The document discusses the location and growth of settlements. It describes how early settlements were located based on factors like access to water, defensive positioning, and natural resources. It then explains how settlements evolve over time and take on different functions. The main functions of settlements discussed are administrative, defensive, mining, industrial, tourist, educational, religious, residential, port, market town, and route center. Larger settlements tend to be multi-functional. The document also introduces models of urban land use, including the Burgess and Hoyt models which describe concentric zones of land use radiating from the central business district.