1.6: Urban Settlements

Settlement Patterns

• Dispersed – An isolated, individual building or a group of two or three buildings, perhaps forming a hamlet, and separated from the next by 2 or 3 km.

  
  

• Nucleated – Buildings are grouped, initially for defence, or as a common resource.

  
  

• Linear – Buildings are strung along a line of communication, for example, a main road, a river valley, or a canal or dyke.

Factors that Affect the Position, Size, Growth, and Function of a Settlement

• Fuel supply: for heating and cooking

  
  

• Food supplies

  
  

• Nodal points: where routes converge

  
  

Examples:

• Wet point sites – these have a good water supply. Many settlements grew around wet point sites, e.g. villages in the South Downs.

  
  

• Dry point sites – these are away from the risk of flooding, e.g. Ely in Cambridgeshire.

  
  

• Defensive sites – often found on higher ground so that in the past enemies could be seen from a distance, e.g. Corfe Castle, Dorset, or in the loop of a meander, e.g. Durham.

  
  

• Aspect – settlements are often found on the sunny side of a deep valley. This is common in settlements in the Alps.

  
  

• Shelter – from cold prevailing winds and rain.

  
  

• Gap towns – Lincoln is found in a gap between two areas of higher ground.

  
  

• Resources – important for industry, e.g. villages such as Aberfan in the Welsh valleys, close to coal reserves.

  
  

• Bridging point – settlements with “ford” in their name often grew around a fording or bridging point, e.g. Watford on the River Colne.

  
  

• Trading centres – often settlements grow where natural routeways and rivers meet, which helps the development of roads, railways, and canals.

Settlement Hierarchy

Determining order of importance:

1. Population size

   
   

2. Range and number of services

   
   

3. Sphere of influence

Land Use in Towns and Cities

Central Business District (CBD). The land in urban areas is used for many different purposes:

• Leisure and recreation – may include open land, e.g., parks, or built facilities such as sports centres

  
  

• Residential – the building of houses and flats

  
  

• Transport – road and rail networks, stations, and airports

  
  

• Business and commerce – offices, shops, and banks

  
  

• Industry – factories, warehouses, and small production centres

  
  

The CBD in the city centre is where most business and commerce is located.

Features that identify the CBD:

• High/multi-storey buildings

  
  

• Expensive land values

  
  

• Department stores or specialist shops, like jewellers

  
  

• Shopping malls and pedestrian precincts

  
  

• Cultural/historical buildings, museums, and castles

  
  

• Offices, finance, banks, administration, town hall (business sector)

  
  

• Bus and railway stations (transport centres)

  
  

• Multi-storey car parks

  
  

The CBD is located in the centre because it is:

• A central location for roads/railways to converge

  
  

• The most accessible location for workers

  
  

• Accessible to most people for shops and businesses

Residential Areas

• Old inner city area:

  The inner city, also known as the twilight zone, is typically found next to the CBD and has mainly terraced houses in a grid-like pattern. These were originally built to house factory workers. Many factories have now closed down.

  
  

• Inner city redevelopment:

  Still high density, more amenities, high-rise flats, more modern, but with dark corridors. Built to improve on the old buildings.

  
  

• Suburbia:

  The urban sprawl (outward growth of the city) and rising popularity of cars led to well-planned and spacious houses with garages and gardens. Houses are usually detached or semi-detached, with cul-de-sacs and wide avenues. Land prices are generally cheaper than in the CBD and inner city, though desirability can make some areas expensive.

  
  

• Outer city estate:

  Located on the fringes of cities with varied housing (low-rise, high-rise, single-storey). People were relocated here during inner city redevelopment.

  
  

• Rural-urban fringe:

  Found at the edge of towns or cities, where town meets country. Land uses include housing, golf courses, allotments, business parks, and airports.

• Industrial Areas

  Factories were built close to the CBD but with space, near canals and railways for transport, rivers for cooling/power/waste disposal, and near land where many workers lived.

• Open Spaces

  For a relaxing atmosphere.

  
  

• Transport Routes

  Essential for accessibility and movement.

Land Use in LEDCs

Model of an LEDC city

Although every LEDC city has its own characteristics, models can illustrate a typical LEDC city.

• Both MEDC and LEDC cities have a CBD – often the oldest part of the city.

  
  

• In LEDCs, the poorest housing is found on the edge of the city, in contrast to MEDC cities, where the suburban fringe often has high-quality housing.

  
  

• Poor quality housing areas in LEDCs are called squatter settlements or shanty towns.

The Burgess and Hoyt Models

The Burgess model

• The Burgess (concentric zone) model: Based on the idea that land values are highest in the centre of a town/city. This leads to high-rise, high-density buildings in the CBD, with low-density, sparse developments on the edge.

  
  

Limitations of the Burgess model:

1. It is old and was developed before mass car ownership.

   
   

2. New working and housing trends (e.g. living/working outside the city) are not reflected.

   
   

3. Every city is different – there is no such thing as a “typical” city.

   
   

4. The Hoyt model: Based on Burgess, but adds sectors of similar land uses concentrated in parts of the city. E.g. factories/industry radiate out from the CBD, often following main roads or railways.

   
   

   

Problems of Urban Growth

For People:

• Overcrowding

  
  

• Job shortages / more jobs needed

  
  

• Low pay / unaffordable housing / informal sector work

  
  

• Inadequate housing - squatter settlements

  
  

• Pressure on schools / inadequate education

  
  

• Pressure on hospitals / inadequate healthcare

  
  

• Increased crime rates

  
  

• Waste/litter disposal issues

  
  

• Traffic congestion

  
  

• Noise pollution

  
  

• Spread of disease

  
  

• Food shortages

  
  

• Lack of sanitation / fresh water / poor hygiene

  
  

• Poor quality of life / low standard of living

  
  

• Loss of farmland

For the Environment:

• Loss of vegetation/deforestation

  
  

• Loss of habitats

  
  

• Impacts on food chains

  
  

• River pollution

  
  

• Death of fish/other species

  
  

• Groundwater pollution (toxin seepage from dumps)

  
  

• Air pollution

  
  

• Rivers are drying due to water extraction and / lowered water table

Written by Zemen

Edited by Krithigka Gobbi