CHAPTER
04 Human Settlements
Introduction:
Human Settlements are human settlements. It refers to the essence of human society and all aspects of society, material
things, organization, spirituality, and the cultures. Human settlements in rural and urban areas vary according to social
relations, attitudes and other perceptions. The people of these settlements are very busy with basic activities such as
agriculture, fishing, mining, etc., e.g., people living in villages and hamlets.
1. Human Settlements
Human Settlements are human settlements. It refers to the essence
of human society and all aspects of society, material things,
organization, spirituality, and the cultures that underpin it.
The basic differences between rural and urban settlements are as
follows:
1. Rural areas receive their livelihoods or basic economic
necessities from land-based economic activities, and
urbanization depends on the processing of assets and the
production of residual assets. Hand and a variety of services on
the other hand.
2. Cities act as centers of economic growth, supplying goods and
services not only to city dwellers but also to people in rural areas in need of food and supplies. This active relationship
between urban and rural settlements takes place through the transport and communication system.
3. Human settlements in rural and urban areas vary according to social relations, attitudes and perceptions. Rural people are
not very compatible and therefore, social relations between them are very close. In urban areas, on the other hand, lifestyle
is complex and fast, and social relations are legal.
2. Rural Areas:
Very small in size and not well separated. The people of these settlements are very busy with basic activities such as agriculture,
fishing, mining, etc., e.g., people living in villages and hamlets.
Factors Determining Rural Settlement:
There are various features and conditions that are responsible for having different types of rural settlements in India. These are:
1. Environmental Features:
These include the local environment, altitude, and climate and water availability.
2. Cultural and Ethnic Factors:
These include social, class and religion.
3. Security Factors:
These include protection against theft and robbery.
3. Types of rural settlements
There are various features and conditions that are responsible for having different types of rural settlements in India. These
include:
Physical features:
geographical location, altitude, climate and water availability
Cultural and national features:
social structure, structure and religion
Security features:
Protection against theft and burglary.
The rural population of India as a whole can be divided into four types:
1. Combined, integrated or nucleated,
2. Combined or separate,
3. Combined, and
4. Spontaneous or isolated.
4. Clustered Settlement
An integrated rural dwelling is an integrated or built-in area of
housing. In this type of village, the typical habitat is distinct and
separate from the surrounding farms, barns and pastures. Some
visible pattern or geometric shape, such as rectangle, radial, line,
etc. Such habitats are usually found in the fertile alluvial plains and
in the northeastern regions. This type of accommodation is built
for a variety of reasons, e.g., in Bundelkhand and Nagaland, people
live in these areas for security and safety purposes, in Rajasthan
these areas are built near water sources due to water shortages.
5. Semi-Clustered Settlements
Slightly compacted or fragmented settlements may cause the tendency to accumulate in a limited area of scattered living space.
This type of settlement begins with the adjoining of houses in a limited area of scattered or developed dwelling due to the
partition or division of a large combined valley. Such settlements abound in the plains of Gujarat and in other parts of Rajasthan.
6. Helmeted Settlement
Sometimes a living space is divided into several physically separated units with a common name. These units in place are called
Panna, Para, Palli, Nagla and Dhani, etc. in different parts of the country. This division of the big city is often driven by social and
racial factors. Such villages are commonly found in the central and lowland Ganga plains, Chhattisgarh, and the lowlands of the
Himalayas.
7. Scattered Areas
The pattern of scattered or isolated settlements in India is reflected in the form of isolated huts or small village huts in remote
forests, or on small hills with farms or pastures on slopes. Excessive fragmentation of habitats is often caused by the extreme
fragmentation of the national landscape and the geographical area of the settlements. Many places in Meghalaya, Uttarakhand,
Himachal Pradesh and Kerala have this type of accommodation.
8. Urban Settlements
Urban settlements are usually crowded and larger in size. They perform various non-agricultural, economic and administrative
functions. Both cities and towns are directly or indirectly connected to the villages and are connected to each other and exchange
goods, services and transportation.
9. The emergence of Indian cities
The emergence of cities began in India from prehistoric times, e.g., Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro cities, modern European colonies,
etc. Indian cities may be divided into three categories based on the evolution of different periods. Ancient cities, medieval cities,
and Modern cities.
10. Ancient Cities
There are a number of Indian cities with a history of more than 2000 years. Many of them were developed as religious and
cultural centers. Varanasi is one of the most important cities among these. Praying (Allahabad), Pataliputra (Patna), Madurai are
some examples of the oldest cities in the country.
11. Medieval Cities
Nearly 100 existing cities have their roots in the Middle Ages. Most of them have developed as headquarters for officials and
governments. These are fortified cities that climb up to the ruins of ancient cities. Highlights among them are Delhi, Hyderabad,
Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra and Nagpur.
12. Modern cities
These cities were developed by the British and other European peoples in India. These are also divided into the following groups:
1. Harbours Cities:
Harbours Cities are located in the coastal areas of India namely Surat, Daman, Goa, Puducherry, etc.
2. Administrative Cities:
These are developed for administrative purposes, e.g., Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras) and Kolkata (Calcutta).
3. Industrial Cities:
After 1850, these cities were developed as Jamshedpur.
4. Other European Style Cities:
These cities include hill stations for summer resorts, military villages and small towns for administrative purposes.
13. Urbanization in India
The rate of urbanization is measured as a percentage of the urban population to the total population. India's urban migration
rate in 2011 was 31.16%, which is very low compared to developed countries. Expansion of urban centers and the emergence
of new cities have contributed greatly to the increase in urban population and urbanization.
14. Spatial segregation on the basis of population
The Census of India is responsible for defining and classifying urban areas in India. Cities and urban areas are divided into six
classes by Indian census. Cities with a population of between one million and five million are called metropolitan areas and more
than five million are metropolitan. Many cities are big cities and big cities are connected cities.
A suburb may include any of the following three combinations:
(i) A city and its affiliated urban vegetation,
(ii) Two or more adjacent cities with or without rivers, and
(iii) One or more adjacent cities. Villages with their own vegetation together form a cohesive spread. Six categories of cities are
given below-
Among them, Greater Mumbai is the largest organization with 18.4 million people. Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and
Hyderabad are some of the largest cities in the country.
Functional Division of Cities:
In addition to their role as central or central location, many cities and towns provide specialized services. Some cities and towns
are specialized in certain activities and are known for certain services, products or services. On the basis of outstanding or
special functions, Indian cities and towns can be divided as follows:
Administrative towns and cities:
Cities that support the administrative headquarters of high-level administrative cities, such as Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bhopal,
Shillong, Guwahati, Imphal, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Chennai, etc.
Industrial Cities
Industries make the most of these cities, such as Mumbai, Salem, Coimbatore, Modinagar, Jamshedpur, Hugli, Bhilai, etc.
Transport Cities:
They may be the most active ports for shipping and importing services such as Kandla, Kochchi, Kozhikode, Visakhapatnam, etc.,
or inland transport hubs, such as Agra, Dhulia, Mughalsarai, Itarsi, Katni, etc.
Commercial cities:
Cities and cities focused on trade and commerce are maintained in this class. Kolkata, Saharanpur, Satna, etc., are some examples.
Mining towns:
These towns have developed in mineral-rich areas such as Raniganj, Jharia, Digboi, Ankaleshwar and Singhrauli, etc.
Garrison Cantonment Villages:
These towns appear as villages like Ambala, Jalandhar, Mhow, Babina, Udhampur, etc.
Educational villages:
Starting as educational institutions, some cities have grown into major metropolitan cities, such as Roorkee, Varanasi, Aligarh,
Palani, Allahabad, etc.
Religious and cultural cities:
Varanasi, Mathura, Amritsar, Madurai, Puri, Ajmer, Pushkar, Tirupati, Kurukshetra, Haridwar, and Ujjain rose to prominence
due to religious / cultural significance.
Tourist cities:
Nainital, Missouri, Shimla, Pachmarhi, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udhagamandalam (Ooty), Mount Abu are some of the tourist
destinations. Cities do not stop at their work. Jobs change because of its flexible nature. The functions of these cities are not fixed
and change over time as cities change naturally. With the growth of the population, cities became major cities with many
activities namely industry, business, administration, transportation, etc. Thus, the division of these cities on the basis of special
activity is not possible as all activities are interconnected.
Questions For Practice
1. How many million towns are there 11. Which of the following types of rural 20. How much is the population of a
in India (as in 2014)? settlements is found in the fertile megacity?
(a) 25 (b) 30 alluvial plains and north-eastern (a) 1 Lakh (b) 5 Lakh
(c) 55 (d) 40 states of India? (c) 10 Lakh (d) 50 Lakh
2. What percentage of urban (a) Clustered (b) Semi- 21. Which is the medieval city?
population lives in Class I towns as clustered (a) Pataliputra (b) Delhi
per 2011 Census? (c) Helmeted (d) Dispersed (c) Mumbai (d) Chandigarh
(a) 10% (b) 20% 12. Which is an administrative town?
(c) 40% (d) 60% 22. What city of administration?
(a) Varanasi (b) Surat (a) Varanasi (b) Surat
3. The number of towns in India is? (c) Gandhinagar (d) Rohtak (c) Gandhinagar (d) Rohtak
(a) 4161 (b) 7935 13. Which of the following city is the
(c) 6161 (d) 7161 23. What is the percentage of urban
largest agglomeration with over people in India?
4. What is the population of mega 18.4 million people? (a) 18 (b) 20
cities? (a) Bengaluru (b) Chennai (c) 25 (d) 31
(a) More than 1 million (c) Kolkata (d) Greater
(b) more than 2 million Mumbai 24. How many million towns are there
(c) more than 4 million in India (as of 2014)?
14. Which is the most ancient town In (a) 25 (b) 30
(d) more than 5 million India? (c) 55 (d) 40
5. How much is the population of a (a) Hyderabad (b) Varanasi
megacity? (c) Agra (d) Chennai 25. Which of the following cities is not
(a) 1 Lakh (b) 5 Lakh located near the river?
15. In which valley were Harappa and (a) Agra (b) Bhopal
(c) 10 Lakh (d) 50 Lakh
Mohenjo-Daro towns located? (c) Patna (d) Kolkata
6. Which of the following is a mining (a) Ganga (b) Narmada
town? (c) Indus (d) 26. The number of Indian cities is?
(a) Sharia (b) Satan Brahmaputra (a) 4161 (b) 7935
(c) Srinagar (d) Aligarh (c) 6161 (d) 7161
16. Which types of settlements are
7. Which of the following is not a found in alluvial plains? 27. How many times has the urban
medieval town? (a) Clustered (b) Semi- population increased during the
(a) Hyderabad (b) Nagpur clustered 20th century?
(c) Jaipur (d) Madurai (c) Helmeted (d) Dispersed (a) 5 (b) 7
8. How many times the urban (c) 11 (d) 15
17. Name the town that is not located on
population has increased during the the banks of a river? 28. What is the population of a large
20th century? (a) Kolkata (b) Agra city?
(a) 5 (b) 7 (c) Bhopal (d) Patna (a) 1 Lakh (b) 5 Lakh
(c) 11 (d) 15 (c) 10 Lakh (d) 50 Lakh
18. The number of towns in India is?
9. Which types of settlements are (a) 4161 (b) 7935 29. What is the oldest city in India?
found in alluvial plains? (a) Hyderabad (b) Varanasi
(c) 6161 (d) 7161
(a) Clustered (b) Semi- (c) Agra (d) Chennai
clustered 19. What is the population of mega
(c) Hamleted (d) Dispersed cities? 30. What types of habitats are found in
(a) More than 1 million the alluvial plains?
10. Name the town that is not located (a) Combined
(b) more than 2 million
on the banks of a river? (b) Slightly compacted
(a) Kolkata (b) Agra (c) more than 4 million
(d) more than 5 million (c) Hamlet
(c) Bhopal (d) Patna (d) They are scattered
Solutions
1. (c) 4. (d) 7. (d) 10. (c) 13. (d) 16. (a) 19. (d) 22. (c) 25. (b) 28. (d)
2. (d) 5. (d) 8. (c) 11. (a) 14. (b) 17. (c) 20. (d) 23. (d) 26. (b) 29. (b)
3. (b) 6. (a) 9. (a) 12. (c) 15. (c) 18. (b) 21. (b) 24. (c) 27. (c) 30. (a)
