Settlement Flashcards
What are the three main settlement patterns?
Dispersed, Linear and Nucleated
Site factor: Bridging point
Where a river is shallow enough to be crossed or narrow enough to easily build a bridge
Site factor: Dry point
In especially wet areas, settlements were built on slightly raised land to avoid flooding or the unhealthy marshland
Site factor: Nodal point
Where natural routes meet, such as several valleys or at the confluence of two rivers
Site factor: Defensive
In order to protect themselves from attack, settlements were built within a river meander (with the river giving protection on 3 sides), or on a hill
Site factor: Wet point
Settlements built at a source of water in an otherwise dry area (e.g. at a spring)
Settlement hierarchy
Conurbation City Large town Small town Village Hamlet Isolated dwelling
What changes as you move UP the settlement hierarchy?
Increase in size of settlement, higher population and more services
Decrease in frequency
Explain the importance of Aspect as a factor affecting settlement site.
Settlements usually found on the south side of a valley = greater sun
Explain the importance of natural resources as a factor affecting settlement site.
Important for industry, e.g. near to a coal reserve
Identify a minimum of three settlement functions
Port
Market town
Resort
Natural resources
What are the characteristics of a CBD? (Aim for 5)
High buildings Expensive land values Department stores/specialist shops Shopping malls and pedestrian precincts Cultural/historical buildings, museums Offices, finance, banks, administration Bus and railway stations Multi-storey car parks
Why is the CBD located in the centre of a city?
A central location for road/railways to converge
The most accessible location for workers
Accessible to most people for shops and business
What is urban sprawl?
The spreading outwards of a city and suburbs (unplanned)
Changes surrounding rural areas
Particularly evident in HIC countries like the USA, Canada, Australia
What are the consequences of Urban Sprawl?
High dependency on cars and increased vehicle emissions
Inadequate facilities due to the constant spreading suburbs
Higher costs to provide social facilities
Changing character of countryside
Low work time due to congestion
Higher levels of racial and social-economic segregation
Urban Sprawl takes place in Atlanta, USA (case study).
What are the impacts of this urban sprawl? (include PSD)
Atlanta
1 million in 1950s –> 5.7 million today
28 counties in 8375 square miles
Ranked 6th in worldwide ozone pollution (metropolitan area)
Worsening health qualities due to air quality
Lake Lanier - dropping in quality and quantity due to chemical runoff
Urban heat island - has its own microclimate fuelling superstorms and tornados
What is urbanisation?
Increased proportion of people living in an urban area
What are the causes of urbanisation?
Industrialisation:
Through industrial revolution, people move from rural to urban environments due to improved employment opportunities
Services:
More schools, doctors and healthcare services available in urban area. More and more people migrate to towns and cities due the wide variety of social benefits
Commercial:
Commercialisation and trade comes with the general perception that towns and cities offer better commercial opportunities and returns compared to rural areas
Family:
Successful migrants encourage their extended families and other members of their rural communities to join them in the large urban areas
What are the impacts of urban growth on URBAN and RURAL areas?
Increased traffic and traffic congestion, increased air, water and noise pollution, destruction of agricultural land (HICs)
Large proportion living in shantytowns, poor transport infrastructure, poor housing and services (LICs)
Small farms replaced - small, labour-intensive family farms have often been merged together and replaced by heavily mechanised farms (reducing employment opportunities and people forced to move away for work)
Migrants moving from rural to urban areas often find their skills are not relevant to available jobs, so they find themselves in unskilled or low skilled jobs
Decline in rural population leads to a decrease in services such as schools and healthcare. Many small rural communities witness decreased populations, decreased incomes, increased income inequality and less retail trade
What are the characteristics of slum settlements? (aim for 4)
Overpopulated:
Settlements do not have enough resources to support large and growing populations
Little employment:
Intense competition for any form of employment
Bad healthcare:
Poor sanitation and limited healthcare services can lead to the spread of disease
Lack of infrastructure:
Poor access to services, public transport limited, electric supply can be limited and sometimes dangerous
Lack of space:
New arrivals may be forced to live on the lowest quality land, often on slopes and areas prone to flooding
How can you reduce the negative impacts of slum settlements? (aim for 3 strategies)
Better/nicer places to live:
Creating urban growth boundaries, parks and open space protection and improved planning and increased expenditure to promote public transport
Reducing urban sprawl:
Reversing and changing government policies that help create urban sprawl
Undeveloped areas:
Revitalising developed areas through measures such as attracting new businesses, retailing, reducing crime and improving schools
Rural investment:
Attempts and schemes have been set up to improve the quality of life in rural areas (creating better opportunities) to prevent people migrating to urban areas
Site and service schemes:
Gives people the chance to buy or rent a piece of land. The city has provided new areas of developed land that is connected by transport links and has access to basic services e.g. water/sanitation and electricity
Using London as a named example, describe and explain its service provision.
LONDON
Tourism/culture:
Parks, art exhibits, museums e.g. Hyde Park, Serpentine, British museum
Buckingham Palace - home to queen
Education:
Top schools/universities e.g. UCL, Imperial
Many of top 20 universities in the world are in London
Religion:
4 major churches in City of London, + (St Paul’s) cathedral
Transport:
5 major hub stations - Clapham Junction, busiest in UK
2 major airports - Heathrow 80 million passengers 2018
London all round transport hub
What are the characteristics of a comparison store?
Luxury Rare Large SoI High order goods People willing to travel long distances Expensive
What are the characteristics of a convenience store?
Low order goods Bread / milk Cheap Small SoI People not willing to travel long distances Requires high threshold population
What is a SoI?
The distance people are willing to travel to access a service or good / the area served by a settlement
Name 3 possible functions of a settlement.
Port
Resort
Natural Resources
What’s the largest settlement type in the Settlement Hierarchy?
Conurbation
