Settlement

Question 1

what are the three settlement patterns?

Answer 1

• dispersed
• linear
• nucleated

Question 2

what is a dispersed settlement?

Answer 2

an isolated building or a group of two or three buildings, separated from the next by 2 or 3 km

Question 3

what is a linear settlement?

Answer 3

Buildings are strung along a line of communication e.g. a main road, a river valley, or a canal

Question 4

what is site?

Answer 4

the physical nature of where a settlement is located – the actual piece of land

Question 4

what is situation?

Answer 4

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

Question 4

factors influencing settlements

Answer 4

• 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.

Question 5

what is the hierarchy of settlements (bottom to top)?

Answer 5

• isolated dwelling
• hamlet
• village
• small town
• large town
• city
• metropolis

Question 6

what is sphere of influence?

Answer 6

an area served by a settlement

Question 7

what are services?

Answer 7

facilities that are offered to people e.g. supermarkets. services have a threshold population, which helps explain why bigger settlements have more services

Question 8

what is range?

Answer 8

the distance that people are prepared to travel to use a service

Question 9

what is threshold population?

Answer 9

the minimum amount of people required for a service to be offered and remain open.

Question 10

what are high order goods?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

what are low order goods?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

what is urban sprawl?

Answer 12

the spread or growth of an urban area into the rural-urban fringe; provides mainly middle–order services

Question 13

function of rural areas?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

function of urban areas?

Answer 14

tend to have many more functions e.g. shopping to educational, transport, administrative, and residential functions; and more middle and high-order services

Question 15

what is the Central Business District (CBD)?

Answer 15

• centre point of the city and has the highest land prices
• the most accessible point in the city
• high-rise buildings and skyscrapers

Question 15

what are the land uses of the CBD?

Answer 15

• 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

Question 15

what is the function of the CBD?

Answer 15

retail, entertainment, financial services, and other professional services

Question 16

why is the CBD in the centre?

Answer 16

• a central location for roads/railways to converge
• the most accessible location for workers
• accessible to most people for shops and businesses

Question 17

what are some problems faced in the CBD?

Answer 17

congestion, pollution, and lack of space

Question 18

what is the inner city?

Answer 18

• typically found next to CBD
• it has mainly terraced houses in a grid-like pattern

Question 19

what is the suburbs?

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

what is the outer city estate?

Answer 20

• located on the fringes of cities with varied housing
• people relocated here when the inner city was being redeveloped

Question 21

what is the rural - urban fringe?

Answer 21

• 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.

Question 22

where are factories built?

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

problems of urban growth in urban areas for people?

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

problems of urban growth in urban areas for the environment?

Answer 24

• 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

Question 25

why do rural areas search for rapid urban growth?

Answer 25

• 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

Question 26

what is rural-urban migration?

Answer 26

• the movement of people from the countryside towards cities
• rural-urban migration is the main cause of urbanisation

Question 27

what are the push factors from a rural area?

Answer 27

• 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.

Question 28

what are the pull factors to an urban area?

Answer 28

• more jobs
• good schools/healthcare
• good transport/comms
• reliable supply of resources
• better entertainment
• better quality & quantity of
  houses
• pace and excitement
• government support

Question 29

what is a squatter settlement?

Answer 29

a rural residential area which has developed without legal claims or permission to build on the land.

Question 30

what are the features of a squatter settlement?

Answer 30

• 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

Question 31

settlements and service provision case study: Braunschweig, Germany (location, causes and effects)

Answer 31

LOCATION
- a city in north-central Germany.
- It’s a district in Lower Saxony, Germany.
- has a population of around 250,000 inhabitants. The majority living in city of Braunschweig (urban)
- has a land area of 192.1 km2
With a population density of 10.5 persons per km2 compared to Germany’s 3.7 persons per km2

CAUSES
It has the best provision of services:
- more than 20 schools
5 hospitals
- dense network of public transport which includes busses, trains and trams.
- has a population of around 6,000 with only 1 surgery doctor and one primary school as it does not have the threshold population to support higher order services.

EFFECTS
- this has led to more migrants to Braunschweig as there is easier transport and good universities/education for kids, which could lead to higher population density.

Question 32

urban settlement case study: Congestion in London (causes, effects, solutions)

Answer 32

CAUSES
- increased car ownership
- expensive public transport
- roads designed not for cars but for people e.g. walking lanes.
- population growth and rural-urban migration

EFFECTS
Social:
- increased respiratory problems
- more cars on roads increase frequency of accidents
- more traffic jams increase road rage phenomena
Environmental:
- more vehicles on roads increase all sorts of pollution which could harm the plants and animals around
Economic problems:
- the government has to think and invest in new road plans which could cost them millions

SOLUTIONS
the government had made a charge for drivers at a fixed rate of £11.50 when driving into central London which can slow and limit the number of cars travelling across cities / areas

Question 33

urbanisation case study: Rio de Janeiro (location, push and pull factors, effects and management)

Answer 33

LOCATION
- Rio is in the southeast coast of Brazil.
- it had a population of 6.9 million in 1960 but it now stands at 13.4 million in 2019

PUSH FACTORS
- high infant mortality due to lack of clean water, electricity, sewerage and medical care
- housing in rural areas is even worse than in the city.
- lack of schools, shops, etc.

PULL FACTORS
- better job prospects and higher wages in the city.
- more schools, doctors and other services in the city.
- successful migrants encourage people to join large corporations located in the city.

EFFECTS OF URBANISATION
- housing pressure has caused the growth of favelas e.g. Rocinha.
- transport problems – congestion and pollution
- sanitation and Health (sewage, waste disposal, disease)
- increased demand for services (schools and hospitals)
- social problems (crime, Rio murder capital of the world)
- shanty towns are built on unstable land of poor materials – risk of landslides & fires

MANAGEMENT
- within the Favelas, the government has assisted people in improving their homes. Breezeblocks and other materials were given as long as people updated their homes.
- the government also moved a lot of people out of shanty towns into low coast, basic housing estates with plumbing, electricity and transport links.
- however, the waiting list for these properties was huge
- community policing has been encouraged with greater links between the police and the local communities and businesses, but drug gangs still pose a huge problem.