Photograph by D.J. Zeigler The geographically informed person must understand the varying forms of human settlements in terms of their size, composition, location, arrangement, organization, function, and history. People seldom live in isolation. Instead, they live in clusters ranging from small villages with hundreds of people to megacities with tens of millions of people. The organized groupings of human habitation are the intense focus of most aspects of human life: economic activities, transportation systems, communications media, political and administrative systems, education, culture, and entertainment. Show
Therefore, Standard 12 contains these themes: Functions of Settlements, Patterns of Settlements, and Urban Forms and Functions. Of great importance to understanding human spatial organization are the relationships among settlements: their spacing, arrangement, functional connections, and economic specialties. Relationships between settlements are shaped by trade and the movements of raw materials, finished products, people, capital, and ideas. Patterns of settlement across Earth’s surface differ markedly from region to region and place to place. Settlement patterns change through time. Cities, the largest and densest human settlements, are the major nodes of human society. Throughout the world, cities are growing rapidly, but none so rapidly as those in developing regions. Urbanization is changing the current patterns of both rural and urban landscapes around the world. Settlements and the patterns they etch on Earth’s surface provide not only information on current economic, political, and social conditions, but also a historical record of past conditions. Today’s settlement patterns provide information about past settlement processes and land-use patterns. Students must understand the processes underlying the patterns of human settlement over space and time. Understanding these themes enables students to see settlements as a record of human history and as the fulcrum of many of the human processes that are changing Earth’s surface. There are many types of rural settlements. Using as classification criteria the shape, internal structure, and streets texture, settlements can be classified into two broad categories: clustered and dispersed. 12.2.1 Clustered Rural SettlementsA clustered rural settlement is a rural settlement where a number of families live in close proximity to each other, with fields surrounding the collection of houses and farm buildings. The layout of this type of village reflects historical circumstances, the nature of the land, economic conditions, and local cultural characteristics. The rural settlement patterns range from compact to linear, to circular, and grid. Compact Rural SettlementsThis model has a center where several public buildings are located such as the community hall, bank, commercial complex, school, and church. This center is surrounded by houses and farmland. Small garden plots are
located in the first ring surrounding the houses, continued with large cultivated land areas, pastures, and woodlands in successive rings. The compact villages are located either in the plain areas with important water resources or in some hilly and mountainous depressions. In some cases, the compact villages are designed to conserve land for farming, standing in sharp contrast to the often isolated farms of the American Great Plains or Australia (Figure 12.1). Figure 12.1 | A Compact Village in India Author | User “Parthan” Source | Wikimedia Commons License | CC BY SA 2.0 Linear Rural SettlementsThe linear form is comprised of buildings along a road, river, dike, or seacoast. Excluding the mountainous zones, the
agricultural land is extended behind the buildings. The river can supply the people with a water source and the availability to travel and communicate. Roads were constructed in parallel to the river for access to inland farms. In this way, a new linear settlement can emerge along each road, parallel to the original riverfront settlement (Figure 12.2). Figure 12.2 | Linear Village of Outlane Author | Mark Mercer Source | Wikimedia Commons License | CC BY SA 2.0 Circular Rural SettlementsThis form consists of a central open space surrounded by structures. Such settlements are variously referred to as a Rundling, Runddorf, Rundlingsdorf, Rundplatzdorf or Platzdorf (Germany), Circulades and Bastides (France), or Kraal
(Africa). There are no contemporary historical records of the founding of these circular villages, but a consensus has arisen in recent decades. The current leading theory is that Rundlinge were developed at more or less the same time in the 12th century, to a model developed by the Germanic nobility as suitable for small groups of mainly Slavic farm-settlers. Also, in the medieval times, villages in the Languedoc, France, were often situated on hilltops and built in a
circular fashion for defensive purpose (Figures 12.3 and 12.4). Figure 12.3 | Bastide in France Author | User “Chensiyuan” Source | Wikimedia Commons License | CC BY SA 4.0 Figure 12.4 | Kraal – A circular village in Africa Author | User “Hp.Baumeler” Source | Wikimedia Commons License | CC BY SA 4.0 Figure 12.5 | Charlottenburg, Romania Author | German Wikipedia user “Eddiebw” Source | Wikimedia Commons License | CC BY SA 3.0 12.2.2 Dispersed Rural SettlementsDispersed Rural SettlementsA dispersed settlement is one of the main types of settlement patterns used to classify rural settlements. Typically, in stark contrast to a nucleated settlement, dispersed settlements range from a scattered to an isolated
pattern (Figure 12.6). In addition to Western Europe, dispersed patterns of settlements are found in many other world regions, including North America. Figure 12.6 | Settlement Patterns2 Author | Corey Parson Source | Original Work License | CC BY SA 4.0 Scattered Rural SettlementsA scattered dispersed type of rural settlement is generally found in a variety of landforms, such as the foothill, tableland, and upland regions. Yet, the proper scattered village is found at the highest elevations and reflects the rugged terrain and pastoral economic life. The population maintains many traditional features in architecture, dress, and social customs, and the old market centers are still important. Small plots and dwellings are carved out of the forests and on the upland pastures wherever physical conditions permit. Mining, livestock raising, and agriculture are the main economic activities, the latter characterized by terrace cultivation on the mountain slopes. The sub-mountain regions, with hills and valleys covered by plowed fields, vineyards, orchards, and pastures, typically have this type of settlement. Isolated Rural SettlementsThis form consists of separate farmsteads scattered throughout the area in which farmers live on individual farms isolated from neighbors rather than alongside other farmers in settlements. The isolated settlement pattern is dominant in rural areas of the United States, but it is also an important characteristic for Canada, Australia, Europe, and other regions. In the United States, the
dispersed settlement pattern was developed first in the Middle Atlantic colonies as a result of the individual immigrants’ arrivals. As people started to move westward, where land was plentiful, the isolated type of settlements became dominant in the American Midwest. These farms are located in the large plains and plateaus agricultural areas, but some isolated farms, including hamlets, can also be found in different mountainous areas (Figures 12.7 and
12.8). Figure 12.7 | Isolated Horse Farm Author | Randy Fath Source | Unsplash License | CC 0 Figure 12.8 | Undredal, Norway Author | Micha L. Rieser Source | Wikimedia Commons License | © Micha L. Rieser. Used with permission. Which of the following best explains patterns of subsistence and commercial agriculture in West African countries?Which of the following best explains patterns of subsistence and commercial agriculture in West African countries such as Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire? While some farmers are engaged in subsistence agriculture practices, there is significant commercial farming focused on luxury goods for export, such as coffee and cocoa.
Which of the following best describes advances in the production of textiles during the second agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution?Which of the following best describes advances in the production of textiles during the Second Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution? The conversion from manual thread spinning to an industrial processing approach led to increased demand for raw cotton in the agricultural sector.
Which of the following best describes agriculture?In modern terms, agriculture comprises “the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and rearing livestock.”
Which of the following best explains the economic advantage of the type of farm produced goods shown in the images?Which of the following best explains the economic advantage of the type of farm-produced goods shown in the images? Compared to plain milk or fresh fruit, these value-added agricultural goods significantly increase the price of the farm products sold and increase earnings for farmers.
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