Settlements Flashcards
urbanisation
increasing % of people living in towns & cities
urban sprawl
rapid, uncontrolled expansion of a city
rural urban fringe
where the edge of a town/city meets the countryside
greenfield site
rural area that hasn’t been built on
brownfield site
area that has been built on
rural-urban migration
movement of people from countryside to city
counter urbanisation
movement of people back out from towns & cities towards rural areas
nodal point
meeting point of roads & rivers
What factors affect settlement?
- flat land - easier building & space to expand
- dry point - higher, dry land above wet ground
- in a gap between hills - convenient routeway
- road junction - direct routes to other settlements
- in a valley - natural routeway, fertile land for farming
- near to a spring - provide reliable water supply
- river confluence - (joining of 2 rivers) - doubles chance to use natural transport routes
- river bridging point - where river is narrow enough to build bridge
- near woods - source of timber for cooking, heating, building, tools, furniture
- by a river - water for drinking, washing, power, transport, fishing
- sheltered coast - protected harbour can be built (for trade/fishing)
- river meander - bend in river provides natural defence
- higher ground - easier to defend & drier land
settlement site
piece of land where a settlement is built
Why have functions of settlements diminished?
technological advances allow us to overcome difficulties
situation
position in relation to surrounding human & physical features
What are the opportunities in Rio?
- economy/port - many large companies e.g. Petrobas, have headquarters in Rio & use port for in/exports, provides jobs & improves economy through multiplier effect
- olympic games & world cup - attracted a combined 10million tourists & encouraged huge amount of investments in infrastructure of Rio
- tourism - attracts over 2million tourists per year for holidays & cultural trips, home to museums, galleries & famous beaches (e.g. Copacabana)
What are the social challenges in Rio?
- Red Command gang - controls vast areas of favelas, high crime & homicide rate
- lack of services - lack access to healthcare, education, refuse collection & space for recreation due to lack of investment
- transport congestion - lots traffic is on poor quality roads causing severe congestion, accidents, noise, air pollution
- rural-urban migration - experienced rapid growth & urban sprawl due to rural-urban migration, in search of jobs, pressure on services & amenities
- infant mortality rates - 50 per 1000 in favelas, 12 per 1000 national rate
- lack of education - high unemployment rates & low education rates due to school only being free until 13
What are the economic challenges in Rio?
- poverty - more than 1.2million live in favelas (20% population) on less than £1 per day
What are the environmental challenges in Rio?
- transport congestion - lots traffic is on poor quality roads causing severe congestion, accidents, noise, air pollution
- rural-urban migration - experienced rapid growth & urban sprawl due to rural-urban migration, in search of jobs, pressure on services & amenities
What are the solutions to traffic congestion in Rio?
- Maestro system - cameras, speed checks, radio links, steet light control & control centre, cameras get live images of road & traffic junctions allowing for real time adjustment of traffic signals, improving traffic flow
- bikes - over 450km bike lanes, mainly along beaches of Copacabana & in Olympic park, ‘Bike Rio’ began operations in October 2011
- public transport - main form is bus, run more frequently during rush hour, almost 440 municipal bus lines, serving over 4million passengers each day, plus intercity lines
What are the solutions to urban sprawl in favelas in Rio?
- pacification - city wide policy set up by authorities, armed police units backed by soldiers & marines go to drive out criminal gangs, permanent officers are in what has been no-go areas for security officials
- Favela Bairro project - began in 1994 until 2008, aimed to provide inhabitants with education, healthcare & improved infrastructure
- self-help schemes - authorities set it up to give people tools & training to improve their homes, low-interest loans can help people to fund this, some may be given legal ownership of land they live on
What are some statistics about Southampton?
- port contributes £1.6billion to UK economy in a year
- 2 million cruise passengers each year
- ‘solent freeport’ has attracted £2billion of investment & created 52,000 jobs
- central railway station, major transport hub, links to London Waterloo, Cardiff, Bristol, Gatwick airport
What is the site of Southampton like?
- major port close to New Forest, lies at confluence of river Test & Itchen
- Solent, accesses English channel & has deep water & a double tide
- flat land
What is the situation of Southampton like?
- largest settlement in Hampshire (large sphere of influence for jobs/leisure/culture)
- proximity to London creates flow of labour & goods, especially important to its function of a port
What are the services like in Southampton?
- education - low order (Shirley Junior School) to high order (Southampton Uni/Solent Uni)
- medical - low order (Victor Street Doctors) to high order (Southampton General Hospital)
- residential - apartments & flats (CBD), terraced housing (inner city), semi-detached/detached housing (suburbs)
- commerical/retail/leisure - West Quay, Showcase, Above Bar Street
- transport - UniLink buses, voi scooters, beryl bike, SouthWest rail
What is urban strcuture?
distribution of different types of land uses in a town or city
What is the burgess model?
series of concentric rings
starting in the middle the rings are:
CBD
inner city
inner suburbs
outer suburbs
rural urban fringe
What assumptions are the Burgess Model based on?
- cities grow outwards - become newer as you move away from original site in the city centre
- land costs are higher in the city centre
What is bid rent theory?
most expensive land is found in the CBD & land prices become cheaper as you move away from the city centre, land prices are therefore cheapest in the rural urban fringe
What are the characteristics of the CBD?
- indoor shopping centres
- department stores
- blocks of flats due to expensive land prices so developers build up rather than out
- theatres & entertainment
- administrative buildings (e.g. town hall, local council)
- business & office blocks
- any open space may be used for parks/sports centres
- multistory car park
- pedestrianised roads
Why does the CBD have a large sphere of influence?
- they have high order services & sell high order goods
- they have specialist shops & sell comparison goods
- people travel a long way to use them
- they have larger stores
- they are easily accessible/ centrally located
- other high order services/ tourist sites nearby
What are the characteristics of the inner city?
- terraced housing - no driveways/garages/gardens (sometimes yard)
- old warehouses that are no longer in use
- brownfield sites - areas that have been previously developed
- football stadiums
- some inner city areas have been redeveloped
What are the characteristics of the suburbs?
- semi detached/detached housing with gardens (front & back), driveways & garages, houses are larger than land is cheaper
- local shops an services
- parks
- schools
- supermarkets
What are the characteristics of the rural urban fringe??
- airports
- business parks
- allotments
- golf courses
- new housing estates
- shopping centres
- greenfield sites - sites not previously developed on
- cheaper land
Why should you build on the rural urban fringe?
- cost of land is significantly cheaper
- space for expansion
- infrastructure is improving & less traffic congestion than the inner city
- greenfield sites have not been previously built on, so don’t need to pay for demolish of what previously was there
What is the Hoyt Model?
Circle with different sections coming out
Why does the Burgess Model and the Hoyt Model not work for LEDCs?
in LEDCs, high class residential area is close to the city centre & low class is on the periphery (opposite of MEDCs)
What are the similarities & differences between the LEDC & the MEDC urban land use models?
similar: both have CBD
difference:
- in CBD competition for space & traffic is worse in LEDCs
- in MEDCs wealthy live in area after CBD, in LEDCs this is where the poorest quality housing is
- shanty town found in area furthest away from city in LEDCs
- industry was originally found in the inner city zone in MEDCs but now it has moved
What is a settlement?
a place where a community of people live
What is a settlement pattern?
the shape of settlements
What does nucleated mean?
buildings tightly clustered around a road junction, church or bridge
What does dispersed mean?
individual farms or houses, widely scattered over a rural area, linked by a network of tracks & minor roads
What does linear mean?
long and narrow, most buildings along a road, river bank or shoreline
What does settlement function mean?
activities that happen in a settlement (the bigger the settlement, the more functions)
What does urban mean?
built up areas (towns & cities)
What does rural mean?
countryside (hamlets & villages)
What changes as you go up the settlement hieracrhy?
increase in size, population, and services
decrease in frequency
What is a settlement hierarchy going from bottom to top?
isolated dwelling
hamlet
village
small town
large town
city
conurbation
What is a sphere of influence?
area surrounding a settlement that is affected by the settlements activities, larger settlements will most likely have a greater sphere of influence
What are low order services?
services that people need on a regular basis where they can buy inexpensive items e.g. post offices
What are low order goods?
goods that people buy on a regular basis, that are also cheap e.g. bread
What are medium order services?
medium sized shops which provide medium and low order goods e.g. Sainsburys
What are high order services?
services that people don’t need regularly e.g. leisure centres
What are high order goods?
more expensive items people don’t need regularly, often comparison goods, where people often research lots of options to find best deal for them
Why do people travel further to access high order services & goods?
- less available
- so they have better choice
- for better quality product
- if shop/service is used that often
- for more expensive things
- trying to find a specialised service
Threshold population
number of people needed to support business or service
What factors may affect the size of a threshold population?
- wealth of community, wealthier can afford to buy more goods & services so fewer people needed to make the service viable
- not all people share same interests/needs - e.g. retired have different needs to young
- communities have different preferences & traditions - e.g. baker in france may thrive with only 600 people but in england may struggle
What characteristics do high order settlements have?
- large population
- high order services
- sell comparison goods
- have high density population
- good communications
- government buildings
- headquarters of large companies
- large sphere influence
- fewer in number & more spread out
urban sprawl
rapid expansion of an urban area into surrounding area, often without planning
urbanisation
increasing proportion of people living in towns & cities
favelas
slums on edge of cities (e.g Rio)
