UNIT II FORMS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

•Structure and form of settlements - linear, non- linear and circular,

combinations.
•Reasons for development. Advantages and disadvantages. Case studies.
•Factors influencing the growth and decay of human settlements.
 Structure And Form Of Human
Settlements _ Introduction

• Settlements may be towns or villages, big or small.

• Pattern of the town plan is influenced by various factors such as situation

of the site, the nature of the terrain,
• period of development, the economic structure, the nature of industry
and trade practiced.

• The structure of growing urban areas become complex over time

• Each urban area has variety of functions which alter the land use pattern
of that area.

• Due to the complexity of land uses found throughout a city a number of

models have been created to identify patterns of land use.
TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS
There is a great variation in the settlement types due to geographical, cultural and
economical factors,settlements can be broadly classified into

•Urban settlements •Rural settlements

 Types of Rural Settlements
Geographers have suggested various schemes of classification.
If we group settlements found all over the country, these can broadly be grouped under four
categories:
• Nucleated settlement
The inhabitants are engaged in primary activities
• Fragmented settlement such as farming, fishing and mining.
• Dispersed settlement
• Linear settlement
• Cluster settlement
Nucleated/Clustered/ Compact /AgglomeratedSettlements
• Rural settlement where a number of families live in close proximity to each other, with fields surrounding
the collection of houses and farm buildings.

• Each person that lives on a clustered rural settlement is allocated strips of land in the surrounding fields.

• When the population of a settlement grows too large for the capacity of the surrounding fields, new

settlements are established nearby.

• Clustered rural settlements are often arranged in one of two types of patterns:

• Linear settlements: Grouping of houses along a line, Mostly along roads, railway tracks, coast or river
banks

• Nucleated settlements: Grouping of many houses together around a centre area, Favourable sites at road
junctions, focal points of an area or junction of rivers.
 Dispersed / Scattered / Isolated / Sprinkled settlement

• When a settlement has a few isolated huts it is called dispersed settlement.

• These types of settlements are found in remote jungles, small hills with a few farms and
pastures on the slope.
• It results from extremely fragmented and small resource support.
• They are found in Meghalaya, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.
 Semi-clustered / semi nucleated / semi agglomerated settlements
• In this type of settlement the built-up area is less compact
as compared to the clustered settlement.
• It may result from segregation or fragmentation of a large
compact village.
• Some sections of a village society choose or is forced to live
a little away from the main cluster or village.
• The land-owning and dominant community occupies the
central part of the main village, whereas people of lower
status of settle on the outer flanks of the village.

Hamleted settlement:
• When a large settlement gets fragmented into several smaller units physically separated from
each other but bears a common name it forms hamleted settlement.
• It occurs due to social and ethnic factors.
• These small units of settlements are known as panna, para, palli, nagla, dhani etc.
• Such settlements are found in Ganga plains, lower valleys of Himalayas.
Types Of Urban Settlements In India
Urban settlement - densely populated area, like a town or city, where the inhabitants are
engaged in secondary industry such as manufacturing and tertiary industry such as tourism.
As per Census of India Urban area adopted is as follows:
(a) All statutory places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area
committee, etc.
(b) A place satisfying the following three criteria simultaneously
A minimum population of 5,000 At least 75 per cent of male working population engaged in
non-agricultural pursuits
Density of population of at least 400 per sq. km. (1,000 per sq. mile)
Urban population in NSS (National Sample Survey) consumption expenditure surveys have been
classified in three size-class of towns,
1. population less than 50000 -small towns
2. population between 50000 and one million –medium towns
3. population above one million -large towns
Classification Of Indian Towns On The Basis Of Their Evolution:

Ancient towns:
• Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayag, Pataliputra, Madurai, etc.
• Towns which are more than 2000 years old and have long history of existence are termed as
ancient towns.
• These towns developed as religious and cultural centres.

Medieval towns:
• Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra, etc.
• Towns which emerged during medieval period as
headquarters of kingdoms are termed as medieval towns.

Modern towns:
• Pre-independence towns: these towns were developed by
the British and other Europeans rulers.
• They were port towns such as Mumbai, Kolkata,Chennai,
• Surat, Goa, and Pondicherry.

Post-independence towns: These towns were developed as administrative centres such as

Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar.
• Some developed as industrial towns such as Jamshedpur, Durgapur, Bhilai, Sindri, Barauni.
• Some old towns also developed as satellite towns around metropolitan cities such as
• Ghaziabad, Rohtak, Gurgaon around Delhi.
Land Use Pattern – Shapes
Linear
Usually the result of natural topography which restricts
growth; may also be a transportation spine.
Branch
A linear span with connecting arms.
Sheet
A vast urban area with little or no articulation.
Articulated sheet
A sheet accented by one or more central clusters and
several subclusters.
Constellation
A series of nearly equal sized cities in close proximity
Satellite
Constellation of cities around a main cluster

City Growth pattern

According to urbanist HANS BLUMENFELD, cities can grow in
three ways:
1.Outward (expanding horizontally)
2. Upward (expanding vertically)
3. Toward greater density (expanding interstitially)
What is urban land use?
Urban land use literally refers to what takes up the physical space of a town or city. The main
urban land uses are:
• Residential
• Industrial
• Commercial and administrative
• Infrastructure (including transport)
• Open space (including planned open space like parks, and derelict space)

URBAN MODELS
Urban Models
A model is useful in understanding a society
• It shows how a city develops
• It gives insight into the society’s urban planning skills, their social classes and economy
Land use Models
• Land use models are theories which attempt to explain the layout of urban areas
• A model is used to simplify complex, real world situations and make them easier to explain &
understand
• Each city or town has a different shape due to: Its evolution, location factors , history and
function But many cities and towns shared a common pattern and we can set models.
Types of Urban Models
Monocentric models _ chicago school of thought
• Concentric Zone Model
• Sector Model
• Central Business Districts

Polycentric models _ los angels school of thought

1. Multiple Nuclei Model
2. Galactic ( peripheral) model

New York school of thought

Halfway between Chicago school and los angels school. Proponents of the New York School
claims that “most economically productive districts and the most desirable residential areas are
concentrated in and around the city’s dense center, growth in the periphery is less patterned”

Non-Western models of urban land use

• Latin america
• South east asia
• Sub saharan africa
• Mediterranean europe
• North africa
1. Burgess’s Concentric Zone Model:

• Developed in 1925 by Ernest w. Burgess.

• Cities grow radially outward away from a single centre.
• Different land uses are distributed like concentric rings around the city centre. They are:
CBD, zone in transition, low-class residential zone, middle-class residential zone, high-class
residential zone.

Criticisms :
• Physical features - land may restrict growth of certain sectors
• Commuter villages defy the theory, being in the commuter zone but located far from the
city
• Decentralization of shops, manufacturing industry, and entertainment
Features of sector model

• Presence of low-income groups near industries supports Hoyt

Model

• The Hoyt model realized that transportation (in particular) and

access to resources caused a disruption of the Burgess model.

• Transport linkages profoundly influence activities and their

locations. Low transportation cost and proximity to
roads/railway reduce the cost of production.

• This model applies well to Chicago

• Account for major transportation routes and its effect on

activities
2. Hoytt’s Sector model
Developed in 1939 by Homer Hoyt ,states that a city develops in sectors, not rings.
All land uses except the CBD form sectors around the city centre. Activities in a sector are
considered to be the same throughout the sector because of the purpose/function it serves.
The land use zones are influenced by radial transport routes.
High-rental and low-rental areas repel one another.
Criticisms:
Applies well to Chicago.
Low cost housing is near industry and transportation proving Hoyt’s model
Theory based on 20th century and does not take into account cars which make Commerce
easier With cars, people can live anywhere and further from the city.

CBD – Central Business District is placed at the center. Sectors and the partial rings of land
use/activities take place. This area is often known as downtown and has high rise buildings.
3. C.D. Harris & E.L. Ullman Multiple Nuclei Model
• A model of urban land use in which a city grows from several independent points rather than
from one central business district.
• Apart from the CBD, there are several separated, secondary centres.
• Certain functions require specialised facilities or sites, e.g. a port district needs a suitable
waterfront.
• Similar functions may group together for agglomeration economies.

Criticisms:
• Negligence of height of buildings.
• Non-existence of abrupt divisions between zones.
• No consideration of influence of physical relief and government policy.
• Concept may not be totally applicable to oriental cities with different cultural, economic &
political
Reason for the Model
Harris and Ullman argued that
cities don't grow a single
nucleus but several separate
nuclei. Each nucleus acts like a
growth point
Advantage:

• This model has the advantage of being more flexible than the earlier models, as it doesn’t
have a specific location for
each zone.

Disadvantages:

Like the other models of the Chicago

School, the Multiple Nuclei Model does
not recognise several key features of
cities that could affect how the model
applies to reality.

Each zone is homogenous throughout

(meaning that there is no variation
within each zone)

Government policies are not

considered, e.g. planning laws
4. Galactic ( Peripheral) model:

Galactic city model is based on the concept of galaxies in space. Galactic city model is a circular
city model that has a commercial and economic central area which is often called the central
business district or CBD is at the center of the city. The basic concept of this type of city model is
high rise buildings in the city center and low rise homes, residential areas and industrial,
recreational and shopping districts surrounding the center of the city. The city then expands in a
circular fashion around the CBD.

Elements of Galactic City Model:

CBD or City Center: The central business district or city center of the city is often the
geographical heart of the city that is the culture, business, economic and political center of a
city. In the CBD area, there are often skyscrapers and commercial buildings and town halls,
government buildings and also buildings that represent the historic past of the city. The galactic
city model has a high-density nucleus or city center and then the city expands in a circular
fashion around the city center.

Suburban Residential Area:

The city sprawls around the city center or CBD in a galactic city model. A portion of the city is
the suburban residential area. This area is characterized as a residential district of the city with
small and high homes, good schools and a suburban-style look to the district. This area lies
inside the outer periphery of the galactic citymodel and has hotels, parks, medical centers and
all essential infrastructures for a residential area.
Circumferential Highway:
The galactic city model is a circular city model with a center and a radius around the center
which makes the
city. The circumference of the city is often characterized by a circumferential circular
highway that surrounds
the entire city. This highway helps people avoid the traffic within the city and reach from
one side of the city to another through the outer periphery of the city.

Radial Highways:
Besides the circumferential highways, there are radial highways. These highways connect
the periphery of the
city from various points to the center CBD area of the city. These are often the main
highways of the city
which are also linked to the arterial roads within the city.
5. Latin American model

Latin America is the portion of North, Central

and South America. Cities in Latin America have
often experienced rapid industrialisation and
population growth since 1950. This model is
often applied to Sao Paulo in Brazil.
• The Central Business District is the
commercial heart of the city.
• The most historic part of the city surrounds
the CBD, and contains a mixture of old
colonial buildings along with more modern
hi-rise development.
• There is also a commercial ‘spine’ along
major roads , which extends the CBD
outwards from the centre towards edge-of-
city retail parks (‘malls’)
• The elite housing zone is the highest class • The periferia (or periphery – meaning ‘edge’)
residential area, and it exists near to the is the home of the poorest people, who are
commercial district because the time taken generally new migrants to the city.
for journeys is generally very long due to • These ‘zones of disamenity’ are squatter
traffic congestion. settlements but they gradually improve into
• The ‘periferico’ is a ring-road that helps permanent residential areas.
traffic move around the edge of the city
6. Southeast Asian model

• Southeast Asian cities often have a very well

developed colonial centre, although it has
often been redeveloped out of all recognition.
• Most major cities in southeast Asia are port
cities, and were originally located on the
coast because they offered trading
opportunities.
• Therefore these cities are
prevented from expanding in all directions by
the coastline, so are not represented by rings
around the centre, but by a wedge or
semi-circular shape instead.
• Terry McGee developed the most influential
model of a southeast Asian city in his book
“The Southeast Asian city”.
• The model reflects the fast
growth of population, and therefore the This is similar it is to Hoyt’s
expansion of the urban area, since then. Sector Model, but with
especially important is the location of new adaptations to suit the Asian
industrial zones, which are not on the coast experience
but inland where there is plenty of cheap
land.
7. Sub-Saharan African model
Harm de Blij, a geographer studied the
urban development of cities in Sub-Saharan
Africa. He recognised that there was
frequently an old CBD with colonial buildings
and some redevelopment (especially tower
blocks).
• However, he identified that cities
often have an ‘open air market zone’ in
which informal economic activity takes place.
• Residential areas are distinguished from one
another not only by household wealth (the
poorest are often on the edge of the city,
because new migrants set up squatter
settlements there) but also by ethnicity.
• This is partly because some African countries were
created from arbitrary colonial borders rather
than from tribal or national groupings, so
ethnically similar people group together when
they migrate to the city.
8. Mediterranean Europe (Spain, France, Italy, Greece) and North Africa

Models can be even more specifc.

This model show how it is possible to be very specific to a type of city. These very specific
models – going beyond a continental location and down to a sub-region – provide an
interesting opportunity for further study and the creation of more models for individual cities.
Urban models _ Case studies
• Multiple nuclei model – Delhi

• Sector Model _ Chandigarh

• Concentric zone model _ madurai

Multiple Nuclei Model – case Study - Delhi
Reason for Adopting Multiple Nuclei Model in Delhi

• There came a period with marked change in planning strategies

• The mixed land use patterns - characteristic of our town was not incorporated.

• The coming in of the automobile changed the concept of distance, which was judged on
travelling time.

This led to vehicular oriented planning was of

Lutyens Delhi in 1920's.
The coming of Automobiles necessitated the removal of noxious industries from
predominantly residential areas. Most of the planners were educated abroad and were very
much influenced by planning concepts prevalent there.

Therefore the 1962 master plan for Delhi was based on having identified zones for different
land uses.
The expansion of Delhi has resulted in its boundaries extending beyond the Yamuna river.
People tend to live further and further away from the city center because of the lower rents
prevalent in these areas. This has resulted in increased travelling distance from work to
residence. More time is spent in commuting.
To overcome this problem the city worked in full swing to construct number of flyovers and to
start off metro service.

In future the ring road signal would be free pressure would be taken off the buses in a big way
MRTS . Lutyens Delhi faces the question of redevelopment and re-densification.
This areas differs markedly as compared to the rest of Delhi.

Disadvantage:

One of the major policies of the Master Plan has been the development of the District Centers
which is a failure .
The reason for this could be that the DDA is only interested in preparing the plan and design
with the sole object of selling the plot. No attention is paid to its location, context and zone of
influence.

• Radial / concentric / Single Nuclei

• Urban Sprawl
• Multiple Nuclei
City of today’s Delhi is seen in three forms-

1.The inner city i.e. The city that existed before the introduction of the Master Plan.

2.The city of planned growth-which evolved between 1962-1982.

3.The new city of the future

The city was built around the temple complex as the focal
point with a combination of concentric street pattern

MADURAI , popularly known as the Temple city, also

called as ATHENS OF THE EAST, City of Jasmine, CITY THAT
NEVER SLEEPS and City of four junctions.

Madurai is third major economic, industrial, commercial,

political center and a major transportation hub for the
southern Tamilnadu

The old city of Madurai is considered to be designed

according to the Rajdhani plan, described in Manasara,
one of the Shilpasastra, and has the fivefold concentric
rectangular formation with Meenakshi – Sundareshwara
Temple at a very center point .

)
Concentric zone model
Madurai
 Concentric zone model : Madurai
The city was built around the temple complex as the focal
point with a combination of concentric street pattern

MADURAI , popularly known as the Temple city, also

called as ATHENS OF THE EAST, City of Jasmine, CITY THAT
NEVER SLEEPS and City of four junctions.

Madurai is third major economic, industrial, commercial,

political center and a major transportation hub for the
southern Tamilnadu

The old city of Madurai is considered to be designed

according to the Rajdhani plan, described in Manasara,
one of the Shilpasastra, and has the fivefold concentric
rectangular formation with Meenakshi – Sundareshwara
Temple at a very center point .

Meenakshi Amma Temple is a historic Tamil Hindu temple

located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the
temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu
The temple forms the heart and
lifeline of the
2,500-year-old city of Madurai

The settlement pattern of

Madurai is planned according
to the ancient system of town
planning which is based on
caste and occupational
hierarchies.

The map shows the present

settlement pattern and its
relevance with the ancient town
planning system.

Ancient south Indian temple

towns are designed by
placing the temple complex at
the center with concentric
rectangle pattern of streets
around ( Srirangam)
 The streets concentric to the
temple complex formed the
major streets viz.,
Chithirai Streets, Avani Moola
Streets and Masi Streets.

The next order of streets is

perpendicular to the above
streets and lead to the temple
entrances.

The developments within and

beyond these streets are on
an irregular pattern.
• The entire city was enclosed within the fort walls and
surrounded by a moat. A definite hierarchy of street
• The fort walls have been razed down and the moat filled up pattern was adopted with the
to form the present day Veli Streets. width of the Streets
• In Madurai, Meenakshi Amman Temple is at the center.Royal decreasing as they branched
Palaces, Brahmins and Priests at the first concentric out, ending up in stone paved
rectangle Traders, Kshatriyas and Vaishnavaites on the streets and lanes - the
second rectangle. width of some being just 0.60
• The lowercaste Sudras and immigrants in the third rectangle m.
Urban Form
Physical layout and design of the city
Spatial imprint of an urban transport system
Adjacent physical infrastructures.

Significance in Urban form or city form

Jointly they confer a level of spatial arrangement to cities, ‘ the spatial pattern of human
activities at a certain point in time’.

Factors Influencing City Form

• Geography
• Trade practiced
• Period of development
• Impact of natural natural environment
• Social political and economic forces

Different Forms Of Human Settlements

• Linear
• Non Linear
• Concentric / Circular
• Radial
• Grid Iron
• Combinations
Forms Of Human Settlements:
Reasons for Development, Advantages and Disadvantages

Circular / Radiocentric / Concentric Form

• Towns with geographical possibility of spreading in all directions on a relatively level site
• Usually tend to grow in a roughly circular form with inner and outer ring roads
• Linked together by radiating roads emanating from the centre.
• The residential areas in such towns are located around the core, between the ring and
radial roads.
• The core itself forms the main business area and the early industry is usually mixed up
with residential localities.
• As the town grows, new ring and radial roads come into existence simultaneously with
peripheral growth Periphery has green belts.

Example : Washington DC, Pre-industrial Baghdad in Iraq.

Radial City Form - the Star Form
A star shaped plan having green wedges of agricultural fields, fruit
orchards, forests and park radiates from the centre of the town.

These wedges alternate with compact residential localities served

by commuter rail lines having populations of 25000 to 75000,
depending upon the size of the city.

At the outer edges, the green wedges merge into the country side,
which serve the purpose of the green belt without any of its
disadvantages.

Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, has a plan based on the same

principle, but with water on three sides, its development can take
place only in one direction.

Due to this, the shape of the plan looks like the fingers of the hand
and hence its development plan is called the “ Finger plan” of
Copenhagen.
Forms of Human settlement

• The Grid iron form

Radial pattern settlements :
In this type, a number of streets converge on one centre which may be a source of water
(pond, well), a temple or mosque, a centre of commercial activity or simply an open
space.Thus, the streets seem to be radiating from a common centre.
Examples are settlements near Gurushikar, Mount Abu in Rajasthan, Vindhyachal in Uttar
Pradesh, etc.
Factors influencing the decay of human settlement
Availability of water

The area with enough water attracts more people to settle in those areas compared to arid or dry areas.

Availability of land for agricultural activities

The areas which have fertile land attract people to settle, while infertile land make people move away from it.

Relief of the area

people prefer in areas which are have gentle slopes and tend to avoid settling in areas which have steep slopes due to

difficult in establishing infrastructure and thin soil found in the steep slopes.

Availability of social services

People prefer to live in areas which have social services such as education, water and electricity and avoid

settling in areas which lack social services.

Climatic condition

Areas which have adequate rainfall tend to have high growth of settlement due to high agricultural production

while areas which experience low rain fall tend to have low growth of settlement due to shortage of water and

poor agricultural production

Government policy

Government can affect the growth of settlement by forcing people to settle in certain area or persuade people
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SETTLEMENT PARTTERN IN A PARTICULAR REGION
Generally, the factors that influence patterns of settlement are four specific variables that exert
the most influence on the nature of human settlement of all kinds, from rural to maritime to
urban
• Economic and Human Influence’s
Generally, the promise of material reward is the most important factor in human settlement. In
this case, the interest in gaining more profit in proportion to labour exerted is central in
dictating settlement patterns. These are necessary, but not sufficient causes of settlement. Parts
of this variable include the promise of employment and a stable economy.
• Physical Influences
The physical environment is next in importance. In agricultural settlement, the nature of the soil
and access to both water and transport are essential ingredients in making sense out of
settlement patterns. But even further, things such as the safety and stability of the existing
settlement is equally important.
• Technological Influences
A more specific consideration is the existence of well-established patterns of communication,
transportation system and markets, which are all central to this variable. To some extent, it is
connected to the physical environment, as the technological makeup of the existing settlement
exists as an adaptation to the nature of the topography and the availability of resources.

• Historical /Cultural Influences

The historic nature of settlement speaks to the specific language and cultural norms that make
up a society, making it easier for one that shares these to fit in, and discouraging strangers.
This not only makes it easy for similar settlers to fit in, but also makes the community more
and more cohesive.
Importance of influencing factors on human settlement
• Indigenous culture and traditional way of doing things form a strong cohesion among
individuals in the settlement and to co-exist together for a very long time of their existence.
They are often not enthusiastic to abandon the custom, beliefs prejudices and practices
inherited from their fore- fathers and which has held their families and communities together
in favour of unfamiliar and untrue innovation.
• The presence of economic activities in a particular settlement aids its growth and
sustainability.Most old rural/urban settlements still exist because of the economic activities
peculiar to such places and this has greatly affected the growth of such settlement. In Nigeria
for example, some settlements around the coastal area still exists till date because of the
presence of the river. The people around there greatly enjoy fishing which is their main
occupation and source of economy.
• Sustainablity- It also promotes mass production of food for the consumption of the people.
Especially settlement that is located on a climatically friendly location; with good and fertile
soil, source of water for irrigation purposes and other geographical features that aids the
cultivation of food crops. This however aids quick and early development/establishment of
human settlement. Some rural settlements in Africa still exist till date because of their
sustainability which is derived from good geographical location of the settlement.