SETTLEMENTS AND SERVICE

PROVISION
• A settlement can be defined as a place in which people live and where they carry out a
variety of activities such as trade, agriculture and manufacturing.
• Settlements can be rural or urban.
• Rural refers to the countryside.
• Urban refers to towns or cities.

Rural settlements

Settlement patterns

• A settlement pattern is a shape that a settlement forms on a map and how clustered or
scattered it is.
• Three common rural settlement patterns are nucleated, dispersed and linear.

Nucleated pattern

Houses are clustered together as villages especially around a central feature such as a church or
shop.

Reasons for this pattern

• People enjoy the social benefits of living close to neighbours.

• They have easy access to services such as shops and schools.
• Living close to others is helpful for defence in times of attack.
• The pattern is also common where there is availability of fertile soils for agriculture.
• The culture of people may favour this pattern.
• People may also cluster near a water source.
• They also cluster near important junctions or crossroads as these favour trade and
communication.

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Dispersed pattern

This is when there are scattered isolated dwellings.

Reasons for this pattern

• This develops where the agricultural land is poor and people need large areas eg for grazing.
• Low population density also occurs where it is too hot or cold, too wet or dry.
• Poor transport network also discourages settlement.
• Establishment of huge farms eg on the Canadian Prairies also causes dispersed settlements.
• Some cultures have a tradition not to live grouped together in villages.

Linear pattern

Settlements are in long thin rows often along a geographical feature eg a river valley or road.

Reasons for this pattern

• Each dwelling has access to road for transport.

• The settlements might be along a river or a line of springs, for water supply.
• Settlements may also be in a line just above the flood plain of a river.
• In other cases, people do not waste good farming land for buildings but place their houses
in a line next to the fertile land.

Site and situation of a settlement

Site

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 • This is the actual land on which a settlement is built.
• The site’s features include altitude, gradient of the slope, water supply.
• A dry point site is an elevated point in an area of otherwise poor drainage.
• A wet point site is a point with a reliable supply of water from springs or wells.

Situation

• This is the position of the settlement in relation to the surrounding area.

• Features of a situation include transport routes, agricultural productivity of the area,
position of the settlement in relation to other settlements.

Factors which influence sites and growth of settlements

The relief, soils, drainage and accessibility of the site had to allow agricultural land use to take place.

Physical factors

Relief

This includes altitude, gradient and aspect.

1. Altitude
• In mountainous regions, highest areas might be very cold, covered with snow, that
agriculture is difficult so these may be left uninhabited.
• Lowest areas are sometimes sparsely populated because of poor drainage or
flooding and diseases.
2. Gradient
• Gentle slopes are well drained, easy to cultivate and easier to build on.
• It is difficult to build on steep slopes.
• Steep slopes make transport more difficult and prone to landslides which can
destroy roads and buildings.
3. Aspect
• This is the direction in which slope faces.
• Some slopes are warm and sunny, and others are cold and shaded.
• Agriculture and settlements tend to be concentrated on the sunny slopes (north
facing slopes).

Soils

• Areas with fertile soils are often more densely settled eg alluvial soils found in in river valleys
for example Nile valley and areas with rich volcanic soils eg the island of Java in Indonesia.

Water supply

• Many settlements were first established next to a river, spring or well that could supply
water for drinking, washing and in some cases irrigation.

Climate

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 • Moderate rainfall which supports crop farming favour growth of settlements.
• Cool temperatures also attract settlements.

Economic factors

Transport

• Availability of transport networks such as roads and railway lines promote growth of
settlements since these will be accessible.

Markets

• This reduces transport costs for farmers or traders so market places tend to attract clustered
settlements.

Availability of minerals

• This attracts dense population since employment is created and clustered settlements
develop eg Zvishavane.

Industrial development and urbanisation

• Development of industries creates employment for many people and this results in urban
growth creating a clustered settlement.

Functions of settlements

The function of a settlement relates to its to its economic and social development and refers to its
main activities. Larger settlements have more functions than smaller settlements. The types of
functions include:

• Administrative: these are developed to control or govern areas eg capital city.

• Commercial: these provide the needs of industry and business eg they have banks and
financial institutions.
• Residential: this is where most people live but do not work there.
• Tourist resorts: these have features which attract visitors eg coastal and mountain resorts.
• Cultural or educational: these attract people for educational and other religious purposes.
• Market towns: these service and process agricultural machinery and produce.
• Mining towns: these are developed to exploit local minerals or fuel.
• Industrial manufacturing: where raw materials are processed into manufactured goods.
• Ports: these are located on coasts, rivers for movement of goods and people from land to
sea or vice versa.
• Route centres: these are found at the convergence of several natural routes or at nodal
points resulting from economic development.

Settlement hierarchy

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The term hierarchy refers to the arrangement of settlements within a given area in an order of
importance. Isolated farms and small hamlets form the base of the hierarchy pyramid with the
largest or capital city at the top. Three different methods to determine the order of importance in
the hierarchy have been based on:

1. The population size of a settlement.

• The lower the population size the lower the order of settlement, the bigger the
population size the higher the order of settlement.
2. The range and number of services provided by a settlement.
• Services or functions are anything that is provided in a settlement for the
population.
• Smaller settlements usually provide a limited range of services. These are likely to be
low order functions eg school or shop selling bread, milk and vegetables.
• Large towns provide a wider range of services including higher order functions like
furniture and cars. People travel long distances for some of these services but less
frequently.
• The table below shows hierarchy based on services:

Settlement Function
Capital Cathedrals, government buildings, banking HQs ,museums, shopping
centres, railway termini, several universities, international airport.
City Large railway station, large shopping complex, cathedral, opticians and
jewellers, large hospital, university, airport, large football team.
Large town Several shopping areas, hypermarket, railway station, bus station, hotels
banks, small hospital, small football team.
Small town Town hall, doctor, several churches, restaurants, secondary school, railway
station, several shops.
Village Church, post office, shop for daily goods, primary school, village hall.
Hamlet Perhaps none, public telephone

3. The sphere of influence or market area of a settlement.

• The sphere of influence or market area is defined as the area served by a particular
settlement.
• Hamlets and villages have a low spheres of influence whereas larger towns and cities
have a large sphere of influence.

The settlement hierarchy pyramid

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Describe the settlement hierarchy shown by the pyramid above.

• In an area there are more low order settlements (villages) than high order settlements
(cities).
• Distance apart is greater between higher order settlements (cities) compared to low order
settlements such as villages.
• Higher order settlements have larger populations compared to low order settlements.
• A variety of services are found in higher order settlements whereas low order settlements
have fewer services.

NB: The relationship between population size and number of services in that settlement is that as
the size of population increases, the number of functions also increases. The greater the size of the
the fewer the settlements or the smaller the size the more the settlements. This can be illustrated by
the graph below:

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Explain why some people travel further for some goods and services than for others.

• People are prepared to travel further for cheaper or affordable goods.

• They travel further for better quality products.
• People may travel further for higher goods which may not be available in their area.
• People may travel further for less frequent services eg specialist doctors.