Settlement & Urbanisation Flashcards
what are the three settlement patterns?
- dispersed
- linear
- nucleated
what is a dispersed settlement?
an isolated building or a group of two or three buildings, separated from the next by 2 or 3 km
what is a linear settlement?
Buildings are strung along a line of communication e.g. a main road, a river valley, or a canal
what is a nucleated settlement
when a lot of towns are close together around a central feature, but further out there are few buildings
what is site?
the physical nature of where a settlement is located – the actual piece of land
what is situation?
describes settlement about other settlements and physical features around it – this determines whether the situation will grow into a large city or remain a small town or village
10 factors influencing settlements
- wet point site: this has a good water supply
- drypoint site: this has less risk of flooding
- building material: availability of stone, wood, clay, etc.
- fuel supply: for heating and cooking
- food supplies: land suitable for farming
- nodal points: where routes converge
- shelter: from cold prevailing winds and rain
- climate: A good climate attracts more people.
- fertile land: brings in more farmers.
- location: access to trades and raw materials.
10 functions of settlements
- Political
- Dormitory
- Agricultural
- tourism
- Mining
- Port
- Market town
- Fishing
- Residential
- Industrial
what is the hierarchy of settlements (bottom to top)?
- isolated dwelling
- hamlet
- village
- small town
- large town
- city
- metropolis
what is sphere of influence?
an area served by a settlement
what are services?
facilities that are offered to people e.g. supermarkets. services have a threshold population, which helps explain why bigger settlements have more services
what is range?
the distance that people are prepared to travel to use a service
what is threshold population?
the minimum amount of people required for a service to be offered and remain open.
what are high order goods?
goods that people buy less frequently. they tend to be more expensive, and people will normally compare quality and price before purchasing e.g. a car
what are low order goods?
goods that people buy every day. They don’t usually cost much money, and people would not normally travel far to buy them e.g. bread and milk
what is urban sprawl?
the spread or growth of an urban area into the rural-urban fringe; provides mainly middle–order services
function of rural areas?
usually is agriculture & low-order services. this is because rural areas have fewer people, poorer transport, poorer communication, less technology, & the land is better used for other purposes
function of urban areas?
tend to have many more functions e.g. shopping to educational, transport, administrative, and residential functions; and more middle and high-order services
what is the Central Business District (CBD)?
- centre point of the city and has the highest land prices
- the most accessible point in the city
- high-rise buildings and skyscrapers
what are the land uses of the CBD?
- Leisure and recreation - may include open land
- residential - High/multi-storey buildings.
- transport - road and rail networks, train stations and airports
- business and commerce - offices, shops, and banks
- industry - factories, warehouses, and small production centres
what is the function of the CBD?
retail, entertainment, financial services, and other professional services
why is the CBD in the centre?
- a central location for roads/railways to converge
- the most accessible location for workers
- accessible to most people for shops and businesses
what are some problems faced in the CBD?
congestion, pollution, and lack of space
what is the inner city?
- typically found next to CBD
- it has mainly terraced houses in a grid-like pattern
what is the suburbs?
- urban sprawl and owning cars led to the construction of well-planned and spacious houses
- larger than inner city terraces & most have a garden
- typically, detached or semi-detached
- roads are arranged in cul-de-sacs and wide avenues
- land prices are cheaper than in CBD and inner city
- demand can make some areas expensive
what is the outer city estate?
- located on the fringes of cities with varied housing
- people relocated here when the inner city was being redeveloped
what is the rural - urban fringe?
- this is found at the edge of a town or city
- a mixture of land uses, e.g. housing, golf courses, allotments, businesses, parks and airports.
where are factories built?
- as close as possible to the CBD but with enough space
- next to canals and railways to transport materials
- next to rivers for cooling, power source or waste disposal
- next to land where lots of workers could live
problems of urban growth in urban areas for people?
- overcrowded
- unable to obtain jobs/low pay
- pressure on schools/hospitals
- increased crime rates
- difficulties of waste/litter
- traffic congestion
- noise pollution
- lack of sanitation
- poor quality of life
- food shortage
problems of urban growth in urban areas for the environment?
- loss of vegetation
- loss of habitats
- impacts on food chains
- pollution of rivers
- death of fish/other species
- pollution of groundwater
- air/atmospheric pollution
- rivers dry up
why do rural areas search for rapid urban growth?
- better transport links, e.g. road, rail, river
- better trading prospects
- nearby natural resources, e.g. fuel
- better job prospects
- better schools and hospitals
- better supply of electricity, gas and water
- varied entertainment
what is rural-urban migration?
- the movement of people from the countryside towards cities
- rural-urban migration is the main cause of urbanisation
what are the push factors from a rural area?
- no/poorly paid jobs
- mechanisation of farming
- agricultural products have low prices
- poor schools/healthcare
- lack of entertainment
- poor housing quality
- drought/famine
- shortage of resources
- poor transport/comms.
what are the pull factors to an urban area?
- more jobs
- good schools/healthcare
- good transport/comms
- reliable supply of resources
- better entertainment
- better quality & quantity of
houses - pace and excitement
- government support
what is a squatter settlement?
a rural residential area which has developed without legal claims or permission to build on the land.
what are the features of a squatter settlement?
- extremely high home density
- extremely high population density
- houses built from mud for walls, iron for roofs
- no electricity
- no running water or sewage
- diseases spread easily
- the pungent smell of human waste
- no infrastructure or privacy
case study: settlement and service provision: Sardinia general facts
- located in europe
- small island SW of italy
Sardinia low settlement hierarchy
- Bosa
- small town on west coast of sardinia
- 3km inland on the bank of temo river
- argriculture + fishing play important part in economy
- most beautiful beach in italy
- growing in popularity for tourism
sardinia large town
- carbonia
- built to provide housing for nearby miners
- carbonia comes from italian work “coal”, an abundant resource in the region
- mines closed in 70’s so theres a high rate of unemployment
sardinia city
- caligari
- capital city
- main commercial and industrial centre of the island
- one of the largest fish markets in italy
- vast array of fish for sale to public and trade
- one of the biggest container terminals in mediteranean area
case study: urbanisation: rio de janeiro general facts
- 25% of rio’s population live in favelas
- largest favela is rocinha in rio
- red command is most powerful gang
rio de janeiro 6 economic impacts of urbanisation
- people paid low wages - around 5 pounds daily. they work long hours to feed their families
- renting favela is cheap and sometimes water and electricity is free, if not affordable.
- housing can be expanded upwards if you want to make more room
- there are jobs in favelas to make a lviing from e.g. cleaners, market stalls. people can earn money to feel families and send kids to school
- children can go to school in either morning or afternoon. if they attend most lessons, the parents get 20 pounds a month
- children have to work to help earn money for family. some kids cant go to school as they need to work
rio de janeiro 7 social impacts of urbanisation
- people work long hours to earn enough to feed familis
- small housing, only 2 rooms usually. one for cooking and relaxing, one for sleep - it can get very crowded
- renting favela and food and resources are cheap. there is nice views as well.
- diseases can spread from the sewage and people can die from diarrhoea
- local council improved favelas by adding water pipes and electricity cables.
- children can go to school morning and/or afternoon and they can get paid to do so
- people in favelas are close to neighbours, helping eachother improve housing and spending time with eachother
- sometimes gunshots ring out from the gangs. there is a lot of crime and drugs within and can become violent due to gangs.
rio de janeiro management of the favelas
- forced eviction - creates space for development but can cause homelessness
- low cost housing - many can afford but leads to overcrowding
- site and service - high quality resources but leads to depletion of resources
- self help schemes - can improve standard of living but some may just sell materials for money
- rural development - less urbanisation but loss of wildlife
- increasing policing - decrease crime rates but police brutality can occur
- raise taxes - more money for government spending but less money for locals
