Settlement Flashcards
What is a settlement?
A place where people live. It can be large or small, permanent or temporary.
What is a settlement hierarchy?
A diagram used to classify a number of settlements in order of importance.
What are the characteristics of a settlement hierarchy as you go up it?
Increased size and population. More urban. Far away from each other, less in country. Bigger range and number of services. Bigger sphere of influence
What is a settlement lower down a hierarchy referred to as?
A low order settlement.
What is a linear settlement?
A settlement in long, thin rows. Often along a road or track.
What are the reasons for a linear settlement?
- Allows each dwelling to have access to a road or track for transport, and the areas of farmland at right angles to the road.
- If along a river for water supply.
- Next to fertile soil if along a river (in a floodplain).
What is a dispersed settlement?
A settlement containing scattered, isolated dwellings and small hamlets, with few villages.
What are the reasons for a dispersed settlement?
- Agricultural land may be poor, and people may need to farm large areas (e.g. by grazing).
- Cultural reasons e.g. not the tradition to live in grouped areas.
- Resources only able to support a few.
- Severe weather conditions unable to support many.
- No job prospects, no entertainment, no nearby hospitals.
- Need large amounts of land to farm.
What is a nucleated settlement?
Dwellings clustered around a central point (e.g. crossroads), with few isolated villages. Compact shape.
What are the reasons for a nucleated settlement?
- Social benefits of living next to neighbours
- Easy access to services, e.g. shops and schools
- Culture may favour this pattern if a tradition to live in groups.
- Good for defence.
- Flat land easy to grow on.
What is a market town’s function?
Service and process agricultural products and inputs.
What is a mining town’s function?
To exploit local minerals.
What is a port’s function?
On the coast for good movement of goods and people from land to sea.
What is a route centre?
The convergence of several natural route or nodal points resulting from economic development.
What is a commercial farm?
A farm that provides the needs of industry and business.
What is a cultural centre?
A settlement that attracts people for a short period, for religious or educational purposes.
What is an administrative centre?
A settlement that controls areas of varying sizes.
What is a residential settlement?
A settlement in which the majority of people live but do not work.
What can a tourist settlement be?
Spa towns, coastal and mountain resorts.
What is a sphere of influence?
The area served by a settlement.
What does the size of a sphere of influence depend on?
- Size and order of service (high or low) it provides
- Population density (a low population density will have a more ‘spread’ sphere of influence)
- Wealth of people (in wealthy areas, people have more money and therefore more outlets, so size of sphere decreases)
- Transport facilities (good transport links allow further travel, so the sphere is larger)
- Competition (a sphere is smaller when there are other settlements nearby)
What is the threshold population?
The minimum number of people needed to provide a large enough demand for a service.
What is the range?
The maximum distance that people are prepared to travel in order to obtain a service.
…Or, the number of DIFFERENT services in an area.
What are convenience goods?
- Something that can be bought easily.
- Same price everywhere.
- Low range and low threshold population
- High frequency
What are comparison goods?
- Something that cannot be bought easily.
- Prices vary.
- High range and high threshold population.
- Low frequency
What is a site?
The point at which the settlement is located.
What is situation?
The position of a settlement in relation to other features around it.
What are the factors influencing site choice?
- Defence - high hill best, meander gives protection on three sides
- Resources (e.g. ore, wood, animals, crops) - for building materials that are easy to transport; fuel supply; food supply
- Bridging point - improved communication and travel
- Shelter - hills best shelter from strong prevailing wind; south facing slope gives sunshine, heat and light so best for agriculture
- Soils - so that they are fertile and give higher yield
- Altitude - higher up it is colder and harder to farm
- Relief - steep slopes at risk of landslide and flooding, hard to farm on
- Nodal points - improve accessibility and transport
- Wet point - water supply in dry areas, fishing, export and communication
- Dry point - to be above unhealthy marshland (also bad for farming); as protection from flooding
- Weather - best if stable
What is urbanisation?
The increase in the number of people living in urban areas.
What are the characteristics of the CBD (10)?
- Government buildings
- High order retail services such as department stores
- Offices, including company HQs
- Theatres, hotels and restaurants
- Multi-storey buildings developed in response to high land values
- Historic buildings
- Concentration of public services, including bus and railways
- Not a residential area - number of residents is low
- Vertical zoning
- High number of pedestrians and pedestrian areas
Why is the CBD developed?
- Original core of the settlement, with the oldest buildings.
- Roads from outskirts converge, so most accessible part of the town
- A build up of services
What are the characteristics of the inner city?
- For lower income groups e.g. students
- High density housing, doors opening onto streets
- Few leisure amenities
- Few high rise flats where there has been redevelopment
- Surrounded by heavy industry
- Low class housing, smaller, mainly terraced, built in straight rows
- Little vegetation, gardens or garages
What are the advantages of the Inner City?
- Available to rent
- Near the city centre where there are services
- Cheaper
What are the disadvantages of the Inner City?
- Industrial decline
- High crime e.g. vandalism
- Urban decay, causing visual pollution
- Loss of community in new high-rise flats
- High unemployment
- Lack of open spaces and greenery
- Hard to park
- High LAND cost