T-shaped village, double village,
cross-shaped village etc.
a) Linear pattern: In such settlements houses are located along a
road, railway line, and river, canal edge of a valley or along a levee.
Linear pattern is the other most important design of settlements. In the
linear settlements, houses are arranged along either side of a road,
railway line, river or canal. Such settlements also evolve along the
edge of a valley, especially in the mountainous areas, above flood
level or along the coast.
The development of linear settlements in the hilly areas is largely
controlled by terrain and topography. Along the river banks and the
sea shore, the flood and water level influence linear settlements.
b) 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.
Over 50 per cent of the world population lives in rural settlements, and
most of the people inhabit the settlements of rectangular pattern.
Rectangular settlements mainly develop in productive alluvial plains
and wide intermontane valleys.
The lanes in the rectangular settlements are almost straight, meeting
each other at right angles. The rural settlements of the Sutlej-Ganga
plains, especially those which developed on the cross-roads, fall in this
category.
c) 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.
d) Star like pattern: Where several roads converge, star shaped
settlements develop by the houses built along the roads. The star-like
settlements develop on the sites and places where several metalled or
unhealed roads converge. In the star-shaped settlements, houses
spread out along the sides of roads in all direction. This pattern is
common to both villages and towns, and is caused mostly by new
development, spreading out along the major roads. This type of
settlements is the characteristic of the countryside's of North-West
Europe, plains of Yangtzekiang, Punjab province of Pakistan and the
Sutlej-Yamuna plains.
e) Square Patterns: The square pattern of villages is normally
found in agricultural region. In such type of villages houses are
arranged in two or more rows with streets running parallel to each
other. Such villages are found having strong agglomeration.
Sometime villages are protected by walls. The entire village is
divided into Small Square of houses occupying the people of
different castes. In the study area Jat, Sangole and Mangalvedhe,
Pandharpur and Atpadi Talukas have square pattern of villages, of
which Shegaon, Hunnar.
 f) 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. Cruciform settlements develop on the cross-
roads and houses extend in all the four direction.
g) Double village: These settlements extend on both sides of a
river where there is a bridge or a ferry.
Factors Affecting on Rural Settlement:
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. Some
factors affecting the location of rural settlements are:
1) Water Supply: Usually rural settlements are located near water
bodies such as rivers, lakes, and springs where water can be easily
obtained. Sometimes the need for water drives people to settle in
otherwise disadvantaged sites such as islands surrounded by swamps
or low lying river banks. Most water based wet point' settlements have
many advantages such as water for drinking, cooking and washing.
Rivers and lakes can be used to irrigate farm land. Water bodies also
have fish which can be caught for diet and navigable rivers and lakes
can be used for transportation.
2) Land: People choose to settle near fertile lands suitable for
agriculture. In Europe villages grew up near rolling country avoiding
swampy, low lying land while people in South East Asia chose to live
near low lying river valleys and coastal plains suited for wet rice
cultivation. Early settlers chose plain areas with fertile soils.
3) Upland: Upland which is not prone to flooding was chosen to
prevent damage to houses and loss of life. Thus, in low lying river
basins people chose to settle on terraces and levees which are "dry
points". In tropical countries people build their houses on stilts near
marshy lands to protect themselves from flood, insects and animal
pests.
4) Building Material: The availability of building materials- wood,
stone near settlements is another advantage. Early villages were built
in forest clearings where wood was plentiful. In loess areas of China,
cave dwellings were important and African Savanna's building
materials were mud bricks and the Eskimos, in Polar Regions, use ice
blocks to construct igloos.
5) Defense: During the times of political instability, war,
hostility of neighboring groups villages were built on
defensive hills and islands. In Nigeria, upstanding inselbergs
formed good defensive sites. In India most of the forts are
located on higher grounds or hills.
6) Planned Settlements: Sites that are not spontaneously
chosen by villagers themselves, planned settlements are
constructed by governments by providing shelter, water and
other infrastructures on acquired lands. The scheme of
villagisation in Ethiopia and the canal colonies in Indira
Gandhi canal command area in India are some good examples.
Functions of Rural Settlement:
The people living in the rural areas all over the world are
engaged and dependent on various primary occupations, viz,
agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and mining.
1) Agriculture: Agriculture is the most important occupation.
Consequently, the functions of most of the peoples of rural
settlements are generally agricultural. Apart from cultivation of
crops and domestication of animals the rural settlements perform
other functions. Its religious place - Mosque, Temple, Gurdwaara or
Church - with one or two shops is a center of religious and social
activities. The village panchayats (in India) and village councils in
other countries perform some administrative and judicial
functions.In the socialist countries like Russia, North Korea, and
China, the village councils decide when certain crops should be
sown, irrigated, or harvested.
2) Fishery: In the rural settlements where fishermen Iive,
the main activity is fishing. The fishing villages are sited on
rivers, lakes and sea - coasts and the people look to the
water rather than the land to get their livelihood. Although
the main occupation of these villages is fishing but this may
be combined with some agricultural activity.
3) Gathering of Forest Products and Lumbering: There
are numerous rural settlements in the forest areas, which the
dominant economic activity is gathering of forest products
and lumbering. Such villages are generally small in size and
may be found in the Taiga region, forest areas of the Sub-
Himalayan region and hilly tracts like Northeast India, In
the forests where lumbering is on a large scale and timber
industry has developed, Urban rather than rural settlements
are more usual.
4) Small Trade Centers: Generally villages function as small
trade centers. They are necessarily exporting their surplus
products, which need and efficient means of transport and trading
facilities in the nearby areas for the movement of goods and
people. Nowadays, the increases in communication, electric
power, and machineries in each and every field besides the rise in
education have bought many small rural settlements for greater
contact, interactions, and increased trade.
5) Pedagogic Function: Rural settlement also performs a
pedagogic function. First of all, the village and habitation are for
many people miniature reproductions of what a give group
considers as an ideal environment. Thus through the rural
habitation we can grasp the esthetic and cultural manifestation of
rural inhabitants.
Problems of Rural Settlement:
Rural settlements in the developing countries are large in
number and poorly equipped with infrastructure. They represent a
great challenge and opportunity for planners.
1) 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. Water borne
diseases such as cholera and jaundice tend to be a common problem.
The countries of South Asia face conditions of drought and flood very
often. Crop cultivation sequences, in the absence of irrigation, also
suffer.
2) The general absence of toilet and garbage disposal facilities cause
health related problems.
3) 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. Most house
designs are typically deficient in proper ventilation. Besides, the
design of a house includes the animal shed along with its fodder-
store within it. This is purposely done to keep the domestic animals
and their food properly protected from wild animals
4) 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.
5) It is area also difficult to provide adequate health and
educational infrastructure for their large rural population. The
problem is particularly serious where proper villagisation has not
taken place and houses are scattered over a large area.