1.2 Settlement

Settlement patterns:

Dispersed – an isolated, individual building or a group of two or three buildings, perhaps forming a hamlet, and separated from the next by 2 or 3 km.

Nucleated – Buildings are grouped together, initially for defence, or a common resource.

Linear – buildings are strung along a line of communication, for example a main road, a river valley, or canal or dyke

Factors that affect the position, size, growth and function of a settlement:

-fuel supply: for heating and cooking

-food supplies

-nodal points: where routes converge

·       Wet point sites - these have a good water supply. Many settlements grew around wet point sites, eg villages in the South Downs.

·       Dry point sites - these are away from the risk of flooding, eg Ely in Cambridgeshire.

·       Defensive sites - often found on higher ground so that in the past enemies could be seen from a distance, eg Corfe Castle, Dorset, or in the loop of a meander, eg Durham.

·       Aspect - settlements are often found on the sunny side of a deep valley. This is common in settlements in the Alps.

·       Shelter - from cold prevailing winds and rain.

·       Gap towns - Lincoln is found in a gap between two areas of higher ground.

·       Resources - important for industry, eg villages such as Aberfan in the Welsh valleys is close to coal reserves.

·       Bridging point - settlements with 'ford' in their name often grew around a fording point or bridging point, eg Watford is found on the River Colne.

·       Trading centres - often settlements grow where natural route ways and rivers meet, which helps the development of roads, railways and canals.

Hierarchy:

Determining order of importance:

1) the population size

2) the range and number of services

3) the sphere of influence

NOTE: there are least number of capitals (1) and many hamlets.

Land use in towns and cities:

Central business district (CBD)

The land in urban areas is used for many different purposes:

·       leisure and recreation - may include open land, eg parks or built facilities such as sports centres

·       residential - the building of houses and flats

·       transport - road and rail networks, stations and airports

·       business and commerce - the building of offices, shops and banks

·       industry - factories, warehouses and small production centres

The CBD in the city centre is where most business and commerce is located.

Features that identify the CBD

·       High/multi-storey buildings.

·       Expensive land values.

·       Department stores or specialist shops, like jewellers.

·       Shopping malls and pedestrian precincts.

·       Cultural/historical buildings, museums and castles.

·       Offices, finance, banks, administration, town hall (business sector).

·       Bus and railway stations (transport centres).

·       Multi-storey car parks.

The CBD is located in the centre because it is:

·       a central location for road/railways to converge

·       the most accessible location for workers

·       accessible to most people for shops and businesses

 -Residential areas:

-old inner city area: The inner city is also known as the twilight zone. It is typically found next to the CBD and has mainly terraced houses in a grid like pattern. These were originally built to house factory workers who worked in the inner city factories. Many of these factories have now closed down.

-inner city redevelopment: still high density, more amenities, high rise flats, more modern, but there are dark corridors, built to improve on the old buildings.

-suburbia: the urban sprawl (outward growth of city) and rising popularity of owning cars led to the construction of well planned and spacious houses with normally garages, back and front gardens etc. Suburban houses are usually larger than inner city terraces and most have a garden. Typically, they are detached or semi detached and the roads around them are arranged in cul de sacs and wide avenues. Land prices are generally cheaper than in the CBD and inner city, although the desirability of housing can make some areas expensive.

-outer city estate: located on the fringes of cities with varied types of housing (low rise, high rise and single story), where people were relocated when the inner city was being redeveloped

The rural urban fringe: This is found at the edge of a town or city and is where town meets country. It is common for this area to have a mixture of land uses such as some housing, golf courses, allotments, business parks and airports.

-Industrial areas: factories were built close as possible to the CBD but with enough space, next to canals and railways to transport materials, or rivers for cooling, power source or waste disposal and next to land where lots of workers could live.

-Open spaces: for a relaxing atmosphere

-Transport routes

Land use in LEDCs

Although every LEDC city has its own characteristics, models can be used to illustrate a typical LEDC city.

Model of an LEDC city

Both MEDC and LEDC cities have a CBD - often the oldest part of the city.

In LEDCs the poorest housing is found on the edge of the city - in contrast to MEDC cities whose suburban fringe is very often a place of high quality housing. The areas of poor quality housing found on the edge of cities in LEDCs are called squatter settlements or shanty towns

Land use in a MEDC

The Burgess and Hoyt model

Geographers have put together models of land use to show how a 'typical' city is laid out. One of the most famous of these is the Burgess or concentric zone model.

This model is based on the idea that land values are highest in the centre of a town or city. This is because competition is high in the central parts of the settlement. This leads to high-rise, high-density buildings being found near the Central Business District (CBD), with low-density, sparse developments on the edge of the town or city.

The Burgess model

However, there are limits to the Burgess model:

• ·       The model is now quite old and was developed before the advent of mass car ownership.
• ·       New working and housing trends have emerged since the model was developed. Many people now choose to live and work outside the city on the urban fringe - a phenomenon that is not reflected in the Burgess model.
• ·       Every city is different. There is no such thing as a typical city.

Another urban model is the Hoyt model. This is based on the circles on the Burgess model, but adds sectors of similar land uses concentrated in parts of the city. Notice how some zones, eg the factories/industry zone, radiate out from the CBD. This is probably following the line of a main road or a railway.

Problems of urban growth for people:

• more crowded/overcrowded;
• many people are unable to obtain jobs/more jobs are needed;
• work for low pay/cannot afford housing/work in informal sector;
• inadequate investment in housing stock/people live in squatter settlements/more housing is needed;

• pressure on schools/inadequate education provision;
• pressure on hospitals/inadequate medical care provision;
• increased crime rates or example (max 1);
• difficulties of waste/litter disposal;
• traffic congestion;
• noise pollution;
• spread of disease;
• food shortages;
• lack of sanitation/fresh water/poor hygiene;
• poor quality of life/standard of living;
• loss of farmland etc.

Problems for environment:

• loss of vegetation/deforestation;
• loss of habitats;
• impacts on food chains;
• pollution of rivers;
• death of fish/other species;
• pollution of ground water/seepage of toxins from dumps;
• air/atmospheric pollution;
• rivers dry up due to water extraction/water table lowered etc.