SECTION II.
HOUSING
Unit 4. Overview of settlement and housing
Unit 5. Housing conditions
Unit 6. Urban housing market and provision
Unit 7. Settlement and housing policies in Rwanda (reading
provided published materials/presentation)
Notes prepared by Prof Emmanuel Twarabamenye
1
UNIT 4. OVERVIEW ON SETTLEMENT AND HOUSING
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the topic, students should be able to:
1. describe the origin morphology, hierarchy and
functions of settlements
2. portray requirements and guidelines of a healthful
housing and factors affecting healthful housing
3. explain legal conditions an individual or a household
owns a dwelling
2
UNIT 4. OVERVIEW ON SETTLEMENT AND HOUSING
4.1. Overview on settlement
4.1.1. Origin of settlements
4.1.2. Hierarchy and functions of settlements
4.1.3. Differences between urban and rural settlements
4.1.4. Patterns and morphology of rural settlements
4.1.5. Causes of dispersion and nucleation
4.2. Overview on Housing
4.2.1. Basic requirements of a healthful housing
4.2.2. Guidelines for adequate housing
4.2.3. Factors affecting healthful housing
3
OVERVIEW ON SETTLEMENT
1. Origin of settlements
2. Hierarchy and functions of settlements
3. Differences between urban and rural settlements
4. Patterns and morphology of rural settlements
5. Causes of dispersion and nucleation
4
WHAT MEANS SETTLEMENT?
Settlement is a place where people live and marked by the
presence of housing permanently or temporally occupied by
people
Settlement can be rural or urban, temporary or permanent, small
or large, primitive or modern, etc
Rural Urban
5
ORIGIN OF SETTLEMENT
Ancestors of humans
appeared on the earth
many million of years ago
They lived by eating
various wild fruits and
animals
6
ORIGIN OF SETTLEMENT (2)
Until around 8,000 BC, the world’s population comprised of small
number of hunters and collectors living in very sparse
communities especially in the sub-tropical
sub areas
They were migratory:: moving from a place to another because
of exhaustion of resources
With the Neolithic Revolution, hunters-collectors
hunters communities
turned into sedentary farmers thanks to
Domestication
Domestication of plants (wheat, rice and maize)
Domestication of animals
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ORIGIN OF SETTLEMENT (3)
Civilisations and cities before 1500 BC
Later expansion in other parts of the world: America, China, etc
8
Waugh, D. (2002),. Geography. An Integrated Approach. Scotprint,
Scotprint London
ORIGIN OF SETTLEMENT (4)
The 3 areas had similar natural characteristics:
a. They were hills surrounding the basins provided with
pasture for animals,
b. Flat flood plain next to wide valleys,
c. Fertile soils that stem from silt deposited by rivers,
d. Good climate, and
e. Permanent water supply from rivers which later permitted
irrigation
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ORIGIN OF SETTLEMENT (5)
In meantime, the population was increasing and establishing
permanently
Consequences: more and more settlements developed leading
to a differentiation of settlements
By 1500 BC, large towns and urban centres had developed in
the above mentioned areas with various functions (trade,
administration, construction works focused mostly on
irrigation, religion, craftsmens, artists, philosophers, army ,
etc).
Members of communities remained in rural areas :
Rural areas Urban areas
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SITE AND SITUATION OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS
According to Waugh (2002),
‒ Site describes the characteristics of the actual points at which
a settlement is located, and were of major importance in the
initial establishment and growth of a village or a town
‒ Situation refers to the location of a place relative to its
surroundings. ‘’
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SITE AND SITUATION OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS (2)
Early settlements developed in a rural economy which aimed
at self-sufficiency,
sufficiency, and by that time,
time not only physical location
influenced the selection of sites of village and ancient cities
Many factors contribute to the location of a settlement, some
are most significant than others;
others but in some cases, many
factors can have operated together at the time of the choice
of the location of a settlement.
settlement
But with development of technologies, location factors also
changed
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SITE AND SITUATION OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS (3)
Most significant settlement location factors
Availability of
building materials Availability of
Ease of water arable land
supply
Ease of fuel
supply Settlement Availability of
grazing land
Defense Ease of
Avoidance of natural communication
hazards
13
SITE AND SITUATION OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS (4)
Other Factors of Settlement Location
Relief: Flat and low-lying
lying land were easier to built than steep
and higher terrain
Nodal points:: river confluence, junction road-route
road and rivers
(bridging-points),
points), junction road-route
road and
railways (recently), etc
Harbours : well sheltered inlets and river estuaries provided
suitable sites for commercial ports and
establishment of human settlements
Natural resources:: Not only land and water but others such
as iron ore, coal, and other minerals.
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SITE AND SITUATION OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS (5)
In the ancient era, natural factors were prevailing in choosing
the site of a settlement.
In present days, thanks to development in various domains,
the selection of a site for a new settlement is more likely
influenced by political, economic, and social factors.
Example: construction of a road contributes to emergence of
new rural centres or development of the existing ones while
others stagnate or decline
15
HIERARCHY OF SETTLEMENTS
Conurb-
Conurb
ation
City
Large town
Medium town
Small town
Village
Hamlet
Isolated dwelling
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HIERARCHY OF SETTLEMENTS (2)
Scattered dwelling:: habitation are scattered over the region,
Hamlet:: small agglomeration of dwellings settled by people
employed mostly in farming, fishing, hunting, etc but usually
has no shops, schools, etc
Village:: clustered settlement with some services (shops,
schools, administrative offices, medical health centers, etc)
located in rural area, but smaller than a town
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HIERARCHY OF SETTLEMENTS (3)
According to Fellman, Getis & Getis (2008)
Town:: human settlement recognised officially as urban, and has
a CBD but is smaller than a city
‒ Small town,
‒ Medium, or
‒ Large town
City: multifunctional nucleated settlement with a BCD and
both residential and non residential land uses
Conurbation: continuous extended urban area formed by the
growing together of several formerly separate, expanding cities
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CONURBATION
NE Urban Megaregion in the US
19
FUNCTIONS OF SETTLEMENTS
Settlements are dynamic:
‒ emergence,
‒ growth, and
‒ stagnate or decline
Settlements are characterised by their main functions
Functions of settlement refers to economic and social activities
Though functions of settlements change over time, one or two
activities can be predominant in a human settlement :
‒ Industrial,
‒ Administrative,
‒ Commercial,
‒ Educational,
‒ Leisure, etc.
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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL SETTLEMENTS
Several methods have been suggested to define the difference
between a village or rural settlement, town, city, urban
settlement, but it is always advised to refer to national context
Criteria:
‒ Population size,
‒ Economic activity,
‒ Services,
‒ Land use,
‒ Social functions, etc
21
PATTERNS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS
Two patterns of rural human settlement:
‒ Scattered (isolated & dispersed)
‒ Nucleated (grouped)
Scattered settlement
‒ Isolated : long distance between dwellings especially in
‒rural
rural areas with hard conditions ( the Amazon, Siberia, arid
region) or
‒areas
areas with huge landholding (Canadian and US prairies in the
township system)
‒ Dispersed settlement: relatively short distance between
dwellings, or when there is small grouping of dwellings but
which does not form a village
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PATTERNS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS (2)
Dispersed Nucleated
Source: US Dpt of State Geographer Google Earth image©2019, CNES/Airbus
23
PATTERNS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS (3)
Nucleated or grouped settlement:
settlement dwellings are grouped closely
together for economic, security, social reasons, etc
Some areas are characterized by scattered and dispersed
settlement, others by grouped settlement, and sometimes both
types are found in the same area
In Rwanda grouped settlement is the only rural settlement
pattern accepted since the policy was passed by 2004
24
PATTERNS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS (3)
Debouverie’s statistical method used to determine the type of
settlement in a region
25
PATTERNS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS (4)
K (Index of concentration ) Type of settlement
Above 1,50 Nucleated settlement
Comprised between 1 and 1.50 Semi-nucleated settlement
Comprised between 0.50 and 1 Hamletted settlement
Below 0.50 Scattered/dispersed settlement
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MORPHOLOGY OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS
Compact:: Dwellings are very close each other
Loose-knit:: Dwellings are somehow spread out with relatively
small farms (agricultural land ) around the house
Compact Loose-knit
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MORPHOLOGY OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS (2)
Linear or ribbon:
‒ Houses aligned along a river, road, railway, narrow crest top,
etc.
‒ When houses have a regular distribution, such settlements are
called street-villages
villages (they can be planned or spontaneous,
and they are frequent in many European countries)
Street-village in
openfield landscape
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MORPHOLOGY OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS (3)
CANADIAN ROW
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MORPHOLOGY OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS (4)
Ribbon village in the Eastern Province, Rwanda
Source: US Dpt of State Geographer Google Earth image©2019, CNES/Airbus
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MORPHOLOGY OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS (5)
Ring or ‘’green’’ villages:: found in many parts of Africa (Masai
in Kenya), Amazon rainforest, in England, Germany many
villages were built around a central place, etc
Ring village: Kraito in Amazon
rainforest, Brazil
Waugh, D. (2002)
31
MORPHOLOGY OF RURAL SETTLEMENT (5)
Gridiron village: houses are strung out along a network of
perpendicular roads.
Same shape as in urban settlement with gridiron plan, such
villages are always planned
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.or
g/wiki/Grid_plan
32
CAUSES OF DISPERSION
Physical conditions and local possible hardship,
Limited or insufficient resources,
Forms of land tenure especially in regions where land
inheritance among heirs prevails,
Existence of wider farmland (Canadian and American Prairies
with the township system and the Canadian row),
Agrarian revolution like abandonment of openfield systems in
some European countries (like Britain in the 18th Century)
Security assurance , etc.
33
CAUSES OF NUCLEATION
Limited or excess of water resources (Mesopotamia, oasis in
deserts, nucleation built on mound and river terraces, etc)
Defense and protection (walled cities like Jericho, York, hilltop
villages in Italy, etc)
Mound
34
CAUSES OF NUCLEATION (2)
Feudal openfield system in Western Europe since the lord
could easily defend his serfs
Transport and routes have had always influenced nucleation ( T
junctions, bridging points, waterways and railways, etc)
In present days, the population’s will for staying near
infrastructure and services
Political decisions (former socialist republics), some African
countries (like Rwanda , Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique),
China, etc privilege nucleation for economic and social for
rapid development, etc
35
CAUSES OF NUCLEATION (3)
Presence of natural resources (minerals, water, limited fertile
land, building materials, etc.)
Topography
Culture of people
History of the settlement
36
OVERVIEW ON HOUSING
1. Definition of housing
2. Basic requirements of healthful housing
a. Satisfaction of physiological needs
b. Protection against infection
c. Protection against psychological and social stresses
d. Protection against accidents
3. Guidelines for adequate housing
4. Factors affecting healthful housing
37
DEFINITION OF HOUSING
Housing is defined as ‘flats
flats and houses in which people live’,
live
Housing is a dwelling or physical shelter that is used for living
purposes.
Many definitions focus on the nature of housing as a physical
structure or shelter, but those definitions are very restrictive.
Better to refer to the definition adopted by WHO that is
more comprehensive
38
DEFINITION OF HOUSING (2)
WHO defines housing as:
“ the physical structure that man uses for shelter and the
environs of that structure including all necessary services,
facilities, equipment, and devices needed or desired for the
physical, mental, and social wellbeing of the family and
individual”.
WHO definitions combines the idea of physical shelter and
safe health → HEALTHFUL or ADEQUATE HOUSING
The goal of housing is preserving people’s health and goods.
39
BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF HEALTHFUL HOUSING
For the WHO,, an adequate housing has to fulfill the following
basic requirements:
1. Satisfaction of physiological needs,
2. Protection against infections,
3. Protection against accidents, and
4. Protection against psychological and social stress.
This is in line with the 1976 UN General Assembly resolution No
3128 which, based on serious conditions of human settlements
in developing countries, recommended to consider right to
adequate housing as a basic need (Vancouver Declaration on
Human settlements)
40
SATISFACTION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS
Human physiology (the functioning of human’s body) highly
depends on the immediate environment.
An adequate housing should allow:
Breathing (humans absorb oxygen and expels the waste as
carbon dioxide (CO2), adequate ventilation required).
Sleeping (separate room, free from any disturbance : noise ,
indoor air pollution, any other environmental hazards;
separate bedrooms for children and adults) and privacy
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SATISFACTION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS (2)
Body heat regulation
‒Housing
Housing helps humans regulate body heat, which means it
helps people keep warm or cool when possible without use
of air condition.
Eating
‒Adequate
Adequate kitchen and a dining room are required.
‒Kitchen
Kitchen should be separate space/room but now modern
kitchen are integrated in houses, mostly equipped with
cooked hoods.
42
PROTECTION AGAINST INFECTIONS
Healthful housing is essential for the prevention of infections a
number of communicable diseases because poor housing is
associated with a wide range of communicable diseases like
‒Diarrhoeal diseases (diarrhoea,, dysentery, typhoid fever etc)
due to poor personal hygiene, absence or poor utilisation of
latrines and poor waste management.
‒ Respiratory diseases like tuberculosis, flu, and other infections
due to poor ventilation and crowding.
‒Acute
Acute and chronic lung diseases due to indoor/cooking smoke
(influenza, pneumonia, etc ), indoor smoke causes eye infection
and irritation.
43
PROTECTION AGAINST INFECTIONS (2)
Skin infections such as scabies and ringworm due to
crowding as a result of limited housing space.
Lice can easily travel from an infected person to the next
nearby one.
Disturbance of human comfort as a result by bites of insects
and flies
Breeding sites for rats and mosquitoes in poor housing.
44
PROTECTION AGAINST INFECTION (3)
Needs Facilities/services needed in
residential environment (fill in
this column)
Drinking water supply and its safe
handling
Safe human waste management
Safe solid waste management
Safe liquid waste management
Personal hygiene
Food safety
Vector control
45
PROTECTION AGAINST ACCIDENTS
Injury Conditions that may cause injury
Person falling over causing Slippery floor, steps that are too
broken injury, bruising, etc tight or too low
Building materials falling on Poor structure of wall, ceiling, roof,
people etc
Burning /Electric shock Improper use of fuel; damages on
electrical wires , faulty electrical
installation, etc
Carbon monoxide poisoning Not extinguishing fire sources
Chemical poisoning Improper handling and storage of
chemicals
Breathing problems, risks of No separate kitchen, poor
asphyxia ventilation of the kitchen and the
housing 46
GUIDELINES FOR ADEQUATE HOUSING
Countries have established building codes to enable housing to
fulfill above requirements
These codes indicate
‒ Good location of housing,
‒ Building materials accepted,
‒ Adequate size of housing ,
‒ Minimum size of bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms,
bathrooms, kitchens, etc
‒ Minimum size of doors and windows, etc
‒ Minimum wall height
‒ Design of the housing, etc
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GUIDELINES FOR ADEQUATE HOUSING (2)
Good design
Home must
‒ be easily accessible for all and must be coloured differently
from immediate surroundings,
‒ have doors and windows easily identifiable and painted
with colours different from the one used for walls or other
home equipment,
‒ allow panoramic view, good sound insulation, natural day
lighting
‒ ensure free movement within and outside
‒ ensure good ventilation, preferably in a natural way, etc
Source: Royal Institute of British Architects (2011). A Guide for Assisted Living: Towards Life Home 21plus ref for HCA guide when
known 48
FACTORS AFFECTING HEALTHFUL HOUSING
The world is experiencing a global housing crisis: more than 1.6
billion people live in substandard housing and 100 million are
homeless, according to UN’s statistics, especially in urban areas
(http://www.
www. habitatmidohio. org /about-habitat/the-housing-crisis/)
/about
People do not live in poor housing, on pavement, stair ways,
roof house, boats, etc because they want it, it is by necessity.
Most of them cannot afford healthful/adequate/formal housing
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FACTORS AFFECTING HEALTHFUL HOUSING (2)
According to The International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development & The World Bank, formal housing is the
product of specialized supply and demand-side value chains.
Housing ‘formality’ typically means a home that:
‒ Has valid legal title,
‒ Is structurally sound and complies with local planning
standards and building codes, and
‒ Can be pledged as collateral for a long-term mortgage loan.
Formal housing units with such qualifications are the product
of coordination between public and private sector activities.
50
FACTORS AFFECTING HEALTHFUL HOUSING (3)
Obstacles preventing the majority of urban population access
to healthful/adequate/formal housing such are among others:
‒ poverty of the population and countries,
‒ ineffective national policies,
‒ low level of education,
‒ cultural behaviour,
‒ climate,
‒ population mobility,
‒ great and continuous influx of urban in-migrants,
in
especially in major cities of developing countries, etc
51
UNIT 4. OVERVIEW ON SETTLEMENT AND HOUSING
• For more details, refer to the following links:
1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310021451_HUM
AN_SETTLEMENT_SYSTEMS
2. https://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/legy110.pdf
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212567
114002937/pdf?md5=38f7e0698f352a4939f479a6b1f1f680
&pid=1-s2.0-S2212567114002937
S2212567114002937-main.pdf
4. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11382629_Housi
ng_and_Health_Time_Again_for_Public_Health_Action
52
