Human Settlements

Human Settlement: • A human settlement is any place where people live — from isolated farmsteads and small villages to vast megacities. • Settlements differ in size, function, form, and their relationship to the surrounding landscape. Rural vs. Urban Settlements: Rural Settlements: • Villages and hamlets — small, primarily agricultural communities. • Characteristics: - Small population (usually under 5,000 in India's definition). - Economy based on primary activities — farming, animal husbandry, fishing, forestry. - Lower density of settlement. - Close relationship with the natural environment. - More social cohesion — extended families, community ties. - Lower levels of infrastructure — fewer roads, hospitals, schools. Types of Rural Settlements: (a) Compact/Nucleated: Houses clustered together — common in agriculturally productive plains, safe from floods. (b) Scattered/Dispersed: Houses spread over a wide area — common in forested regions, hilly terrain, or where water sources are spread out. Common in Western Europe. (c) Hamleted: Houses in small clusters (hamlets), each cluster somewhat separated — common in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Urban Settlements: • Towns, cities, and metropolitan areas. • Characteristics: - Large population. - Non-agricultural economy — manufacturing, trade, services. - High population density. - Diverse and specialised economic functions. - Better infrastructure — transport, hospitals, educational institutions. - Social heterogeneity — people from many backgrounds. Classification of Urban Settlements: • Town (India): 5,000–100,000 population (with non-agricultural occupation majority). • City: 100,000–1 million. • Metropolis: 1–10 million. • Mega-city: Over 10 million (Mumbai, Delhi, Shanghai, Tokyo). • Conurbation: A chain of cities that have merged — Greater Mumbai. • Megalopolis: A supercity of merging conurbations — Boswash (Boston to Washington).

Functions of Towns and Cities: • Urban settlements perform specific functions — the dominant function often defines the character of the city. 1. Administrative centres: • National capitals (New Delhi, Washington DC, Beijing) or state capitals — dominated by government functions. 2. Commercial centres: • Trading cities — historically at crossroads of trade routes or at ports. Mumbai (financial capital), Shanghai. 3. Industrial centres: • Cities built around manufacturing — Pittsburgh (steel), Manchester (textiles), Jamshedpur (steel). 4. Cultural and religious centres: • Cities famous for their cultural or religious significance — Varanasi, Jerusalem, Mecca, Puri. 5. Educational centres: • University towns — Oxford, Cambridge, Pune ('Oxford of the East'), Manipal. 6. Tourist centres: • Cities built around tourism — Goa, Agra (Taj Mahal), Las Vegas, Paris. 7. Transport centres: • Ports, junctions — Mumbai Port, Rotterdam (Europe's largest port), Singapore. 8. Defence/military centres: • Cities built around military installations — Ambala, Pune (cantonment cities in India). Multi-functional Cities: • Most large cities perform multiple functions — Delhi is administrative, commercial, industrial, and cultural simultaneously. Primate City: • A primate city is a country's leading city — disproportionately large relative to the next-largest city. • The Law of the Primate City (Mark Jefferson, 1939): The primate city is typically more than twice the size of the next city. • Examples: - Bangkok (Thailand): Bangkok has over 10 million people; the next city (Chiang Mai) has under 200,000. - Paris (France): Paris dominates France culturally, economically, and politically. - Mexico City, Seoul, Buenos Aires. • Primacy is common in developing countries where development is highly concentrated. • Primate cities are often associated with over-centralisation — political power, investment, and talent concentrated in one place, leaving other regions underdeveloped. • India is an exception — Mumbai and Delhi are both very large, and India has several other major metros.

Urbanisation in Developing Countries: • Urbanisation — the shift of population from rural to urban areas — is occurring fastest in developing countries. • In 1950, only 30% of the world's population was urban; by 2007, for the first time, more than half the world was urban; by 2050, about 68% will be urban. • In developing countries, urbanisation is rapid but often unplanned. Problems of Rapid Urbanisation: 1. Slums and Informal Housing: • Millions of rural migrants cannot afford formal housing — they settle in slums (informal settlements without legal status, running water, sanitation, or secure tenure). • Examples: Dharavi (Mumbai — Asia's largest slum), Kibera (Nairobi), Favelas (Brazil). • Slum dwellers often lack: Legal tenure, clean water, sanitation, electricity, healthcare access. • Over 1 billion people globally live in slums. 2. Inadequate Infrastructure: • Rapid population growth outstrips the city's ability to provide water supply, sewerage, roads, electricity, and public transport. • Water shortages, power cuts, and traffic congestion are endemic in many developing-world cities. 3. Environmental Degradation: • Air pollution: Vehicular emissions, industrial pollution (Delhi's air quality is among the world's worst). • Water pollution: Rivers contaminated by sewage and industrial effluent (Yamuna, Ganga in cities). • Land degradation: Unplanned construction on flood plains, wetlands, and forests. 4. Unemployment and Poverty: • Rural-urban migration often exceeds the city's ability to absorb workers — leading to high unemployment and informal/precarious employment. 5. Social Problems: • Crime, social alienation, breakdown of community ties, child labour, begging. 6. Traffic Congestion: • Cities grow faster than their road and public transport infrastructure — leading to severe congestion. 7. Pressure on Services: • Schools, hospitals, and other public services are overwhelmed. Urban Planning as Solution: • Well-planned cities can accommodate growth without these problems — Singapore, Chandigarh (designed by Le Corbusier) are examples of planned urban environments. • India's Smart Cities Mission aims to develop 100 smart cities with better infrastructure.