Settlement

Question 1

What are the three main settlement patterns?

Answer 1

Dispersed, Linear and Nucleated

Question 2

Site factor: Bridging point

Answer 2

Where a river is shallow enough to be crossed or narrow enough to easily build a bridge

Question 3

Site factor: Dry point

Answer 3

In especially wet areas, settlements were built on slightly raised land to avoid flooding or the unhealthy marshland

Question 4

Site factor: Nodal point

Answer 4

Where natural routes meet, such as several valleys or at the confluence of two rivers

Question 5

Site factor: Defensive

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Site factor: Wet point

Answer 6

Settlements built at a source of water in an otherwise dry area (e.g. at a spring)

Question 7

Settlement hierarchy

Answer 7

Conurbation
City
Large town
Small town
Village
Hamlet
Isolated dwelling

Question 8

What changes as you move UP the settlement hierarchy?

Answer 8

Increase in size of settlement, higher population and more services
Decrease in frequency

Question 9

Explain the importance of Aspect as a factor affecting settlement site.

Answer 9

Settlements usually found on the south side of a valley = greater sun

Question 10

Explain the importance of natural resources as a factor affecting settlement site.

Answer 10

Important for industry, e.g. near to a coal reserve

Question 11

Identify a minimum of three settlement functions

Answer 11

Port
Market town
Resort
Natural resources

Question 12

What are the characteristics of a CBD? (Aim for 5)

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Why is the CBD located in the centre of a city?

Answer 13

A central location for road/railways to converge
The most accessible location for workers
Accessible to most people for shops and business

Question 14

What is urban sprawl?

Answer 14

The spreading outwards of a city and suburbs (unplanned)
Changes surrounding rural areas
Particularly evident in HIC countries like the USA, Canada, Australia

Question 15

What are the consequences of Urban Sprawl?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Urban Sprawl takes place in Atlanta, USA (case study).

What are the impacts of this urban sprawl? (include PSD)

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What is urbanisation?

Answer 17

Increased proportion of people living in an urban area

Question 18

What are the causes of urbanisation?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

What are the impacts of urban growth on URBAN and RURAL areas?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

What are the characteristics of slum settlements? (aim for 4)

Answer 20

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

Question 21

How can you reduce the negative impacts of slum settlements? (aim for 3 strategies)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Using London as a named example, describe and explain its service provision.

Answer 22

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

Question 23

What are the characteristics of a comparison store?

Answer 23

Luxury
Rare
Large SoI
High order goods
People willing to travel long distances
Expensive

Question 24

What are the characteristics of a convenience store?

Answer 24

Low order goods 
Bread / milk
Cheap
Small SoI
People not willing to travel long distances
Requires high threshold population

Question 25

What is a SoI?

Answer 25

The distance people are willing to travel to access a service or good / the area served by a settlement

Question 26

Name 3 possible functions of a settlement.

Answer 26

Port
Resort
Natural Resources

Question 27

What’s the largest settlement type in the Settlement Hierarchy?

Answer 27

Conurbation