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🏡 Settlements (Rural and Urban) & Service Provision

🔑 Key Definitions​

  • Settlement: A place where people live
  • Site: The physical location of a settlement (e.g. flat land, near a river)
  • Situation: The location of a settlement relative to other places (e.g. near trade routes)
  • Rural settlement: Small, low population density, mainly agricultural
  • Urban settlement: Large, high population density, non-agricultural activities

🌍 Settlement Patterns

Settlement patterns describe how buildings are arranged.

1. 🏠 Dispersed (Scattered)​

  • Buildings spread out over a large area
  • Common in rural areas

👉 Reasons:

  • Farming (need large land areas)
  • Difficult terrain (mountains, forests)

👉 Example:

  • Rural farms in parts of Kenya or USA

2. 🛣️ Linear​

  • Buildings arranged in a line (often along a road, river, or railway)

👉 Reasons:

  • Access to transport routes
  • Access to water

👉 Example:

  • Villages along rivers

3. 🏘️ Nucleated (Clustered)​

  • Buildings grouped closely together

👉 Reasons:

  • Safety (historically for defence)
  • Access to services (schools, shops)
  • Social/community reasons

👉 Example:

  • Traditional villages in many parts of Africa and Europe

📍 Factors Influencing Site, Growth & Functions

1. 🌄 Physical Factors​

a) Relief​

  • Flat land → easy building → encourages settlement
  • Steep slopes → difficult → discourages settlement

b) Soil​

  • Fertile soil → farming → attracts rural settlements
  • Poor soil → discourages settlement

c) Water Supply​

  • Essential for drinking, farming, industry
  • Many settlements located near rivers/lakes

d) Climate​

  • Moderate climates → attract settlement
  • Extreme climates → limit settlement

2. 🚧 Human (Other) Factors​

a) Accessibility​

  • Good transport links → growth of settlements
  • Remote areas → slow growth

👉 Example:

  • Cities often grow at road/rail junctions

b) Natural Resources​

  • Coal, oil, minerals → attract industries → settlement growth

c) Employment Opportunities​

  • More jobs → attract people → urban growth

d) Government Policies​

  • Urban planning, housing schemes, migration policies

e) Historical Factors​

  • Settlements may grow due to historical importance

🏙️ Functions of Settlements

A settlement’s function is its main activity.

Examples:​

  • Industrial → factories (e.g. manufacturing towns)
  • Commercial → trade and business (cities)
  • Residential → housing
  • Administrative → government (capital cities)
  • Tourist → attractions (coastal towns, national parks)

👉 Many settlements are multi-functional

📊 Settlement Hierarchy

Settlements can be ranked by size and importance:

LevelExampleCharacteristics
🏠 HamletFew housesVery small, no services
🏡 VillageSmall settlementBasic services (shop, school)
🏘️ TownMediumMore services (banks, hospitals)
🌆 CityLargeWide range of services

🛍️ Services and Order​

🔹 Low-order services​

  • Used frequently
  • Cheap
  • Found in small settlements

👉 Examples:

  • Local shops, primary schools

🔹 High-order services​

  • Used less often
  • Expensive
  • Found in large settlements

👉 Examples:

  • Universities, specialist hospitals

🌐 Sphere of Influence

  • The area from which a service attracts customers

👉 Example:

  • A small shop → small sphere
  • A large shopping mall → large sphere

👥 Threshold Population

  • The minimum number of people needed to support a service

👉 Example:

  • A supermarket needs a large population → high threshold
  • A small shop needs fewer people → low threshold

📍 Case Study: Settlement & Service Provision

🇰🇪 Nairobi (Urban Area)​

📊 Key Features​

  • Capital city of Kenya
  • High population density
  • Major economic centre

🏙️ Settlement Characteristics​

Site:

  • Located on relatively flat land
  • Good climate (not too hot)

Situation:

  • Transport hub (roads, railways, airport)

📈 Growth Factors​

  • Employment opportunities (business, industry)
  • Rural-urban migration
  • Government investment

🛍️ Service Provision​

High-order services:

  • Universities
  • Major hospitals
  • Shopping malls

Low-order services:

  • Local shops
  • Primary schools

⚖️ Issues​

  • Inequality in service provision (e.g. informal settlements/slums)
  • Overcrowding
  • Traffic congestion

📝 Exam Tips

💡 For “Describe settlement patterns”​

  • Identify pattern (dispersed, linear, nucleated)
  • Say what it looks like
  • Use a labelled example if possible

💡 For “Explain factors”​

  • Use PEE structure:
    • Point (factor)
    • Explain (how it affects settlement)
    • Example

💡 For hierarchy questions:​

  • Mention:
    • Size
    • Number of services
    • Order of services

💡 Common mistakes to avoid:​

  • Confusing site vs situation
  • Forgetting to give examples
  • Only describing without explaining (loses marks)

📌 Quick Summary

  • Settlement patterns:
    • Dispersed, linear, nucleated
  • Influenced by:
    • Physical factors (relief, soil, water)
    • Human factors (jobs, transport)
  • Hierarchy:
    • Hamlet → village → town → city
  • Services:
    • Low-order (frequent, cheap)
    • High-order (rare, expensive)
  • Key concepts:
    • Sphere of influence
    • Threshold population