1.

5 Settlements (rural and urban) and

service provision
Key questions
H What are the main patterns of settlement?
H What are the factors that influence the sites, growth and functions of
settlements?
H What are settlement hierarchies and how do they affect people?

Rural settlements
A settlement is defined as a place in which
people live and where they carry out a variety of
activities, such as residence, trade, agriculture and
manufacturing. Most rural settlements are hamlets
and villages, although not all are. The study of rural
settlement includes:
» pattern
» form (or shape)
» site and situation
» function and hierarchy
» change.
▲ Figure 1.56 Dispersed settlement, Arabba, Italy
Pattern
Most of us live in settlements, and most of us take A dispersed settlement pattern is one in which
them for granted. And yet there is a huge variety individual houses and farms are widely scattered
of settlements, and they are changing rapidly. For throughout the countryside (Figure 1.57). It
example, some settlements in rural areas differ occurs when farms or houses are set among their
greatly from those in urban areas, although the fields or spread out along roads, rather than
distinction between them is becoming less clear. In concentrated on one point. They are common in
developing countries large cities are growing at the sparsely populated areas, such as the Australian
expense of rural areas, despite a recent movement out outback and the Sahel region of Africa, and in
of some very large cities or ‘megacities’. Population recently settled areas, such as after the creation of
change, technological developments and changing the Dutch polders. The enclosure of large areas of
lifestyles are having a tremendous impact on common grazing land into smaller fields separated
settlement geography. by hedges led to a dispersed settlement pattern.
In this section we look at the size, development This happened because it became more convenient
and function of rural and urban settlements. We to build farmhouses out in the fields of the newly
begin with rural settlements and analyse their established farms. Similarly, the break-up of large
pattern, site and situation, function and hierarchy. estates (particularly in England during the sixteenth
We study the characteristics of land use and describe and seventeenth centuries) also led to a dispersed
the problems of urban areas in the developed and settlement pattern. In areas where the physical
developing worlds, and consider possible solutions geography is quite extreme (too hot or cold, wet or
to these problems. We also look at the impacts on dry) there is likely to be a low population density,
the environment as a result of urbanisation, and and a poor transport network, which discourages
possible solutions to reduce these impacts. settlement.
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 Rural settlements

are found in the surrounding fields. Such nucleated

settlements are usually termed hamlets or villages
according to their size and/or function.
A number of factors favour nucleation:
» joint and cooperative working of the land —
people live in nearby settlements
» defence, for example hilltop locations, sites within
a meander or within walled cities, such as Jericho
» shortage of water, causing people to locate in
areas close to springs
» swampy conditions, which force settlements to
locate on dry ground
» near important junctions and crossroads, as these
▲ Figure 1.57 Dispersed settlement, Dingle Peninsula, west
coast of Ireland favour trade and communications.
In some countries the government has encouraged
Nucleated settlements are those in which houses people to live in nucleated settlements, such as the
and other buildings are tightly clustered around a Ujaama scheme in Tanzania, the kibbutzim in Israel
central feature such as a church, village green or and the communes in China.
crossroads (Figures 1.58 and 1.59). Very few houses A linear pattern occurs when settlements are
found along a geographical feature, for example,
along a river valley or a major transport route (see
Figure 1.62 on page 41 for the potential site of linear
settlements).

Village form
Village form refers to shape (Figure 1.60). In a
linear settlement, houses are spread out along
a road or a river. This suggests the importance
of trade and transport during the growth of the
village. Linear villages are also found where poor
drainage prohibits growth in a certain direction.
In the rainforests of Sarawak (Malaysia), many of
▲ Figure 1.58 Nucleated settlement, Mgwali, Eastern Cape,
the longhouses are generally spread alongside rivers
South Africa (Figure 1.61).

Abandoned
Housing for quarry village
and railway-workers,
T-shaped Hospital
foresters or commuters
nucleated
village
Cruciform
Compact nucleated
nucleated village
village Linear
Village nucleated
Nucleated
green village
estate village
Semi-
dispersed
Nucleated village
green
Dispersed village
rural settlement

▲ Figure 1.59 Nucleated settlement, Royston, Hertfordshire ▲ Figure 1.60 Village shapes

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 1.5 SettlementS (rural and urban) and Service proviSion

» level sites to build on — but these are less easy to

defend
» local timber for construction and fuel
» aspect, for example sunny, south-facing slopes
(in the northern hemisphere) as these are warmer
than north-facing slopes and are therefore better
for crop growth
» proximity to rich soils for cultivation and lush
pasture for grazing
» the potential for trade and commerce, such as close
to bridges or weirs, near confluence sites, at heads
of estuaries, points of navigation and upland gaps.
A dry point site is an elevated site in an area of
▲ Figure 1.61 A Malaysian longhouse
otherwise poor natural drainage. It includes small
hills (knolls) and islands. Gravel terraces along major
Cruciform settlements occur at the intersection rivers are well favoured. Water supply and fertile
of roads and usually consist of lines of buildings alluvial soils, as well as the use of the valley as a
radiating out from the crossroads. The exact shape line of communication, are all positive advantages.
depends on the position of the roads and the amount A wet point site is a site with a reliable supply of
of infilling that has since taken place. By contrast, water from springs or wells in an otherwise dry area.
a green village consists of dwellings and other Spring line villages at the foot of the chalk and limestone
buildings, such as a church, clustered around a ridges are good examples. Spring line settlements occur
small village green or common, or other open space. when there is a line of sites where water is available.
In South Africa ring villages are formed where the Some hilltop villages suggest that the site was
houses, called kraals, are built around an open area. chosen to avoid flooding in a marshy area as well as
for defence. Villages at important river crossings are
Factors affecting the site, excellent centres of communication.

growth and functions of Growth and function of

settlements settlements
Cruciform site and situation A number of factors affect settlement size, growth
The site of a settlement is the actual land on which a and function. In extreme environments settlements
settlement is built, whereas the situation or position are generally small. This is because the environment
is the relationship between a particular settlement is too harsh to provide much food. Areas that are
and its surrounding area. In the past geographers too hot, cold, wet or dry usually have small, isolated
have emphasised the importance of physical settlements. In contrast, settlements have managed
conditions on the pattern of settlement, land tenure to grow in areas where food production is favoured.
and the type of agriculture practised. Increasingly, If there is more food produced than the farmers need,
social and economic factors are important, especially then non-farming services can be supported. In the
in explaining recent changes in rural settlements. early days these included builders, craftsmen, teachers,
Early settlers took into account advantages and traders, administrators and so on. Thus, settlements
disadvantages of alternative sites for agriculture and in the more favoured areas had greater potential for
housing. These included: growth, and for a wider range of services and functions.
Some environments naturally favoured growth
» availability of water — necessary for drinking, and hence a large size. In the northeast of the USA,
cooking, washing, as a source of food supply, and settlements on the lowland coastal plain were able
for transport to farm and trade (Figure 1.62). Those that had
» freedom from flooding — but close to the flooded links inland as well, such as New York, were doubly
areas as river deposits form fertile soils favoured (Figure 1.63).
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 Growth and function of settlements

Hudson-Mohawk
CANADA
Gap
Lake Ontario Albany Troy
Toronto Utica N
Rochester
Lake Erie Buffalo

Pittsburgh Appalachian Mountains

with coal, iron-ore and
timber Hudson
Potomac River Hostford
River
Boston
Baltimore New Jersey Providence
Washington Philadelphia New York
Flat, fertile
coastal plains
Sheltered
bay

Coastal Shipping routes Atlantic Ocean

trade routes to Europe
Sheltered bays

▲ Figure 1.62 Settlement sites in the northeast of the USA

Other centres had good raw materials. In South

Africa, the gold deposits near Johannesburg, and the
diamonds at Kimberley and Bloemfontein, caused
these settlements to grow as important mining and
industrial areas.
Functions change over time. Many settlements
that were formerly fishing villages have become
important tourist resorts. The Spanish costas are
a good example. Many Caribbean settlements,
such as Soufrière in St Lucia, have evolved into
important tourist destinations. In the developed
world, many rural settlements have now become
dormitory settlements — this is related to good
accessibility to nearby urban centres (Figure 1.65).
Increasingly, many rural settlements in the
developed world are also becoming centres of
▲ Figure 1.63 New York developed because of its excellent industry, as new science parks locate in areas
trading position — inland as well as overseas such as Silicon Valley in California, formerly an
agricultural region. South Korea has industrialised
Trade and communications have always been and urbanised over the last 50 years or so, and the
important. Cairo grew as a result of being located rural population had declined to just 17 per cent
at the meeting point of the African, Asian and by 2011.
European trade routes. It also benefited from having
a royal family, being the government centre, and
Interesting note
having a university and all kinds of linked trades
and industries such as food and drink, and textiles. Baniachong in Bangladesh claims to be
Similarly, Paris grew because of its excellent the world’s largest village. The area covers
location on the Seine. Not only could the river be about 75 km2 and contains around 70, 000
crossed at this point, it could also be used for trade people.
(Figure 1.64).

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 1.5 SettlementS (rural and urban) and Service proviSion

Other centres have become important due to political

factors. New capital cities, such as Brasilia, Canberra
and Ottawa, have developed central administrative
roles. Other planned cities, such as Putrajaya in
Malaysia and Incheon in South Korea, have become
centres of high-tech industry.

Settlement hierarchy
The term hierarchy means ‘order’. Settlements are
often ordered in terms of their size. Dispersed,
individual households are at the base of the rural
settlement hierarchy. At the next level are hamlets
(Figure 1.66). A hamlet is a very small settlement,
consisting of a small number of houses or farms,
with very few services. The trade generated by the
population, which is often less than 100 people, will
only support low-order services such as a general
store, a small post office or a pub. By contrast, a
village is much larger in population (Figure 1.67).
Hence it can support a wider range of services,
including a school, church or chapel, community
centre and a small range of shops (Table 1.11).
Higher up the hierarchy are towns and cities,
offering many more services and different types
of service. As Table 1.11 shows, there are more
settlements lower down the hierarchy — the higher
up you go, the fewer the number of each type of
settlement. Thus, for example, there are far fewer
cities in a country than there are villages.
Rural settlements offer certain functions and
▲ Figure 1.64 The Seine was a vital factor in enabling the
services. Only basic or low-order functions are found
growth of Paris into a city of international importance in the smaller hamlets, whereas the same functions
and services are found in larger settlements (villages

Urban Extreme non-rural Extreme rural National Park

90 mins
Urban Small village turned 30 mins from 1 hour from from city
sprawl city by car city by car by car
into a new or
overspill town 2 hours
from city
Motorway by car

A road Small suburbanised

Green belt Declining
Large city or village with old core
(farming and village
conurbation recreation;
development Abandoned
strictly controlled) More remote farms
Suburbanised village with
village with Village with
Urban sprawl with little change
old core mainly second
car-based suburbs B road Minor homes
road
A road

▲ Figure 1.65 Cloke’s model of rural change and accessibility to large urban centres
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 Growth and function of settlements

Table 1.11 A simple rural hierarchy

Hamlet Village Small market town
General store General store General store
Post office Post office Post office
Megalopolis Increasing – Butcher Butcher
Increasing
number of
population – Garage Garage
settlements
size Conurbation – Grocer Grocer
– Hardware store Hardware store
City
– Primary school Primary school, baker, bike
shop, chemist, electrical/
Town television/radio shop, furniture
store, hairdresser, local
Village government offices, restaurant,
shoe shop, solicitor,
supermarket, undertaker
Hamlet

Isolated home/farmstead hamlets as well as serving their own population.

▲ Figure 1.66 A hierarchy of settlement
The maximum distance that a person is prepared to
travel to buy a good is known as the range of a good.
and market towns) together with more specialised Low-order goods have a small range whereas high-
ones — high-order functions. The market towns order goods have a large range. The number of people
draw custom from the surrounding villages and needed to support a good or service is known as the

a b

c d

▲ Figure 1.67 Settlement hierarchy in County Kerry. (a) Isolated dwelling in Gullaun, (b) linear settlement Dohilla,
(c) Gneeveguilla village, (d) market town Killorglin
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 1.5 SettlementS (rural and urban) and Service proviSion

threshold population. Low-order goods may only live (reside) in the village but work and shop
need a small number of people (for example 1000) elsewhere.
to support a small shop, whereas a large department
store might require 50,000 people in order for it to
survive and make a profit. Capital/primate city
Highest order
The area that a settlement serves is known as its Anomaly with more settlements

Number of functions (services) provided

sphere of influence. Hamlets and villages generally functions than average,
have low spheres of influence whereas larger towns e.g. seaside resort Cities

and cities have a large sphere of influence. The

definition of hamlet, village and town is not always Large towns
very clear-cut and these terms represent features that
are part of a sliding-scale (continuum) rather than Middle order
Small towns settlements
distinct categories.
In general, as population size in settlements Villages
increases the number and range of services Anomaly with fewer
increases (Figure 1.68). However, there are functions than average,
e.g. dormitory town
exceptions. Some small settlements, notably those
with a tourist-related function, may be small in Lowest order
Hamlets
size but have many services. In contrast, some settlements
dormitory (commuter) settlements may be quite Population size of settlements
large but offer few functions or services other than ▲ Figure 1.68 The relationship between population size and
a residential one. In these settlements, people number of services

Activity
a b c

Figure 1.69 Services in three settlements. (a) Newsagents, Cassington; (b) Town Hall, Woodstock; (c) Butchers, Long
Hanborough
Study the photos (a), (b) and (c) in Figure 1.69. Arrange the three settlements in terms of their likely hierarchy.
Justify your choice.

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