GROWTH AND DECAY OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS - GENERAL

Primitive man lived in caves, tree-holes and treetops and fed himself on plants, fruits roots, animals and
water, directly collected from nature, without much effort on his part. When his number increased and his
food requirements became enormous he came out of the forests to live in the plains, to cultivate and make
more food materials. Availability of water was the main criterion for selecting land for cultivation and
habitation.

This happened according to scientist, about 10,000 years back and that was the beginning of human
settlements, when man made houses to live in and worked for his food. Thus it was a transition from cave
to village. Protection from the vagaries of climate and wild animals was the main purpose of a house, rightly
called a shelter. He built houses with whatever materials were available near about him, like mud, wood,
reeds boughs, leaves and what not. For better protection and mutual help he used to live in groups,
surrounded by the cultivated lands, which invariably were selected where water was available throughout
the seasons.

This gave rise to villages or small human settlements, all of them near perennial fresh water sources like
rivers, and lakes. Villages were also located on sites offering natural protection of elevated hills & terrains,
islands and peninsulas. Wherever natural protection was lacking barricades and moats surrounded them.
Later, when transportation of men and materials became necessary, seacoasts and riverbanks were
selected for settlements. As we learn from history, early civilization spread along the fertile valleys of the
Nile, tigres, Euphrates, Indus rivers etc. where water, food and transportation were at hand.

In all settlements, there were both natural and man-made elements like hills, valleys – buildings, roads etc.
each settlement had its own definite boundaries. They were scattered throughout, especially along
riverbanks and in plains, fed by rivers. Inter – relations and inter -actions between settlements, both near
and far off, developed gradually and it gave rise to social, cultural, political, economic and many other
institutions

Conflict between men and environment started when man began to change the environment for better
convenience and better comfort. This conflict is a continuous process, and is continuing with all its
ramifications supported by science and technology.

Man being aggressive in nature, did not easily adjust himself to be part of a self-disciplined community.
Personal and group rivalries flared up within settlements. Survival of the fittest was the order of the day.
The winner assumed the role of a leader and maintained discipline. When the leader gained more and
more power and strength, several settlements came under him. He himself assumed titles of king or
emperor. To protect himself and his kingdom, he wanted an army and a safe place to live. For this he
established non-agricultural settlements, exclusively for himself, his army and the people around him. Such
settlements were fortified and moats built all around, for additional protection from attacking enemies.
People from the villages, whose main occupation was agriculture, began to migrate to such urban centers,
to get better employment and better wages. Further, the developments came out of the forts and moats, to
accommodate more people and this gave rise to bigger settlements, what we call towns and cities.

Socio-economic and socio-cultural changes, as well as developments in science and technology influenced
the life styles of the people and their quality of life. In the process, some settlements, perished, may be by
war, floods or drying up of water sources and some other prospered becoming larger and larger, like our
present day giant cities which we call metropolis, mega polis etc. this makes human settlements a part of
history and every settlement has a history of its own.

The fundamental human needs, wherever one lives and whichever natural environment one has, are food,
clothing and shelter apart from air & water. Shelter use to get the lowest priority from the very beginning of
man’s existence. Till the recent past, shelter, especially in small settlements, was not a serious problem as
the shelter requirements were quite simple and limited. There was no difficulty in getting a piece of land,
either owned or rented.

They constructed their own houses with mutual help, making use of locally available materials and using
their own houses with mutual help, making use of locally available materials and using their own labour.

The harmful impact of intensive urbanization, consequent to the industrial revolution, accelerated
deterioration of the living environment. But in spite of all the efforts to improve the living environment in
human settlements, the challenge of poverty, congestion and insanitation still remains in cities throughout
the world. Man had made unprecedented progress during the current century in the fields of industry,
Education, Health, Communication, Transportation etc. as a result of spectacular achievements in science
and technology. But it is a paradox that the majority of the world’s population still does not have a shelter
providing minimum privacy, and protection against the elements. The struggle for shelter still continues. A
significant reason, for this lag is the population explosion followed by urban explosion.