Settlement Geography Notes

Settlement Geography

Rural Settlement

Concepts of settlement, site, and situation.
Classification based on size, complexity, pattern, and function.

Definition of Settlement

A settlement is a place where people live.
Settlements vary in size, from a single house to a megalopolis with tens of millions of people.
Settlements can be temporary (e.g., refugee camp) or permanent.

Definition of Site

Site is the actual location of a settlement on Earth.
Includes physical characteristics of the landscape specific to the area.
Site factors: landforms, climate, vegetation, water availability, soil quality, minerals, and raw materials.

Definition of Situation

Situation is the location of a place relative to its surroundings and other places.
Factors:
- Wet point site: close to a water supply.
- Dry point site: avoids risk of flooding.
- Defensive site: high ground for visibility of enemies.
- Accessibility: transport routes connecting to other areas.

Factors Influencing Situation

Transport infrastructure.
Market.
Physical barriers.

Rural vs. Urban Settlements

Rural: Single-functional, primary activities (farming, mining, fishing, forestry).
Urban: Multi-functional, secondary & tertiary activities (industries, services).

Settlement Patterns

Focuses on the distance between buildings. Includes:
- Dispersed/Isolated: Buildings are far apart.
  - Advantages:
    *Initiative and independent decision making.
    *Large farming plots allowing machinery use.
    *Maximizing new farming methods.
    *Reduced machinery maintenance costs due to no sharing.
    *Potential for maximized economic gain.
  - Disadvantages:
    *Limited contact and socializing.
    *Reduced safety and security.
    *Limited sharing of ideas.
    *Responsibility for all costs.
    *Fewer facilities.
    *Lack of immediate assistance in emergencies.
- Nucleated: Buildings are close together.
  - Advantages:
    *More contact and socializing.
    *Increased safety and security.
    *Sharing of ideas regarding farming methods.
    *Shared costs (e.g., farming equipment).
    *More facilities.
    *Immediate availability of people in emergencies.
  - Disadvantages:
    *Independent decision-making is limited in communal farming.
    *Small farming plots limit machinery use.
    *Limited use of new farming methods.
    *Shared machinery increases maintenance costs.
    *Small plots result in limited economic gain.
- Linear.
Shape involves interaction with the surrounding landscape. Common shapes: linear, rectangular, circular/semi-circular, cross, T-shaped, star-like.

Rural Settlement Shapes

Linear:
- More farms along a river for water and transport, or along transport routes.
- Farms closer together.
Circular:
- Around a focal point such as a market, place of worship (church), or village green.
T-shape, Cross-shape, Star-shape:
- At nodal points of communication routes.
Fragmented:
- Hamlets with scattered huts, lacking a real pattern.

Rural Settlement Patterns - Advantages and Disadvantages

Nucleated Settlement Pattern
- Advantages: More contact and socializing. Safety and security as people are nearby. Share ideas regarding activities e.g. farming methods. Share costs e.g. buying farming equipment. More facilities. It is more profitable to establish services near nucleated settlements. People are immediately available in case of emergencies.
- Disadvantages: In case of communal farming showing initiative and independent decision making is limited as many people are involved.Farming plots are generally small therefore machinery is limited. Limited use of new farming methods. Machinery is generally shared increasing maintenance costs. Small plots result in limited economic gain. More social advantages
Dispersed/Isolated Pattern
- Advantages: Can showing initiative and independent decision making . Farming plots are generally large therefore machinery is used. Can maximise new farming methods . Machinery is not shared reducing maintenance costs. Large plots result in economic gain can be maximised.
- Disadvantages: Less contact and socializing. Limited safety and security as people are not nearby. Limited sharing of ideas regarding activities e.g. farming methods. Generally responsible for all costs e.g. buying farming equipment. Less facilities. It is more profitable to establish services near nucleated settlements. People are not immediately available in case of emergencies. More economic advantages

Land Use in Rural Areas

Land use refers to the function of an area of land.
Largest land use: agriculture.
Settlements.
Transport routes.
Recreation (e.g., horse riding, golf courses).
Services (e.g., sewerage works, airports).
Conservation.

Settlement Patterns and Indigenous Knowledge

Different traditions affect settlement patterns.
African traditions: communal systems, collective ownership, unity, nucleated patterns.

Rural-Urban Migration

Movement of people from rural areas to urban areas.
Push factors (force people out of rural areas):
- Few services.
- Lack of job opportunities.
- Lack of proper facilities (education, healthcare, sanitation, housing).
- Poor transport links.
- Mechanization.
- Natural disasters.
Pull factors (attract people to urban areas):
- Access to services.
- Better job opportunities.
- Better facilities (education, healthcare, sanitation, housing).
- Better transport links.
- Hope for a better quality of life.

Rural Depopulation

Decrease in the number of people in rural areas.
Causes:
- Rural-urban migration.
- Death.
- Migration overseas.
Consequences:
- Decline in wage earners, decreased buying power.
- Shops closing down, decreasing staff or reducing stock.
- Facilities closing down (banks, post offices).
- Residents travel greater distances for services.
- Schools closing down or quality decreasing.
- Land value drops.
- Younger people leave, resulting in an aging population.
- Decrease in area productivity.
- Ghost towns could develop.
- Increase in poverty.
- Cycle of rural decline.
  *Decrease in use of resources in rural areas, resources not used to develop economy

*Cycle of poverty continues for many people

Strategies to Address Rural Depopulation

Provision of basic needs (piped water, housing, electricity, education, sanitation, employment).
Using tourism (wine festivals, advertising attractions, infrastructure).
GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to investigate issues (migration, business monitoring, physical factors).

Social Justice Issues in Rural Settlements

Access to resources was limited for black people during apartheid, leading to over-utilization.
Poverty is linked to access to resources, resulting in a cycle of poverty.

Possible Solutions to Access to Resources and Poverty

Balance between inputs and infrastructure for sustainable development.
Empowerment and use of available resources.
Inputs: Skills, educational facilities, water, tools/technology, seeds, feed, market, labor, fertilizer.
Infrastructure: Piped water, electricity supply, healthcare, transport facilities, communication networks, sanitation facilities.

Land Reform Programmes

Strategies to rectify past injustices during apartheid.

Case Study : Water Access via Wheel Innovation

Prior to the invention of the water wheel: Water was transported mainly via Wheelbarrows/donkey carts/on their heads/buckets/drums/bottles/
How has the water wheel changed access to water in rural areas? Transportation of water is easier/more accessible , It saves time to fetch the water, More water can be collected therefore fewer trips , Enclosed container therefore less water losses, Enclosed container therefore fresher water
What role can access to water in rural areas play in reducing poverty? Increase agricultural production/assists subsistence farmers , Sustainable farming , Higher profits ,Spent less time on collecting water, therefore more time for schooling , Increased employment/generates income , Reduces burden of time and volume required to improving the standard of living and economic viability , Development of home industries
Give a reason for the poor water infrastructure in rural areas of South Africa. Apartheid legacy of access to water in rural areas , Lack of funding for improved infrastructure, Not economically viable in sparsely populated areas, Lack of planning and development in rural areas, Population increase faster than infrastructure development, Poor maintenance of existing infrastructure network, Mismanagement of funds (corruption) by the government , Boreholes not accessible/privately owned ,Theft of water infrastructure , Not enough qualified people to maintain water infrastructure, Focus placed on urban areas and industrial development , Diversion of water resources ,Poor/cheap quality materials used to maintain water infrastructure
(1x2) (2)

Sustainable Solutions to Improve Water Access in Rural Areas

Develop infrastructure for piped water to homes.
Build/upgrade dams.
Install Jo-Jo tanks for water harvesting.
Dig more boreholes.
Encourage recycling of grey water.
Filtrate polluted water and consider reversed osmosis.
Government allocate more funds to secure clean water.
Utilise inter-basin water transfer schemes
Upgrade and maintain existing water network systems
Education in the wise usage of water
Improved farming practices to promote infiltration
Use organic fertilisers to prevent pollution of water
Improve catchment management systems
Recharge aquifers to maintain groundwater volumes
Remove alien/exotic vegetation to reduce the usage of water
Improved irrigation techniques to save water
Subsidising of the Wello water wheel

Urban Settlements

Origin and Development

Farming led to surplus food storage.
People specialized in other activities (goods, education, infrastructure).
Nucleated settlements facilitated trade.
Towns developed along transport routes.
Villages, towns, and cities developed.
Pre-industrial towns focused on commerce, trade, and craft industries.
Industrial towns focused on manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution.
Post-industrial towns focus on services.

Urbanization of the World Population

Definition: Increasing proportion/percentage of people living in urban areas.
Growing rapidly.
Approximately 71% urbanized in most economically developed countries.
Approximately 34% urbanized in less economically developed countries.
Main factors: natural growth and rural-urban migration.

Related Concepts

Rate of urbanization: Pace at which urbanization is occurring.
Level of urbanization: Percentage of people living in urban areas.
Urban growth: Increase in the number of people living in urban areas.
Urban expansion: Physical expansion of an urban area.
Urban sprawl: Formless expansion of an urban area.

How Site Affects Urban Settlement Location

Site: Exact location on which the settlement develops.
Factors: Water supply, relief, underlying rock structure, drainage, resources.

How Situation Affects Urban Settlement Location

Situation: Location of the settlement in relation to the surrounding area.
Factors: Transport, access to market.

Classification of Urban Settlements According to Function

Central place: Provides urban functions to the surrounding rural area (e.g., Beaufort West).
Trade and transport towns: Developed due to trade and transport (e.g., East London).
Break-in-bulk point: Goods transferred from one transport mode to another (e.g., Durban).
Specialized towns: Develop due to one main function (e.g., Umhlanga Rocks).
Junction towns: Develop at important transport intersections (e.g., De Aar).
Gateway/Gap towns: Develop around a gap in a physical feature (e.g., Harrismith).

Case Study : Urbanisation Level and Rate

The term urbanization is defined as A process whereby an increasing percentage of people live in urban areas
Between 2006 and 2016,As the rate of urbanisation increases the level of urbanisation increases i.e. It is a directly proportional relationship
Factors that could have contributed to the rate of urbanisation. Drought frequency in rural areas increases rural-urban migration , Flood frequency destroy crops causing people to leave rural areas , Stronger El Niño increases droughts and/or floods , Soil erosion decreases production on farm lands forcing people to leave (decrease in soil fertility/desertification) , Stock/crop diseases/pests and stock losses/decreases in crop yields forces farmers to abandon farm lands and move to urban areas , Adverse weather conditions e.g. hail storms destroy crops and this negatively affects production and leads to decreased profits -
Urbanisation (percentage increase of people) has increased the demand for housing in urban areas , The inability of the local government to meet this demand has led to protest actions, Lack of planning from the local government to meet demands for services, Lack of services (electricity, water, sanitation) in informal settlements and people are not happy about this

Urban Heirachy and Classifications

Urban hierarchy
Central place
Threshold population
Sphere of influence
Range of goods
Low- and high-order functions/services
Low- and high-order centres

Concepts

Threshold population: Minimum number of customers needed for a business/service to be profitable. Larger stores need larger threshold populations.
Low order goods, functions and Services
- Are used/bought everyday/regularly, generally cheaper
- Generally found near the customer
- Bread, post office, petrol station etc
High order goods, functions and Services
- Specialised and bought/used less frequently, generally more expensive
- Found in higher order centres
- Airport, hospital, regional shopping centre/cars
Low order centres provide low order goods/services/functions to surrounding area
High order centres rovide high order goods/services/functions to settlements
Sphere of influence: Area from which an urban area gets its customers.
Range of goods/services: Maximum distance a person is prepared to travel to obtain a service or buy a good. Higher order goods have a larger range.
Settlement hierarchy: Ranking of settlements according to size, complexity, population, services, influence.

Case Study

Sphere of influence. Is defined as Market area from where an urban settlement/business draws customers
The size of the city sphere of influence is larger/bigger/wider than the town
What determines the size of the sphere of influence of an urban settlement? The order of the goods sold in a particular service area/order of services provided/degree of specialisation of services/goods, Number of functions/goods that are offered, Type of functions offered/goods sold
Give TWO possible reasons for the overlap of the town's sphere of influence with that of the city. Zone of competition/where people can choose which place to shop at, Personal choice/convenience of where to go, Travel to place which offers better services, If there is little impact on travelling time and cost for the product they want to purchase , Going to either town or city for another purpose and shopping while there
Explain why the range (distance) of different goods and services offered in city B is not the same.Distance travelled (range) will depend on the order of the goods/service, High order goods/services/consumer goods have a greater range and draw customers from farther away , Low order goods/services/basic commodities/convenience goods have a shorter range therefore people not prepared to travel very far ,Cost of goods/services - the cheaper, the shorter the distance/the more expensive, the farther the distance

Settlment Models and Structures

*Urban Pattern. Is the pattern of the city is the way how different functions and elements of the settlement form are distributed and mixed together spatially. Urban settlements are generally nucleated

Street patterns *Grid iron/rectangular - Roads meet at right angles * Advantages Shorter routes Easy to extend Easy to find places * Disadvantages Associated with traffic congestion Many intersections/robots Time consuming Fuel consuming Road rage/frustration *Irregular - No set pattern. It develops due to relief e.g. goes around hilly areas * Advantages Creates aesthetic appeal due to different roads Less traffic congestion Less intersections * Disadvantages Can get lost Travel longer distances
- Radial All roads lead to/out of a central point e.g. CBD
- Advantages Less intersections Easier flow of traffic Aesthetic appeal
- Disadvantages Unplanned growth can create traffic problems

Commercial Land-use zones

CBD Commercial heart of the city
Tallest buildings with highest density- land is expensive
High accessibility
Mixed zone but dominated by commercial functions
High and low order functions/goods/services
Other business districts OBD, Isolated store cluster, commercial ribbon development, planned neighbourhood shopping centre and planned regional shopping centre
High income residential area are near parks, rural-urban fringe and expensive flats in CBD (penthouse), low density large buildings
Middle income residential area is found between high and low income areas. Single dwellings, medium density
Low income residential area is generally found near employment, is high density and small buildings
*Informal settlements have little formal structure, mostly shacks made out of zinc and wooden crate etc, limited basic services e.g. sanitation, electricity

Industrial Land-use Zone

Heavy industrial area -Outskirts of CBD, due to pollution, traffic congestion. , Near flat land, bulk transport, water supply, cheap land
Light industrial area - Located in the CBD, transition zone, residential areas. , Does not cause a lot of pollution, traffic congestion e.g. tailor, bakery
*Zone of decay/transition zone - Found around CBD , Zone of change ,Many dilapidated buildings (low owner occupation). Buildings are taken over by other functions and renovated , Zone of mixed functions
*Greenbelt - Reduce ecological footprint , Green areas e.g. parks, conservation areas
*Rural-urban fringe - Urban function invade the surrounding rural area ,Has urban and rural functions , High income residential areas, golf course, sewage works

Urban Profile

Urban Profile refers to the side view/cross section of an urban area. - Height of the buildings -The density of buildings -The different land use zones
morphological structure of a city/urban area refers generally to the height, density
*The shape and situation of the urban areas. Factors influencing the morphological structure of a city - Transport has allowed urban areas to spread out -Planning Totally planned, unplanned and piecemeal planning , Physical Underlying rock structure, topography/relief and local/micro climate

Case Study

An urban profile depicts View of the city from the side/shows high buildings in the centre and lower buildings on the outskirts/shows the skyline
*Give a reason for the building density in the CBD. High land values and rentals , Competition to locate businesses in the most accessible part of the city, Intensive/maximum use of the land in the CBD
Why is the transitional zone often referred to as the zone of decay?
Buildings are old and dilapidated as the landlords do not maintain them, It is the future expansion area for the CBD, thus landlords do not maintain the buildings
*mass exodus (leaving) of commercial functions - High land values ,High rentals
*Evaluate the impact the exodus of functions has had on the status of the CBD. The status can be lowered if Buildings are abandoned, Businesses are occupied by foreigners, The CBD is dominated by low quality/inferior goods, Buildings are dilapidated and not maintained, Illegal occupation of vacant buildings

Urban Structures

Burgess/Concentric
Land use zones develop in concentric circles/zones around the CBD. CBD is in the centre. Transition zone around CBD
Criticisms CBD is in most accessible area and not always in centre All industrial and commercial activity is not in a specific area Did not consider transport routes and it’s effect on spread of activities e.g. commercial
*Hoyt/Sector Model
CBD is in the centre Development occurs along transport routes
Criticisms CBD is in most accessible area and not always in centre All industrial and commercial activity is not in a specific area.
*Harris and Ullman’s Multiple Nuclei Model
Heavy industry near bulk transport High income aesthetic appeal no set structure
Modern American-western city -rural-urban migration and commercial decentralization/urban-rural migration.
Third World city formal and large scale informal settlements

Apartheid City

Post Apartheid City

*Urban renewal refers to renovating of the urban area
*Facadism keeping the external front of the building but modifying the rest of the building
*Gentrification- upgrade run down areas in the inner city
*Invasion and succession-one inappropriate land use replaced by another more appropriate land use e.g. residential to commercial. Decentralisation of functions
Commercial functions moving to the residential area
*Convenience of having different functions in one area.

Settlement Geography Notes