Title: Human Settlements: Types and Patterns | Geography Revision
Headings: Human Settlements: Types and Patterns
Human Settlements: Types and Patterns
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CLASSIFICATION OF SETTLEMENTS RURAL URBAN DICHOTOMY
PATTERNS AND TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS
Rural Settlements
Some factors influencing the location of rural settlements are:
Water Supply
Land
Upland
Building Material
Defence
Planned Settlements
Rural Settlement Patterns
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Content: Rivers and lakes can be used to water farmland. Water bodies also have aquatic living beings like fish which can be grabbed for diet, and traversable rivers and lakes can be used for shipping. Land
People prefer to settle near fertile lands fit for agriculture. In Europe, villages developed up near rolling country evading swampy, low lying land while people in south-east Asia chose to reside near low lying river valleys and coastal plains befitted for wet rice cultivation. Early immigrants chose plain regions with fertile soils. Upland
Upland which is not inclined to flooding was adopted to prevent damage to houses and loss of life. Thus, in low lying river basins, people preferred to settle on terraces and levees which are “drypoints”. In tropical countries, people mount their houses on stilts near marshy lands to defend themselves from flood, insects and animal pests. Building Material
The availability of building supplies- wood and stone found near settlements is another benefit. Early villages were constructed in forest clearings where wood was abundant.