1.5 Settlements

Question 1

What is a settlement ?

Answer 1

A place where people live and carry out a range of activities e.g trade, manufacturing, agriculture, etc

Question 2

What is pattern of settlement and what is the main way in which settlement is categorised ?

Answer 2

• Settlements come in different shapes and sizes called patterns => it is how the settlement is laid out
• Settlements range from isolated buildings in rural regions to urban megacities of over 10 million people

Question 3

What are the settlement patterns ?

Answer 3

1. Dispersed: where isolated houses/farms are spread out in fields or along roads instead of being all in one place
2. Linear: when a settlement grows in a line, usually following a river, road, coastline or valley floor
3. Nucleated: when all houses are built very close together around a central feature e.g church, village green, crossroads,…

Question 4

Explain why there is dispersed settlement pattern ?

Answer 4

• Found in rural areas with few people or mountainous areas
• Happened in England (1600s-1700s) due to big rural estates were broken up
• Extreme weather e.g too hot, wet, cold or dry => very hard for settlement to grow

Question 5

Explain why there is linear settlement pattern ?

Answer 5

Because of the way the land is shaped
=> villages tend to line up along a river or trade and transport route

Question 6

Explain why there is nucleated settlement pattern ?

Answer 6

• Defence
• Trade
• Co-operative community: agriculture, water, work
• People group on a hilltop to avoid flood

Question 7

What are the types of settlements found within rural and urban areas ?

Answer 7

Rural: dispersed, hamlet, village, small market town
Urban: large towns, cities, conurbations, megacities

Question 8

What is the site of a settlement ?

Answer 8

The land that the settlement is built on

Question 9

What is the situation of a settlement ?

Answer 9

Where the settlement is in relation to other things e.g a forest, a lake,..

Question 10

Factors influencing the sites and development of rural settlements?

Answer 10

1. The available of agricultural land is a key feature as it provides a food supply for the village
2. Relief
   + Altitude - high areas => hard for agriculture (cold)
   + Gradient - gentle slopes => well drained, easier to cultivate and build on; steep slopes can help defence
   + Aspect - direction slope faces; valleys run east-west => sunlight for agriculture
3. Soils - fertile soil (support larger population) => densely settled; rich volcanic soils => more dense
4. Water supply - near river (wet point)
5. Drainage and flooding - areas slightly higher than flood plains (dry point) => good for farming
   6.Accessibility - develop in a linear settlement pattern along roads/tracks => easy to access
6. Resources - useful being close to resources to use/sold them

Question 11

What are the factors that affect the growth of a settlement ?

Answer 11

1. Climate: too extreme and settlements remain small
2. Raw materials: leads to more investment => more opportunities attract people to the area => growth
3. Fertile land: excess can be sold & non-farming services can be supported => natural growth of settlement
4. Location: central to other places, access for trade
5. Historical: seat of government & universities => people come nearby & growth of settlement

Question 12

What is the function of a settlement ?

Answer 12

The function of a settlement is the purpose/use of a particular settlement
+ Large settlements have more than 1 function & these can change over time

Question 13

What are some common functions of a settlement ?

Answer 13

• Political
• Dormitory
• Agricultural
• Tourism
• Mining
• Port
• Market town
• Fishing
• Residential
• Industrial

Question 14

What do hierarchy and settlement hierarchy mean ?

Answer 14

• Hierarchy is when items are placed in order of importance or significance
• Settlement hierarchy is when settlements are placed in order of importance

Question 15

What are the factors in determine the importance of a settlement (settlement hierarchy) ?

Answer 15

1. Population size
2. The range and number of services
3. Sphere of influence

Question 16

List the settlement hierarchy from the bottom to the top and say how some of the features change from bottom to top ?

Answer 16

Isolated home => hamlet => village => town => city => conurbation => megacity
- Higher up the hierarchy, fewer settlements are found
- The size of settlement, population, number and types of services provided increases up the hierarchy

Question 17

What is threshold population ?

Answer 17

The minimum number of people necessary for before a particular good/service will be provided in the area

Question 18

What are low-order services and high-order services ?

Answer 18

• Low-order services are services that you use frequently
• High-order services are services that you use rarely

Question 19

What is the link between the types of settlements and the type of services provided ?

Answer 19

• Small village, hamlet, will only provide low-order services e.g post office, general store, pub, possibly doctor
• Towns provide low- and high-order services e.g church, medical centre, garages, schools and restaurants
• Cities & conurbations will focus on high-order services e.g leisure centres, schools, churches, chain stores, hospitals

Question 20

What does sphere of influence mean ?

Answer 20

The area that a settlement serves, also known as the catchment area

Question 21

Link between settlement size and sphere of influence ?

Answer 21

• Larger settlement has greater sphere of influence
• A hamlet/village would normally have a low sphere of influence => a small field of services
• If village is a tourist spot => sphere of influence could be greater than a town

Question 22

What does the range of a product mean ?

Answer 22

The maximum distance people are willing to travel to purchase a specific good or use a particular service

Question 23

What are low-order and high-order goods and their range ?

Answer 23

1. Low-order goods: things that are bought regularly e.g milk, bread
   => people are not prepared to travel far for convenience goods => lower range
2. High-order goods: comparison goods e.g electrical goods, furniture that shopper will buy only after making comparison between various models and different shops
   + A high population threshold is needed to sustain a shop selling comparison goods
   + People are prepared to travel some distance to obtain the goods => high range