Human Settlement

It is any form of human dwelling from the smallest house to the largest city. It is place where people live from isolated farm house to mega city. It can either be

temporary or permanent.

Factors affecting settlement:

Settlement is mainly determined by site and situation of a place.

1. Wet Point sites:

Those places which have a good water supply tend to have many settlements.

2.  Dry Point Sites

Settlements are also built in those places which are away from the risk of flooding.

3. Defensive site

Settlements are often found on higher grounds so that in the past enemies could be seen from a distance.

4. Aspect

Settlements are also found in the sunny sides of the deep valley.

5. Shelter

Settlements are found in those places which protect from cold winds and rain.

6. Resources

Settlements are found in those places which have resources.

Settlement Types:

On the basis of Volume:

1. Compact or Nucleated Settlement

It is based on farming comprises of  houses, religious centers, fields for grazing animals and growing cops surrounding the village building. The size of these settlement depends on nature and resources of surrounding country. It has a high degree of caste discrimination. It is found in hunting and fishing communities.

2. Semi-Compact Settlement

It is a transitional phase in the growth of compact settlement. As the new technology is developing and population is increasing, the settlement starts taking the shape of compact settlement. It arises due to the difference of semi-arid regions from humid regions and marginal productive land to that of fertile land.

3. Dispersed Settlement

It is generally found in the extreme climate, hilly tracks, thick forest, grassland, plateaus and infertile lands. Overpopulation is one of the reasons for dispersed settlements. If a part of the population left the village to found a new one, they are often found in dispersed rather than a new village.

Settlement Hierarchies

Settlement	Definition	Number of People
1. Megalopolis	When conurbations have joined to become one	+10 million people
2. Conurbation	A group of large cities and their suburbs that have strong link connecting them to each other.	3-10 million people
3. Metropolis	A city and surrounding towns that are in close proximity and have started to merge into each other.	1-3 million people
4. Large city	A city with large population and many services.	300000-1 million people
5. City	Have wide range of services but not as many as a large city	100000-300000 people
6. Large town	Much more varied range of shops available to villages	20000-100000 people
7. Town	Increase in services	1000-20000 people
8. Village	Start to have some basic services	100-1000 people
9. Hamlet	It have very few tiny populations and few services	<100 people
10 Isolated dwelling	Tend to be farmhouse	A few building