Settlement Geography
FOR URBAN AND REGIOANAL PLANNERS
Living cities have intrinsically fractal properties, in common with all living systems. The building of cities has a long and complex history. Although city planning as an organized profession has existed for less than a century, most cities display various degrees of forethought and conscious design in their layout and functioning.
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UNIT 1 :
INTRODUCTION
NEED FOR STUDY OF SETTLEMENT GEOGRAPHY DEFINITION OF SETTLE MENT GEOGRAPHY Settlement geography describes and explains the settlements' location, substance, form and structure, as well as the functions and processes that produced them over time. As an applied science, it projects future settlement development and contributes to the sustainable development of human-environmental systems. Settlement geography is the study of human land, water and resource use, population density patterns, and settlement growth. It is essential to urban planning and urban redesign. Urban planning helps ensure that growth occurs only in a sustainable fashion. Urban redesign is the science of reshaping a fading urban area to restore its usefulness to the local population, sustain growth and ensure health and safety in order to return an area to economic viability. THE NEED GEOGRAPHY – Deals with the features on the surface of the earth and hence includes human built forms like towns/villages. SETTLEMENT GEOGRAPHY focuses on population clusters, why they arose, and what sustains them. Settlement geography is archaeology's younger sibling. As archaeologists unearthed ancient civilizations, three settlement patterns emerged: dispersed, linear and nuclear. Dispersed settlements had no central point. Linear settlements clustered along rivers, creeks and streams, and later along migration routes, railroads and highways. Nuclear settlements occurred along crossroads, at river mouths, adjacent to bays, and near centers of industry. Geographers and archaeologists have both studied the ancient world. Geographers have applied those findings to today's challenges to make recommendations about land use, how to encourage or discourage settlement activity in a given region, and how to combat the effects of unsustainable population growth. For example, if a city arose due to one particular industry and that industry has failed or is about to fail, settlement geographers can help devise a strategy to switch to a new industry. Many U.S. cities, such as Cleveland, Ohio, have made successful transitions from dependency on single industries. These cities shifted their focus from industry to culture, tourism, finance, and information technology. The most successful used all four and more, creating an economy that could stand on its own even if any one of its main industries suffered a setback. SETTLEMENT GEOGRAPHY –
Highly relevant to human life
Shapes the environment Helps Understand the settlement growth patterns
DEFINITIONS OF SETTLEMENT
SETTLEMENT A human settlement is defined as a place inhabited more or less permanently. It includes buildings in which they live or use and the paths and streets over which they travel. SETTLEMENT AS A UNIT Study of plan, morphology, architecture and relationship of settlement with the physical, economic and social environment. SETTLEMENT AS A PART OF A SYSTEM Interrelatedness of various units – ranking, hierarchy & classification. SETTLEMENT AS A PART OF THE LANDSCAPE Impact of the settlement on the nature of land beyond the settlement. Settlements are classified on the basis of size and function into URBAN and RURAL .
URBAN SETTLEMENTS: i. ii. iii.
iv.
These types of settlement are nodal in character and have secondary and tertiary activities. The chief occupation of the people of urban areas is non-agricultural i.e. industry, trade and services. The major function of an urban area are trades and commerce, transport and communication, mining and manufacturing, defence, administration, cultural and recreational activities. Population density is high and the settlement size is large.
RURAL SETTLEMENTS: i. ii. iii. iv.
These settlements are chiefly concerned with primary activities such as agriculture, mining, fishing, forestry etc. Most of the people of rural settlement are engaged in agricultural work. The major function of rural settlement is agriculture and each settlement specializes in various activities. Population density is small and the settlement size is small.
SETTLEMENT HIERARCHY
PARAMETERS OF URBAN CLASSIFICATION
KONSTANTINOS APOSTOLOS DOXIADIS’S THEORY BASED ON POPULATION
ECUMENOPOLIS - a theoretical construction in which the entire area of Earth that is taken up by human settlements, or at least, that those are linked so that to create urban areas so big that they can shape an urban continuum through thousands of kilometers. MEGALOPOLIS - a group of conurbations, consisting of more than ten million people each. CONURBATION - a group of large cities and their suburbs, consisting of three to ten million people. METROPOLIS – a large city and its suburbs consisting of multiple cities and towns. The population is usually one to three million. LARGE CITY – a city with a large population and many services. The population is <1 million people but over 300,000 people. CITY – a city would have abundant services, but not as many as a large city. The population of a city is over 100,000 people up to 300,000. LARGE TOWN – a large town has a population of 20,000 to 100,000. TOWN – a town has a population of 1,000 to 20,000. VILLAGE – a village generally does not have many services, possibly only a small corner shop or post office. A village has a population of 100 to 1,000. HAMLET – a hamlet has a tiny population (<100) and very few (if any) services, and few buildings. ISOLATED DWELLING – an isolated dwelling would only have 1 or 2 buildings or families in it. It would have negligible services, if any.
HIERARCHY OF SETTLEMENTS ACCORDING TO SERVICES The number of services provided in a settlement increases with settlement size.
HAMLET - Perhaps none, or public telephone VILLAGE - Church, Post Office, Public House, Shops for Daily goods, Small Junior School, Village Hall SMALL TOWN - Town Hall, Doctor, Several Churches / Chapels, Cafes and Restaurants, Small Secondary School, Railway Station, Several Shops LARGE TOWN - Several shopping areas / arcades, Hypermarket, Railway Station, Bus Station, Hotels, Banks, Small Hospital, Small Football Team CITY - Large Railway Station, Large Shopping Complex, Cathedral, Opticians and Jewellers, Large Hospital, Large Football Team, University, Theatre, County Hall, Airport CONURBATION / CAPITAL - Cathedrals, Government Buildings, Banking HQ, Railway Termini, Museums and Art Galleries, Large Theatre, Shopping Centre, Several Universities, International Airport
CENSUS CLASSIFICATION Based on Population
Class -I ranging from 1 lakh to 10 lakhs Class -II ranging from 50,000 to 1 lakh Class -III from 20,000 to 50,000 Class -IV from 10,000 to 20,000 Class -V from 5,000 to 10,000 Class -VI from 3,000 to 5,000.
74 TH CAA
Rural Local Bodies Zila Panchayat Block Panchayat Gram panchayat
Urban Local Bodies Nagar Panchayat Municipality Municipal Corporation Development Authority
FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION Determined by occupational structure of the population. Can be done based on activities of a particular town
Administrative Towns Defensive Towns Cultural Towns Towns based on Economic Activities Recreational Towns
SIXTH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION BASED CLASSIFICATION Based on Population
Tier-1: 100,000 and above Tier-2: 50,000 to 99,999 Tier-3: 20,000 to 49,999 Tier-4: 10,000 to 19,999 Tier-5: 5,000 to 9,999 Tier-6: less than 5000
SITE AND SITUATION PATTERNS The study of settlement patterns is one of the most important aspects of urban geography. Settlements can range in size from a small village with a few hundred residents to a metropolitan city of over one million people. Planners often study the reasons behind why such cities develop where they do and what factors lead to their becoming a large city over time or remaining as a small village. Some of the reasons behind these patterns are thought of in terms of the area's site and its situation - two of the most important concepts in the study of urban geography.
SITE The site is the actual location of a settlement on the earth and is composed of the physical characteristics of the landscape specific to the area. Site factors include things like landforms, climate, vegetation types, availability of water, soil quality, minerals, and even wildlife. SITE FACTORS
reliable water supply (wet point sites)
away from flood risks (dry point sites)
defense
building materials
fertile land
shelter (from winds)
aspect (south-facing slope)
fuel supply
topography
accessibility (natural harbor)
communication
These site factors are no longer as important as they used to be (POLITICAL and ECONOMIC factors important). Most factors can be got round with the aid of modern technology e.g. LAS VEGAS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; built in middle of desert, everything transported in!
PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC SITE FACTORS Physical
Economic
Water supply
Route center
Dry-point sites
Bridging point
Aspect
River confluence
Shelter
Gap in hills
Defense
Port
Meander bend
Resources e.g. coal
Flat land Natural harbor
CASE STUDIES NEW YORK New York City, for example, is located where it is because of several site factors. As people arrived in North America from Europe, they began to settle in this area because it was a coastal location with a natural harbor. There was also an abundance of fresh water in the nearby Hudson River and small creeks as well as raw materials for building supplies. In addition, the nearby Appalachian and Catskill Mountains provided a barrier to movement inland.
BHUTAN Located within the world's highest mountain range, the terrain of the country is extremely rugged and hard to get around. This, combined with the incredibly harsh climate in many areas of the country has made much of the population settle along rivers in the highlands just south of the Himalayas. In addition, only 2% of the land in the nation is arable (with much of it located in the highlands) making living in the country highly challenging.
SITUATION Situation is defined as the location of a place relative to its surrounding features such as other settlements mountains, rivers and communications (roads. etc.) Factors included in an area's situation include the accessibility of the location, the extent of a place's connections with another, and how close an area may be to raw materials if they are not located specifically on the site.
SITUATION FACTORS
route centre
gap town
lowest bridging point on a river
port
minerals for export
CASE STUDIES
BHUTAN Though its site has made living in the nation challenging, Bhutan's situation has allowed it to maintain its policies of isolation as well as its own highly separated and traditionally religious culture. Because of its remote location in the Himalayas getting into the country is challenging and historically this has been beneficial because the mountains have been a form of protection. As such, the heartland of the nation has never been invaded. In addition, Bhutan now controls many of the most strategic mountain passes in the Himalayas including the only ones into and out of its territory, leading to its title as the "Mountain Fortress of the Gods.
CANADA Canada's Eastern Provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are some of that country's most economically downtrodden areas due in large part to their situations. These areas are isolated from the rest of Canada making manufacturing and the little agriculture possible too expensive. In addition, there are very few close natural resources (many are off the coast and due to maritime laws the government of Canada itself controls the resources) and many of the traditional fishing economies they did have are now crashing along with the fish populations.
PATTERNS As Settlements grow they develop distinctive shapes and patterns. Settlements may contain a mixture of these patterns. Linear
Buildings along a communication line余 river, road, coast. Ribbon development is when housing grows out from a town along a main road. Nucleated
Buildings grouped together, initially for defense, later for social and economic reasons. Nucleated or clustered settlements often form at crossroads or route centers. Dispersed
Buildings are spread apart from communication link and each other, Dispersed settlements have no obvious centre and are often hamlets spread over fertile farmland. Planned Settlements on newly reclaimed or developed land in a predefined spatial pattern.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SITE AND SITUATION IN TODAY'S CITIES As shown in the examples of New York City, Bhutan, and Canada's East coast, an area's site and situation play a significant role in its development both within its own boundaries and on a world stage. This has occurred throughout history and is part of the reason why places like London, Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles were able to grow into the prosperous cities that they are today. As nations around the world continue to develop, their sites and situations will play a large role in whether or not they will be successful and though today's ease of transportation and new technologies such as the Internet are bringing nations closer together, the physical landscape of an area as well as its location in relation to its desired market will still play a large role in whether or not such areas will grow to become the next great world city.
EXAMPLES OF SITE AND SITUATION
SETTLEMENT
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URBAN: PARIS
PARIS: SITE & SITUATION Paris
Capital of France
Population
Approx. 10million
Established
3 rd Century BC
SITUATION
SITUATION
Paris is a focus of roads throughout France and Europe.
International Airport provide global links
SITUATION
SITE
Paris is a center of European rail networks.
Fertile soil of River Seine’s floodplain was excellent for farming
SITE Site was also good for defense and also a key river crossing point
SITE
SITE
SITE
Settlement first began on a small island in River Siene
River Seine Provided water supply
Forest provided fuel and building material
SETTLEMENT
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RURAL: W ARKW ORTH, NO RTHUMBERLAND (UK)
Warkworth never grew into a city despite many site advantages SITE
River may be used for transport Relief – firm, flat land – easy to build on Dry Point Site Good farming land nearby River provides water supply River also provides defense on 3 sides – and can be bridged easily Forest and Rock outcrops nearby provide building materials
SITUATION
Warkworth has never grown into a large town Original advantages not important today Services and links to these services are not readily available here
SETTLEMENT MORPHOLOGY
Urban morphology can be considered as an approach that provides an understanding of the form, creation and transformation processes, spatial structure and character of human settlements through an analysis of historical development processes and the constituent parts that compose the settlements. In this essence, urban morphology is used as an important assessment tool or method in determining the change transformation processes of urban fabrics, making sense of the historical roots of spatial and functional structures and bringing them to the present day. Another definition from Bentley and Butina states it as: â&#x20AC;&#x153;an approach to studying and designing urban form which considers both the physical and spatial components of the urban structure of plots, blocks, streets, buildings and open spaces, all of which are considered as part of the history/ evolutionary process of development of the particular part of the city under consideration (Bentley and Butina 1990:67). Urban planning has undergone several changes over the years. The morphological variety of cities and towns reflects the periods in which they were formed and evolved. The cities or towns may have been developed through the ancient times, Middle Ages, early modern stage, industrial age to now the modernization time.
MAJOR MORPHOLOGICAL FACTORS The major morphological factors of cities include natural determinants and human-made determinants. The natural determinants are studied from the geographical location of city. The human-made determinants for the form of a city are influenced by human intervention. The natural and human-made determinants were considered for the urban morphological study from the traditional way. NATURAL URBAN FORM DETERMINANTS The nature of geographic location has several but three major determinants namely, climate, topography and available construction materials. These determinants have played noteworthy roles in the shape of urban forms for both historical and present settlements. The climate of a region in the world is determined by its latitude, longitude and terrain. There was no doubt that different cities have their climate feature. Climate is a determinant for the form of settlements due to the shelter is the fundamental need of people. Some houses of a city were built according to the climate. The forming of urban settlements influenced the street network, and then determined the urban underlying pattern. The arrangement of houses for Islamic cities was particular due to its hot-humid climate. The urban forms depend on their local climatic circumstances (Fathy, 1986; Talib, 1984). Due to the geographical locations of European cities, USA cities, Islamic cities, and East Asian cities, the urban underlying structures must have differences.
Topography of a region has underlying effect for the establishment or expansion of the urban settlements (Smith, 1967). Morris (1994) shows that in history and today, the topography is a main part in the creation of urban dimension. There are outstanding European examples such as Athens, Rome and Edinburgh and they are affected by their topographical settings. The construction materials also shape different style of architectures.
HUMAN-MADE URBAN FORM DETERMINANTS There is another kind of determinants which is termed as the humanmade determinant. These determinants for the process of natural settlements have the human intervention and people have significant influence in the shape of urban forms. The human-made determinant had great effect for the organic growth and planned town. Cities or towns built for fortification were greatly affected by the human-made factors. Compared to the natural determinants, the human-made determinants are numerous, and they involve economy, politics, religions, defence, the gridiron, aesthetic planning and functional regions. For the market place of a city, it needs space for selling goods. The marketing areas affect the form of urban settlements. The European towns have their urban space for communal trading activities, but the circumstance is different in Islamic cities (Morris, 1994). The major markets in some European cities might are gradually consolidated. In different cities, the economic activities influence their underlying pattern. The political factor are various with countries. The citadels, castles and palaces could be built for the cities as a military power. Due to the different politics, the urban forms have differences. Take an example, Xiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an which is an important ancient capital in ancient China has its special grid urban form. The religion is another determinant factor. The functional regions affect the groups of buildings and street layouts. For the defence factor, most cities or towns have their special patterns. The moats, walls and defensive system could affect the urban street network and they could make the fortified cities and towns have geometric forms. For example, Naarden and Antwerp have their regular defensive system and these urban patterns are based on their military roles. The European fortification cities and towns developed in different periods were studied together to find their urban forms and regular outlines. The original gridiron plan was used to divide the planned areas into building blocks by the orthogonal street networks. Morris (1994) describes that in history the gridiron were made for Greek planned cities, Roman imperial urban planning and some USA cities. The gridiron pattern is also different in European and USA cities. The orthogonal streets of urban street network are straight and long for some special USA cities. The gridiron pattern provides a way to study the various urban forms. The aesthetic planning of different countries in different period make the shape of
urban settlements diverse. The functional regions of a city could determine the layout of urban street networks. Considering the several natural determinants and human-made determinants various urban forms were studied from the traditional perspective.
THE URBAN MORPHOLOGY OF SELECTED REGIONS As we known, continents on the earth have their geographical condition and countries of them have different urban development. The urban forms of European cities must have difference from the USA cities, Islamic cities and East Asian cities. Cities in European countries could have similarity, but they could also have different urban patterns due to their historical development, natural and human-made determinants. The European cities have various types, for instance, cities developed in Rome and its Empire time, medieval towns, cities developed in Renaissance time and so on. Some Islamic cities and East Asian cities have their own urban patterns. History, culture, geography, humanity or other aspects affect the shape of urban forms.
Amsterdam, today
Amsterdam in 1958
ALL CITIES HAVE A UNIQUE STORY TO TELL ABOUT THEIR SPATIAL HISTORY. SO DOES AMSTERDAM. THE LAYOUT OF THE INNER CITY CANAL RING W AS EVEN INSCRIBED ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST BY UNESCO IN 2010. PREVIOUS PAGE IS A LITTLE VISUAL HISTORY OF THE CITYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PLANNING. AMSTERDAM, 1538 (LOOKING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH).