Settlement Hierarchy

Question 1

List the settlement hierarchy in order of settlements from smallest to largest. [6]

Answer 1

1. Hamlets
2. Small villages
3. Large villages
4. Small towns
5. Large towns
6. Cities

Question 2

What are the patterns as you move up the settlement hierarchy?

Answer 2

Settlements become:

1. Bigger in population
2. Fewer in number

Question 3

What does the order of goods and services define?

Answer 3

How often we use them

Question 4

What are low order goods/services?

Answer 4

Those which we buy and use almost every day (e.g. Milk/newspapers)

Question 5

What are middle order goods/services?

Answer 5

Those which we buy on a fortnightly or monthly basis (e.g. Clothes/cinema tickets)

Question 6

What are high order goods/services?

Answer 6

Those which we buy rarely (e.g. International flight tickets/furniture)

Question 7

Define the range of a product or service.

Answer 7

The maximum distance that people will travel to buy or use it.

Question 8

What sort of goods do we not need to travel far for and why?

Answer 8

Convenience goods (e.g. Milk) because all types of milk are readily available.

Question 9

What sort of goods might we need to travel far for and why?

Answer 9

Comparison goods (e.g. TVs) because you are looking for a specific type of TV which may not be available in some closer stores.

Question 10

Define the threshold of a product or service.

Answer 10

The number of customers needed to make an enterprise profitable.

Question 11

Define the sphere of influence of a settlement.

Answer 11

The area of people around it that are attracted to use its services.

Question 12

What is the function of a settlement?

Answer 12

Its main purpose.

Question 13

Give an example of a function of a settlement.

Answer 13

Tourist settlement

Question 14

What kind of sphere of influence does a tourist settlement typically have?

Answer 14

A large sphere of influence.

Question 15

List three factors that affect a settlement’s sphere of influence.

Answer 15

1. Function
2. Accessibility
3. Competition from rival settlements

Question 16

What is a dormitory settlement?

Answer 16

A settlement where commuters to a large city sleep.

Question 17

What kind of sphere of influence does a dormitory settlement have?

Answer 17

Small sphere of influence.

Question 18

Explain how the function of a settlement may affect its sphere of influence. (Tourist/dormitory)

Answer 18

If a settlement’s function is tourism it will have a large sphere of influence because people are attracted to it from all over the world.
If a settlement’s function is to serve as a dormitory settlement it will have a small sphere of influence because people only use its services when they are commuting to a large city and need to sleep.

Question 19

Explain how the accessibility of a settlement may affect its sphere of influence.

Answer 19

A settlement that is easy to get to might have a larger sphere of influence as a result. For example, Juneau in Alaska has a smaller sphere of influence because it is not accessible by car.

Question 20

Explain how competition from rival settlements may affect the sphere of influence of a particular settlement.

Answer 20

If a city is near a town, more people will go to the city.
This is because the city has the widest variety and largest number of high-order goods and services.
This reduces the sphere of influence of the nearby town.

Question 21

How might you assess the sphere of influence of a particular settlement? [2]

Answer 21

1. Find out where people have come from to shop in the settlement’s city centre.
2. Look at the catchment area of the largest school in the settlement.