Core Human Geography

Settlement Dynamics

Rural Changes

Rural Settlement Background

 Rural area: low population density countryside area, where the economy is dependent on
primary activity.

o Rural landscape: visual picture of a countryside settlement and how it is perceived.

 Greenbelt: areas of open land retained around a city, where development is restricted.

 Urbanisation of poverty: increasing concentration of poverty in urban areas, often due to rural-
urban migration.

 Rural-Urban Continuum: no sharp difference between settlements, there is a graduation.

 Settlement patterns

o Isolated

 Due to extreme environmental conditions

 Insufficient natural resources.

o Dispersed
  Farmhouses separated by large farm areas.

 No nucleation of properties.

 2-3 housing hamlets.

o Nucleated

 Has economic, social and defensive purpose.

 Originally clustered for defences in war.

 Area of resources (valley region, river confluence, coastal location)

o Linear

 Properties along roads, rivers and transport lines.

 People want close proximity to transport network.

 Rivers historically used for cooking, cleaning, water.

o Loose Knit

 Similar to nucleated, but settlements not closely clustered.

 Farmland separates properties.

 ‘Traditional rural settlement’.

o Green ring

 Village built around circular field for communal or religious purposes.

o Planned

 US city fringes have planned settlements.

 Rural perceptions

o Tight community where people know each other.

o Strong family ties.

o Homogeneity – shared languages, culture, religion.

o Less expressed differences between social classes.

 Key Villages: villages that have a high concentration of services, reduced service decline and an
assured threshold population. They satisfy the needs of surrounding villages/hamlets.

o Characteristics: has existing employment/services, accessible by public transport and

roads, relatively close proximity to urban centre, land value high enough to encourage
development.

MIC/HIC Contemporary Issues

 Rural-Urban migration

o Rural depopulation is the primary driver for other rural issues. As people leave, BRs
decrease below the replacement level – leading to cut services. Cut services leads to
unemployment and further ‘out- migration’.

 Changes in agriculture

o Decline in farm work due to increased mechanisation, reduced wages, poorer farmers.

o Farms increase in size and hedgerow reduces – harming the ecological network.

o Farms bought up by corporations.

o Farm diversification occurs. Farms used for other industries such as tourism. However,
too much diversification = oversupply, which leads to decline.

 Service decline (due to lower population density)

o Shops, post offices, healthcare, transport and activities provide a backbone for
communities; they provide a sense of belonging which stops people leaving for urban
areas.

o Service decline = reduction in quality of life.

o Causes: depopulation, market forces, changing expectations and population patterns,

governmental focus on urban areas.

 Rural transport
 o Increase in car ownership = public transport decline.

o Poor, elderly, young and vulnerable are isolated.

o Creates a barrier for low-income families to access employment.

o Fuel prices increase.

 Rural turnaround: movement back into rural areas, often just beyond a cities greenbelt, so
commuting is still possible.

o Dormitory settlement: rural settlement that has become increasingly urbanised

recently, that is largely occupied by people employed in nearby urban areas.

o Morphological Evolution of suburbanised villages: shows land use changes, ribbons

along roads and the addition of private/council estates, over time:

 Second home concept

o Urbanites purchase 2nd homes in rural locations.

o Offers higher local employment and increased taxes paid funds communities and
services that may have stopped otherwise.

o More money allows new infrastructure to be installed, services have a higher threshold
population.

o However; house prices rise, farm land fragments, visual degradation occurs, building
work may be sub-standard, cultural/environmental issues exist.

LIC Contemporary Issues

 Social

o – ageing rural population, as young move to the city.

o – public and private services close, due to population decline.

o + reduced unemployment due to smaller population.

 o + big focus on traditional family structures, customs and reuse/repair to material
possessions.

 Environmental

o – natural resources exploited by large companies; government/rural population have

few legal property rights

o – harsh environments make surviving and farming difficult.

o + rural population decline reduces pressure on resources such as food and water.

 Economic

o – reduced agricultural production, insufficient labour.

o – Development schemes tend to focus on high profile urban areas, leaving rural
communities forgotten.

o – Political corruption and discrimination of gender, race and religion increases poverty.

o – Families that are large/rapidly growing (high dependency ratio) will suffer financial
hardship.

o + Remittances provide a large proportion of a family’s income.

Urban Trends and Issues

Urban Growth

 Urbanization: an increasing proportion of population, in a geographical area living in urban

settlements.

 Urbanization causes

o Natural population growth

o Rural-Urban push and pull factors

o In LICs: better healthcare/education, plentiful food as it is imported, higher wages,

employment protection, government investment policies.

 Urbanisation consequences

o Overcrowding: rapid population rise leaves houses overcrowded, children may be

abandoned, and people forced to sleep rough.

o Squatters: houses built on unused land (dirty, unsafe, polluted) as no housing available.

o Lack of available work: labour influx exceeds demands, so people unemployed. Many
unskilled labourers cause wages to decrease – enhances poverty. Factories employ
women and children to do dirty and dangerous work.
 o Pollution: smoke and toxic liquids directly released. Raw sewage and rubbish dumped
and flows into rivers.

o Taxes: councils can’t raise taxes when many are in poverty/the informal sector, so
public services and infrastructure begin to suffer.

o Crime: generally, increases.

o Improvement strategies: if money is available, build high-rise housing. Self-help

schemes. Site/service schemes (where services and jobs are provided).

 Counter urbanization: process of population decentralization, which tends to occur in HICs as

people move from urban areas to rural settlements, and adds to the effect of urban decline. In
most places counter urbanization is counteracted by in-migration.

 Suburbanization: outward growth of urban area to engulf surrounding rural areas, that started
with the middle-class, as a result of: low interest rates, good public transport and infrastructure,
government support for houses, new amenities, building societies.

 Re-urbanization: movement of people and economic activity back into the CBD and
inner/industrial areas. May just be a temporary phase as a result of large cash injections, or a
result of the changing times (4 million extra houses needed in UK – most will be urban).

 Competition for land: reflected in land prices and property rental prices. Often competition
leads to derelict sites, social classes forced into ghettos and poorer people being forced out of
the inner city.

 Urban renewal: can be property-led, partnership schemes or private initiatives; where the best
parts of a location are kept, and adapts them to fit new uses.

o Urban redevelopment: involves complete clearance.

 Urban regeneration: a program of land redevelopment that usually makes attempts to fix urban
decline, allowing business and higher-class opportunities.

World City Concept

 Mega city: population > 10 million, density > 2000 people per km2, can be made up of
converging areas.

 Millionaire city: has over 1 million inhabitants.

 World city: acts as a major centre for finance, politics, trade, culture, business. Serves more than
a country or single region. Not linked to population size.

 Recent shift (last 50 years) from New York and London being largest cities to Asian counties such
as Tokyo. HIC cities have stagnated while LIC cities increased.

 Causes of growth

o TNCs: central HQ, where manufacturing is outsourced to LICs with cheaper labour.
 o Communications: phones and the internet allow one office to provide services all
around the world – global brands can be easily managed from one place.

o Demographics: high natural increase and ‘in-migration’ produces a large working

population.

 Hierarchy of world cities: based on the Global Cities Index, where rankings consider 24
measures across business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience,
political engagement.

o Alpha ++: London and New York.

o Alpha +: Hong Kong, Paris, Dubai, Tokyo…

o Alpha: Milan, Beijing, Mumbai, LA…

o Alpha -: Miami, Dublin, Melbourne, New Delhi…

o Beta +, Beta, Beta -: Washington, Oslo, Munich.

o Gamma +, Gamma, Gamma -: Montreal, Perth, Manchester.

Growth in these 5 sectors make up the index.

 Economics: New York Wall Street and London Stock Exchange are global leaders. IBM and
PepsiCo (TNCs) locate in NY. HSBC bank chooses London.

 Politics: EU HQ in Brussels, Belgium. 10 Downing Street and Houses of Parliament in London.

Offers single place for politicians, investors and media attention.

 Culture: London has attractions such as London Bridge, West End and Buckingham palace (15m
visitors/year). Other cultural aspects: universities and food.

 Technology: NY has 7,000 tech firms (most in world). Hong Kong has best public transport,
Amsterdam pioneers green energy (2nd greenest globally).

Changing Structure of Urban Settlements

Factors Affecting Location of Activities

 Manufacturing

o Pre-1960s: disadvantages of CBD sites became obvious, as motor car allowed urban
sprawl to occur. New rural or suburban sites chosen.

o Post-1960s: most HIC cities are post-industrial as manufacturing has moved from HICs
to MICs/LICs.

o Constrained Location Theory (problems inner-city manufacturing faced)

 Multi-storey 19th century buildings unsuitable for modern ground floor

manufacturing (sites too small, land cannot accommodate large industrial
parks).
  Intensive land use prevents expansion.

 Previous land contamination renders cost of brown-site clean-up too high.

 Land prices too high for manufacturing due to high competition.

o Other factors: urban planning policies in 50s/70s demolished factories in slum housing
areas. Companies received government incentives to relocate elsewhere. Inter-firm links
steadily broken.

o Severe inner-city job loss, but surplus labour in suburbs leads to new infrastructure and
thriving factories. Lower land costs, better quality of life.

 Retailing

o Traditionally in the CBD. Progressive movements out from CBD, with the creation of
retail parks, urban superstores, out-of-town shopping centres and home
delivery/internet shopping.

o Out-of-town shopping centres are open, easily accessible, create jobs, offer advantages
to shoppers. However, they destroy green fields, create unskilled jobs, require a car to
access, take trade from CBD and small businesses, impermeable surfaces and pollution

o Trafford Centre: 300 acres of land, 150 acres of building. 2 million ft2 of floor space.
11,500 parking space, petrol pumps on site. 11-stop bus station and coach stops. Local
catchment of 9 million people, 31 million people visit each year (67% female). In 2018
footfall increased by 1.6% (+500,000 visits). 243 shopping units, 20 screen cinema,
16,000 seat food court, shoppers spend £145 on average per visit.

o Space, land costs and accessibility.

 Health

o Preference is for one large, central hospital, rather than several smaller ones throughout
a location.

o Land costs and building space.

 Education

o Primary schools dotted throughout local areas around a city, and fewer secondary
schools with a more central location as they are larger. People travel further for
secondary education.

o Accessibility and size/cost of land.

 Leisure/open space

o Sports stadiums that used to be in inner city areas are being moved to edge of cities,
due to shortage of space and congestion. Smaller parks/open spaces easily added to
cities.
 o Congestion and space.

Changing CBD

 Increased pedestrian zones

 Indoor shopping centres

 Environmental and safety improvements

 Better access, as public transport and road networks improve.

 CBD decline

o Rise in car ownership leads to increased mobility. Leisure shopping and congestion
become more common. CBD becomes less accessible.

o Planning authorities may encourage/discourage out-of-town shopping, leading to

changes in how people shop. Uncoordinated plans have a negative effect.

o Land and investments are cheaper on green-field sites, so retail industry moves out of
CBD. In addition, these sites have good access and nice environments.

o Public perception that area is dirty and unsafe.

o Urban sprawl blurs previous distinct boundaries, CBD’s location fades and becomes less
important.
 o CBD development and maintenance cost is high.

Space Competition/Functional Zonation

 Concentric Zone Model

o Assumes equal movement, uniform land and free competition for space, in all
directions.

o Development is outwards from the centre with continuing in-migration.

o Business activity occurs in CBD as most people have access to that central point.

o Zones of transition outwards, through industry and low-class housing. Migrants drawn
to low prices.

o Areas of better housing further out, as people can afford to move out of centre
(occupied by middle-class with newer and larger houses).

 Bid Rent Theory

o Assumptions are the same as the Concentric model.

o A city centre location is more expensive to buy/rent as it is most accessible, so only

retail/offices will bid.

o Moving outwards, industry bids the most, then housing.

o Poor mobility and low-income groups reside in inner locations due to CBD access. High
land prices are overcome as people live in high densities.

o Affluent and mobile seek cheaper land for better housing. Space traded off for commute
time.

o At line intersection, both uses pay the same, otherwise the use line on top will bid more.
 Sector Model

o Maintains that most people have access to CBD.

o Industry follows transport routes.

o High class residential develops around physical/social features, such as rivers. Opposite
side of city to where pollution is blown by wind.

o Low class housing forced in less attractive areas, close to factories, and in the path that
pollution is blown.
 Multiple Nuclei Model

o CBD present, but not necessarily in centre of model.

o Low class housing found in cheap land areas (around industry). Higher class avoids
industrial land, so locates on opposite side of the city.

o Areas of development occur outside the main settlement around new nuclei – such as
out-of-town shopping centres.
 LIC/MIC land use

o States a CBD centre with industry that develops around transport and waterways.

o Zone of maturity consists of services, and a mix of old/new housing that was once
occupied by affluent.

o Elite housing develops along the commercial spine.

o ‘In situ accretion’ has a wide range of housing and is in the process of improvement
through government projects.
 o Squatter settlements locate in the Periférico, on the most undesirable land.

 Urban density gradients: population density falls with increasing distance from the CBD.

o HICs: there is an initial rise and then decline in density, as affluent population spreads
further rurally.

o LICs: continued density increase, so density gradient is kept stable as urban area
expands.

 Due to; low personal mobility/public transport, CBD has a residential function
(more compact CBD restricts sprawl).
  High suburban densities do exist, and car ownership is increasing, leading to
urban sprawl.

Residential Segregation

 Clustering of certain groups of people/activities/ services.

 Causes

o Income: high income gives people a wide choice of places to live; people can choose the
best house/location they can afford (car ownership allows long commutes). Leads to
gated communities. Lower income households have choice limited by house prices and
access to public transport.

o Age: as someone ages, they need an increasingly large house. Young people buy flats,
then as a small family grows, then number of bedrooms required increases. Once
children move away, parents downsize to smaller properties.

o Race/Ethnicity: clustering results in ‘ethnic villages’ or ‘ghettos’. Linked to income too,

as migrants typically have low income, therefore must locate close to CBD.

 Processes

o Housing market: housing supply should equal demand – but doesn’t. Therefore, housing
in short supply causes high property prices, and low-income people are pushed to the
urban periphery.

o Influence of family/friends: people migrating into an urban area tend to cluster close to
family or friends for comfort and support.

o Culture: even if people earn enough to live in a certain area, they may choose not to if
they don’t feel comfortable.

o Planning: urban planners aim for a good social mix of people to avoid ghettos.

o Finance: if access to mortgages is good, residential segregation won’t be severe.

 Urban renaissance: aims for more sustainable and high-quality living by putting people close to
services, with good public transport and maintaining attractive living areas.

 Urban mosaic: pattern of different residential zones within a city that reflects socio-economic
variations.