Theme 1c Settlement

Question 1

Factors influencing the sites and development of rural settlements?

Answer 1

1. Agriculture land use - the available of agricultural land is a key feature as it provides a food supply for the village
2. Relief
   + Altitude - high areas => hard for agriculture (cold)
   + Gradient - gentle slopes => well drained, easier to cultivate and build on; steep slopes can help defence
   + Aspect - direction slope faces; valleys run east-west => sunlight for agriculture
3. Soils - fertile soil (support larger population) => densely settled; rich volcanic soils => more dense
4. Water supply - near river (wet point)
5. Drainage and flooding - areas slightly higher than flood plains => good for farming, good sites
   6.Accessibility - develop in a linear settlement pattern along roads/tracks => easy to access

Question 2

Listing settlement hierarchy

Answer 2

Isolated dwelling, hamlet, village, small town, large town, city, conurbation

Question 3

Hierarchy determining the order of importance according to:

Answer 3

1. The population size
2. The range and number of services
3. The sphere of influence

Question 4

Land uses in towns and cities:

Answer 4

Central business district (CBD), leisure and recreation, residential, transport, business and commerce, industry

Question 5

Features that identify the CBD

Answer 5

• High/multi-storey buildings
• Expensive land values
• Central location for road/railways to converge
• The most accessible location for workers
• Accessible to most people for shops and businesses

Question 6

Residential areas include of:

Answer 6

1. Olde inner city area - twilight zone, next to CBD, has mainly terraced houses in a grid like pattern
2. Inner city redevelopment - high density, more amenities, high rise flats, more modern
3. Suburbia - the urban sprawl and rising popularity of owing cars => construction of well planned and spacious spaces
4. Outer city estate - located on the fringes of cities with varied types of housing, where people relocated when inner city is redeveloped.

Question 7

Features of rural urban fringe

Answer 7

• Found at the edge of a town/city
• Where town meets countryside
• Common for this area to have a mixture of land uses (housing, golf courses, allotments, business parks)

Question 8

Features of industrial areas

Answer 8

• Factories were built as close as possible to the CBD with enough space
• Next to canals & railways to transport materials / rivers for cooling, power source,…
• Next to land where lots of workers could live

Question 9

What are open spaces used for in a settlement

Answer 9

For a relaxing atmosphere

Question 10

Land uses in LEDC

Answer 10

• CBD in the central of the city often the oldest part of the city
• Poorest housing is found on the edge of the city (squatter settlements/shanty towns)

Question 11

Land uses in MEDC

Answer 11

• Uses Burgess (concentric zone model) model
• Land values are highest in the centre of the city (CBD) as competition is high in the central part
• High rise, high density buildings found near the CBD
• Low density, sparse developments on the edge of the town/city

Question 12

What is the Hoyt model’s idea ?

Answer 12

• Based on the circles on the Burgess model, adds sectors of similar land uses concentrated in parts of the city
• Some zones (factories/industry zone) radiate out from the CBD; following the line of a main road/railway
• Also use for MEDCs

Question 12

Limitations to the Burgess model

Answer 12

1. Model is now quite old and was developed before the advent of mass car ownership
2. New working & housing trends have emerged since the model was developed; many people choose to live and work outside the city on the urban fringe => not reflected by Burgess
3. Every city is different, there is no such thing as a typical city

Question 13

Problems of urban growth for people?

Answer 13

• More crowded/overcrowded
• Many people are unable to obtain jobs
• Work for low pay, cannot housing/work in informal sector
• Inadequate investment in housing => people live in squatter settlements
• Pressure on schools => poor quality education
• Traffic congestion => delay in transportation raising inefficiency

Question 14

Problems for the environment from urban growth ?

Answer 14

• Loss of vegetation/deforestation
• Loss of habitats
• Impacts on food chains
• Pollution of rivers
• Death of fish/other species
• Air/atmospheric pollution