HUMAN SETTLEMENT
Geography
Meaning of Human Settlement
Human Settlement means a cluster of dwellings of any type or size where human beings live. It includes villages, towns and cities. Settlements develop where people can get food, water, shelter, livelihood and security.
2. Basic Differences between Rural and Urban Settlements
1. Dependence:
Rural settlements depend mainly on land-based primary activities like agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing and forestry. Urban settlements depend on processing of raw materials, manufacturing of goods and various services.
2. Functional Relationship:
Cities act as centres of economic growth. They provide goods and services to both urban and rural areas and in return receive food and raw materials from villages. This relationship is maintained through transport and communication networks.
3. Social Relationship, Attitude and Outlook:
Rural people are less mobile and social relations are intimate and personal. In urban areas, life is fast and complex and social relations are mostly formal and impersonal.
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TYPES OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS
1. Clustered Settlements
Meaning: A clustered settlement is a compact or closely built-up area of houses.
Nature:
The general living area is distinct and separated from surrounding farms, barns and pastures.
Pattern:
The closely built-up area and streets present a definite pattern such as rectangular, radial or linear.
Distribution:
• Found in fertile alluvial plains and north-eastern states.
• Found in Bundelkhand and Nagaland for security reasons.
• In Rajasthan, scarcity of water has led to compact settlements for efficient use of water.
2. Semi-Clustered Settlements
Meaning:
These result from the tendency of clustering in a restricted area of a dispersed settlement.
Features:
• One or more sections of the village live slightly away from the main cluster.
• Generally, land-owning and dominant communities live in the central part, while lower strata and workers live on the outer margins.
Examples:
• Gujarat plain and some parts of Rajasthan.
3. Hamleted Settlements
Meaning:
A large village is broken into several small units due to social and ethnic factors. These units are physically separated but have a common name.
Local Names:
Panna, para, palli, nagla, dhani, etc.
Distribution:
• Middle and lower Ganga plain
• Chhattisgarh
• Lower valleys of the Himalayas
4. Dispersed or Isolated Settlements
Meaning:
These appear as isolated huts or small hamlets in remote jungles, hills or plateaus.
Distribution:
• Meghalaya
• Uttarakhand
• Himachal Pradesh
• Kerala
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URBAN SETTLEMENTS
Urban settlements are generally compact, larger in size and engaged in non-agricultural economic and administrative activities.
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EVOLUTION OF TOWNS IN INDIA
1. Ancient Towns:
Towns with more than 2000 years of history, mainly developed as religious and cultural centres.
Examples: Varanasi, Prayag (Allahabad), Pataliputra (Patna), Madurai.
2. Medieval Towns:
Developed as headquarters of kingdoms and principalities. Many are fort towns built on ruins of ancient towns.
Examples: Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra, Nagpur.
3. Modern Towns:
a) Port Towns:
Developed by Europeans for trade.
Examples: Surat, Daman, Goa, Pondicherry.
b) Gothic Towns:
Developed by British around Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata in British architectural style.
c) Industrial Towns:
Developed after 1850 based on industries.
Example: Jamshedpur.
d) Administrative Towns:
Developed after independence as capitals and headquarters.
Examples: Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Dispur, Durgapur, Bhilai, Sindri, Barauni.
e) Satellite Towns:
Developed around big cities.
Examples: Ghaziabad, Rohtak, Gurugram around Delhi.
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CLASSIFICATION OF TOWNS ON THE BASIS OF POPULATION
According to Census of India:
• Class I Town/City: Population more than 1 lakh.
• Metropolitan City: Population between 1 million and 5 million.
• Mega City: Population more than 5 million.
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URBAN AGGLOMERATION
An urban agglomeration may consist of:
• A town and its adjoining urban outgrowths
• Two or more contiguous towns with or without outgrowths
• A city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths forming a continuous spread
Important Facts:
• More than 60% of urban population lives in Class I towns.
• Out of 468 cities, 53 are metropolitan cities.
• 6 are mega cities.
• About 21% of urban population lives in mega cities.
• Greater Mumbai is the largest agglomeration.
• Other mega cities: Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad.
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FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF TOWNS
1. Administrative Towns:
Examples: Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bhopal, Shillong, Guwahati, Imphal, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Chennai.
2. Industrial Towns:
Examples: Mumbai, Salem, Coimbatore, Modinagar, Jamshedpur, Hugli, Bhilai.
3. Transport Towns:
Port Cities: Kandla, Kochchi, Kozhikode, Visakhapatnam
Inland transport hubs: Agra, Dhulia, Mughalsarai, Itarsi, Katni
4. Commercial Towns:
Examples: Kolkata, Saharanpur, Satna.
5. Mining Towns:
Examples: Raniganj, Jharia, Digboi, Ankaleshwar, Singrauli.
6. Educational Towns:
Examples: Roorki, Varanasi, Aligarh, Pilani, Allahabad.
7. Religious and Cultural Towns:
Examples: Varanasi, Mathura, Amritsar, Madurai, Puri, Ajmer, Pushkar, Tirupati, Kurukshetra, Haridwar, Ujjain, Nainital, Mussoorie, Shimla, Pachmarhi, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Ooty.
8. Garrison / Cantonment Towns:
Examples: Ambala, Jalandhar, Mhow, Babina, Udhampur.
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Subject: Geography
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