Chapter 4

HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

FACTS THAT MATTER

•Human settlement means a cluster of dwellings of any size or type where people live - more or less parmanently. People start settling in a territory into a resource base.

•Settlements range from metropolitan cities to hamlets. With size, the socio economic structure change along with ecology and technology.

•Settlements could be small and sparsely spaced and large but closely spaced.

•Settlement depends on site-the actual place of settlement and situation- the location of settlement in relation to surrounding areas.

•Based on the place of residence settlement are of two types: Rural and Urban.

Types of rural settlement

•Types of settlement are determined by

(a) Extent of the built up area &

(b) Inter house distance,

•Factors affecting rural settlement types:

(I)Physical features: terrain, altitude, climate and availability of water.

(ii) Cultural and Ethnic factors: Social structure, caste and religion.

(iii) Security factors: defence against thefts.

•Rural settlement in India:

(a) Clustered, agglomerated or nucleated

(b) Semi clustered or fragmented

(d)Dispersed or isolated.

(A) Clustered Settlement

I. Compact - closely built up area.

II. General living area is distinct and separated from surrounding farms, barns and pastures.

III. Recognisable pattern Linear, radial.

IV. Found in alluvial plains, NE states

V. In Bundelkhand and Nagaland people live for security.

VI. In Rajasthan scarcity of water forced people to live in compact settlements near water points.

(B) Semi Clustered Settlementasion

I. Result from tendency of clustering in a restricted area of dispersed settlements.

II. May result from separation of large compact villages.

III. One section is forced to live away from the cluster.

IV. The dominant community occupies the central areas.

V. People from weaker strata settle on the margin of the village.

VI. Found in Gujarat Plain and parts of Rajasthan.

(C) Hamleted Settlement

I. Settlement are fragmented into several units-physically seperated from each other.

II. Bear a common name - panna, para, palli, nagla, thani etc.

III.Often separated because of social/ethnic factors.

IV. Found in middle and lower Ganga Plain, Chhattisgarh and lower valleys of Himalayas.

(D) Dispersed Settlement

I. It is in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of few huts

II. Remote jungles, hills with farms or pastures on slope.

III.Caused by extremely fragmented nature of terrain and land resource

IV. Found in Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Kerala.

Urban Settlement

I. Generally compact and large in size.

II. Engaged in non-agricultural economic and administrative activities.

II. Cities are functionally linked to surrounding rural areas.

IV. Cities are connected directly/indirectly to rural areas and also with each other.

Evolution of Towns in India

During the Indus Valley Civilisation Harappa and Mohenjo-daro existed.

Based on their evolution in different periods they are:

(A) Ancient towns:

I. With historical background spanning over 2000 years.

II. Developed as religious and cultural centres.

III. Varanasi, Pataliputra, Prayag -are examples.

(B) Medieval towns:

I. Developed during medieval period as Headquarters of principalities and kingdoms.

II. These are fort towns which came up on the ruins of ancient towns.

III. Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Agra, etc. are examples.

(C) Modern Towns:

I. Developed by the British and other Europeans.

I. First developed the trading ports of Surat, Goa, Pondicherry.

III. Later they consolidated their hold and developed the principal nodes: Mumbai,

Chennai and Kolkata.

IV. Developed administrative centres and hill stations and military towns.

•Modern industrial towns evolved after 1850. (Jamshedpur)

•After 1947, many new administrative headquarters were developed Chandigarh, Dispur, Gandhinagar, Bhubaneshwar.

• Industrial towns (Bhilai, Sinbari) and satellite towns (Rohtak, Gurgaon, etc.) have evolved over the years.

Urbanisation in India

•Level of urbanisation is measured in terms of percentage of urban population to total

population. In 2011, it was 31.16% for India.

•Urbanisation is the result of enlargement of urban centres and emergence of new towns.

Classification of towns on the basis of Population size

Census of India has classified towns into six classs:

Class I cities - Population of 1,00,000 and more

Class II cities 50,000-99,999

Class III cities 20,000-49,999

Class IV cities 10,000-19,999

Class V cities 5,000- 9,999

Class VI cities Less than 5,000

•60% of urban population resides in class I cities.

•Metropolitian cities 1 to 5 million people.

•Mega cities >5 million people (21% of urban population lives in megacities (Greater Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad).

Functional Classification of Towns

•Some towns and cities specialise in certain functions known for some specific activities/products/service. Based on the dominant function, cities are classified as:

(a) Administrative towns: HQ of higher order New Delhi, Chandigarh, Imphal (b) Industrial towns: Industrial activities are the main functions Jamshedpur, Bhilai, Rourkela

(d) Commercial town: Specialise in trade and commerce Saharanpur, Satna.

(e) Mining centres: Mineral rich areas Raniganj, Jharia, Digboi, etc.

(f) Garrisson Cantonment towns: These emerged as garrisson towns, Ambala, Mhow, Udhampur, etc.

(g) Educational towns: Centres of education-Roorkee, Pilani, Aligarh, Prayagraj (Allahabad) etc.

(h Religious/cultural towns: Varanasi, Mathura, Ajmer, Puri, Haridwar, Ujjain.

(I)Tourist towns: Tourist destinations-Goa, Mussoorie, Shimla, Jodhpur, Ooty.

•Cities over the years are becoming multi-functional with the functions getting intertwined.

We hope CBSE/MP Board Class 12th "Geography Part B " Chapter 4 "HUMAN SETTLEMENTS" will help you.

Written By - HIMANSHU SHARMA