HUMAN SETTLEMENT AND

PLANNINGS
HUMAN BEINGS AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
 Man is a SOCIAL ANIMAL
 There is a gradual socialization in the pattern of living
which allow the whole population to participate more
and more in the city, facilities and resources
 Then in the modern city growth and change over time is
dominant feature which must take precedence in all
planning consideration.
 But human settlements have always been created by
man’s moving in space and defining the boundaries of his
territorial interest and therefore of his settlements,
for which he later created a physical and institutional
structure;
CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
 Based on sizes- size of five elements & their
combinations Hamlet to Metropolitan cities Small &
sparsely spaced (rural settlements or villages specializing
in agriculture & other primary activities) Large & closely
spaced (urban settlements specializing in secondary &
tertiary activities)
 Based on Location of Settlements- plains, mountains,
coastal, etc. Based on Relationships between
Settlements within Space (hierarchical or non-
hierarchical) Based on Physical Forms- form as the
expression of content, function, & structure Based on
Five Elements of Human Settlements
 Based on Functions- which are important to an
understanding of the meaning & role of settlements:
Reveal nature, specialisation, & raison d’etre of
settlements Based on activity (economic, social), their
performance, or special role (as dormitories, retirement
villages, etc.)
 Based on Time Dimension- age of settlements, their
place in continuum (past, present, future), their relative
static or dynamic character, the whole process of their
growth
 Based on degree of society’s conscious involvement in
settlements creation natural & planned settlements
BY EKISTICS UNITS: FOUR BASIC GROUPS
Minor shells or elementary units- man (anthropos), room,
house;
Micro-settlements- units smaller than, or as small as, the
traditional town where people used , do & still do achieve
interconnection by walking (housegroup, small neighbourhood).
 Meso-settlements- between traditional town & conurbation
within which one can commute daily (small polis, polis, small
metropolis, small megalopolis, small eperopolis, eperopolis);
and
 Macro-settlement-swhose largest possible expression is the
Ecumenopolis.
Physical & Social Units
 Man (as individual)- smallest unit
 Space- second unit either personally owned or shared with
others
 Family Home- third unit Social Unit
 Group of Homes
BY EKISTICS ELEMENTS
 Nature: Represents ecosystems including water cycle,
biosystems, climatic zones, etc.
 Anthropos: Constantly adapting & changing certain
physical & psychological diseases directly associated with
urbanisation. These include obesity, respiratory elements
& alienation.
 Society: Realm of society comprises all those aspects of
the urban or rural scene that are commonly dealt with by
sociologists, economists & administrators: population
trends, social customs, income & occupations, & the
system of urban government.
 Shells: The built environment is the traditional domain
of architectural & engineering professions.
 Networks: Provide glue for all systems of urbanisation.
Changes profoundly affect urban scale like advent of the
rail-road, or of piped water supplies, or of the telephone
which affect the extent, texture & densities 22 of
human settlements.
BY EVOLUTIONARY PHASES
 Macro scale- nomadic, agricultural, urban, urban-
industrial;
 Micro scale- specific area at a limited period of time.
 BY FACTORS & DISCIPLINES
 CLASSIFICATION OF SETTLEMENTS

 Identified characteristics is used to classify

settlements are as follows;
 size

 permanency

 method of creation

 function and purpose.

 size:
.
 There are single settlements consisting of
 farm house,

 a military camp or other function or

 composite settlements made up of many

house.
 Apart for looking at this from the point of view
of residences or house, it also has to do with
the population size of settlements.
PERMANENCY

 This is the second classification that is based upon the

degree of their permanency.
 There are temporary settlements such as tents that
belongs to nomads and huts belonging to shepherds or
fishermen.
 Also, there are semi-permanent settlements such as
nomadic camps or army camps which are not inhabited
throughout the year but only during certain periods.
 Also there are permanent settlements inhabited
throughout the year likewise, the permanency depends
on the material for construction.
METHOD OF CREATION:

 This is another classification that is based upon

the method by which human settlements have
emerged or created.
 In this classification, there are
‘naturalsettlements’whichemerged themselves
naturally and there are ‘planned settlements’
which have been built or created on the basis of
pre-conceived or deliberate plans.
 There are very few planned settlements in
comparison with the total number of settlements.
FUNCTION AND PURPOSE:

 This is the most important classifications of

settlements because the idea behind every
settlement is the purpose and function that
such settlement is being established.
 It is this classification that gives the settlement
it’s most important characteristics and also
influences other elements correspondingly.
RURAL SETTLEMENTS VS URBAN SETTLEMENTS

 Urban and rural settlements differ in

demographics, land area and usage,
population density, transportation networks
and economic dependencies.
 These characteristics are the defining
differences that geographers and city planners
observe between ruraland urban centers. (US
Census 2000)
DEMOGRAPHICS

 Urban settlements contain a heterogeneous

population consisting of different ages,cultures
and ethnicities, whereas rural areas contain a
more homogenous population based on family,
similar ethnicities and fewer cultural
influences.
LAND AREA AND USAGE
 Urban settlements are more expansive and
contain a wide range of land uses.
 For instance, major metropolitan areas use
density zoning to indicate different levels of
development.
 In contrast, rural settlements are more or less
self-contained and may not use zoning controls
or have limited planning and development
regulations.
POPULATION DENSITY

 For instance, the U.S. Census Bureau defines urban

settlements as areas with more than 50,000 people
and at least 1,000 people per square mile; including
contiguous census tracts or blocks with at least 500
people per square mile.
 In contrast, rural settlements contain less than 2,500
people, at a density between one and 999 people per
square mile.
 Whereas, in Nigeria context, any settlement with at
least 20,000 people is regarded as an urban
settlement, while any settlement below 20,000 people
is a rural settlement (according to 1996 population
census).
 Also, any settlement that falls within a 10km radius of a
local government headquarters is an urban settlement.
TRANSPORTATION NETWORK

 Rural transportation networks consist of local

and county or local roads with limited
interconnectivity to rail and bus lines.
 Urban settlements contain highway
infrastructure as well as airports and light or
heavy commuter rail.
ECONOMY

 Urban areas are dependent on a global

economy of import and export, whereas rural
economies rely on a local and agricultural-
based economy with dependencies on services,
such as hospitals and educational
establishments in nearby urban centers.
URBAN SETTLEMENTS

 Most governments define urban settlements

based on one or a combination of criteria,
including population size, population density,
and social and economic factors,such as the
proportion of the labor force engaged in non-
agricultural activities; the administrative or
political status of a locality, such as national,
provincial, or district capitals, or census
designations. (Hardoy et al., 2001)
RURAL SETTLEMENT

 Rural settlements are most closely and directly

related to land.
 They are dominated by primary activities such
as agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing etc.
 The settlements size is relatively small.
THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE LOCATION
OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS
 The location and growth of a settlement depended upon its
site and situation. The site factor is the actual place where
people decided to locate their settlement. The growth of that
settlement then depended upon its situation factor in relation
to accessibility and availability of natural resources to ease the
lives of the settlers. Site Factors: these include the below:
 reliable water supply
 away from flood risks
 Defence
 building materials (stone or wood)
 fertile land
 sheltered from winds
 fuel supply (wood)
 south-facing slope (aspect)
 flat land, easy to build on
 natural harbour
 Situation Factors: these includes the below
 route centre i.e. (nodal point) that joins other
settlement
 gap town
 lowest bridging point on a river port and minerals
for export
POPULATION SIZE

 In India a settlement having population more

than 5000
 persons is called urban. In Japan it is 30000
persons whereas in Sweden it is
 250 persons. The cut off figure depends on the
density of population in the country.
TOWN:

 Population size in town is higher than the

village. Functions such as, manufacturing, retail
and wholesale trade, and professional services
exist in towns.
CITY:

 A city may be regarded as a leading town. Cities

are much larger than towns and have a greater
number of economic functions. They tend to
have transport terminals, major financial
institutions and regional administrative offices.
When the population crosses the one million
mark it is designated as a million city
CONURBATION

 The term conurbation was coined by Patrick

Geddes in 1915 and applied to a large area of
urban development that resulted from the
merging of originally separate towns or cities.
Greater London, Greater Mumbai, Manchester,
Lagos, Chicago and Tokyo are examples.
MEGALOPOLIS

 ThisGreek word meaning “greatcity”, was

popularized by JeanGottman (1957) and
signifies ‘super- metropolitan’ region extending,
as union of conurbations. The urban landscape
stretching from Boston in the north to south of
Washington in U.S.A. is the best known
example of a megalopolis.
OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE

 The distribution of the population according to

the different types of occupations is referred to
as the occupational structure. Occupations are
generally classified as primary (agriculture,
mining, fishing, etc.), secondary (manufacturing
industry, building and construction work, etc.)
and tertiary (transport, communications,
banking, etc.).
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE
 In India a settlement is classified as urban if it has
a municipality, cantonment board or a notified
area. In Nigeria and Brazil any administrative
centre such as local government headquarters is
termed as urban. In advance countries these
classification is essential to town planning and
very efficient too, but there is usually lack of
accurate/ adequate population data in developing
countries which has overtime affected physical
development in these regions.
THE LOCATION OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS

 water supply:
 Usually rural settlements are located near water bodies
such as rivers, lakes, and springs where water can be
easily obtained.
 The need for water drives people to settle in islands
surrounded by swamps or low lying river banks.
 Water supply is main factor because water is used for
drinking, cooking and washing, rivers and lakes can be
used to irrigate farm land, water bodies also have fish
which can be caught for diet and navigable rivers and
lakes can be used for transportation.
LAND

 People choose to settle near fertile lands

suitable for agriculture. Early settlers chose
plain areas with fertile soils.
 In Europe villages are found near gently sloping
land, in south East Asia villages are near low
lying river valleys and coastal plains suited for
wet rice cultivation.
TERRAIN
 Villages are located on uplands which is not
prone to flooding.
 Thus, in low lying river basins people chose to
settle on terraces and levees which are “dry
points”.
 In tropical countries people build their houses
on stilts near marshy lands to protect
themselves from flood, insects and animal
pests.
BUILDING MATERIAL

 The availability of building materials such as

wood and stone near settlements is another
factor.
 Early villages were built in forests where wood
was plentiful.
 In African Savannahs, mud bricks are used as
building materials and the Eskimos, in Polar
Regions, use ice blocks to construct igloos.
DEFENCE
 During the times of political instability, war, aggression of
neighbouring group villages were built on defensive hills and islands
 i. on the basis of setting : the main types are
 a. Plain villages
 b. Plateau villages
 c. Coastal villages
 d. Forest villages
 e. Desert villages
 ii. on the basis of functions : there may be
 a. Farming villages,
 b. Fishermen’s villages,
 c. Lumberjack villages,
 d. Pastoral villages etc.
BASIS OF FORMS OR SHAPES OF THE
SETTLEMENTS
BASIS OF FORMS OR SHAPES OF THE
SETTLEMENTS
 linear pattern:
 In such settlements houses are located along a road,
railway line, river, canal edge valley or along a levee.
 rectangular pattern:
 Such patterns of rural settlements are found in plain areas
or wide inter- montane valleys.
 The roads are rectangular and cut each other at right
angles.
 circular pattern:
 Circular villages develop around lakes, tanks and
sometimes the village is planned in such a way that the
centralpart remains open and is used for keeping the
animals to protect them from wild animals.
 Star like pattern:
 Where severalroads converge,star shapedsettlements develop
by the houses built along the roads.

 T-shaped, y-shaped, cross-shaped or cruciform settlements:

 T –shaped settlements develop at tri- junctions of the roads.
 Y–shaped settlements emerge as the places where two roads
converge on the third one and houses are built along these
roads.
 Cruciform settlements develop on the cross- roads and houses
extend in all the four direction.

 Double village:
 These settlements extend on both sides of a river where there
is a bridge or a ferry.
RESOURCE BASED SETTLEMENTS

 Settlement created as a result of a resource

Includes: forestry, agriculture, commercial
fishing, mining/energy production, and
recreation Very important in the following
ecozones: Atlantic Maritime, Boreal Shield,
Boreal Plains, Montane Cordillera, and Pacific
Maritime
 Resource-Based Settlements settlements grow
at locations where there are natural resources
and usually in areas where a survey had not
taken place. Examples of resource-based
settlements include fishing ports on coasts,
mining and lumbering towns, hydroelectric
sites, recreational spots, scientific and military
communities, and transportation locations.
OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE

What is an occupation?
 An activity or group of activities that engages a
person in everyday life, has personal meaning
and provides structure to time. Occupations are
seen by the individual as part of his / her
identity and may be categorised as self care,
productivity and / or leisure
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF AN OCCUPATION

 Have meaning and purpose to the individual

performing them.
 They also have socio cultural meaning.
 They fill and structure time
 Tend to be grouped according to purpose: leisure,
productivity, self-care.
 Support roles and participation in society.
 Contribute to an individual’s sense of identity
 Occupation, Health and Well-being
OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE

 Thedistribution of the population according to the different

types of occupations is referred to as the occupational
structure. Occupations are generally classified as primary
(agriculture, mining, fishing, etc.), secondary (manufacturing
industry, building and construction work, etc.) and tertiary
(transport, communications, banking, etc.).

 64% of the people in India depend upon agriculture only

 13% of people depend upon secondary activities

 20% of people work in teritiary sector.Read more on

 The aggregate distribution of occupations in society,
classified according to skill level, economic function, or
social status.

 Occupational structure is shaped by factors such as the

structure of the economy, technology, bureaucracy, the
labour-market, and by status and prestige. Changes in
the occupational structure are explicit in the course of
social and economic development. Development gives
rise to new occupations and the disappearance of
others because of a shift in emphasis in the field of
education and training .
 The distribution of the population according to
different types of occupation is referred to as the
occupational structure. In India, about 64 per cent
of the population is engaged only in agriculture.
The proportion of population dependent on
secondary and tertiary sectors is about 13 and 20
per cent respectively. There has been an
occupational shift in favour of secondary and
tertiary sectors because of growing
industrialisation and urbanisation in recent times.