Settlement geography

N.MTSHALI
CONCEPTS OF SETTLEMEMT
• What is a settlement?
• A settlement is a place where people live and interact. A settlement
could be anything from an isolated farmhouse to a mega city
(settlement with over 10 million people).
• Settlements can either be temporary or permanent. Temporary
settlements include things such as refugee camps.
• The reason why a settlement developed in the first place is said to
be its function.
SITE AND SITUATION
• The site of a settlement is the land upon which it was built.
• There are a range of factors that can determine the site of a
settlement. These are mainly physical factors
• Availability of water
• Availability of building material
• Type of soil
• Fertility of soil (Rural settlements)
• Relief/ Gradient of the slope
• Drainage
• The situation of a settlement is its location in relation to surrounding
human and physical features. We usually describe the situation when
we are telling someone where a settlement is.
• wet point site - these are sites close to a supply of water
• dry point site - these are sites that avoided the risk of flooding
• defensive site - these were sites that were on high ground and allowed
the inhabitants to see enemies from a distance
• aspect - many settlements in the northern hemisphere are located on
south facing sides of valleys where it is sunny
• trading point - often settlements developed where natural training
points meet such as along rivers or natural route ways
• resources - many settlements developed close to where natural
resources could be
RURAL AND URBAN SETTLEMENT
• RURAL SETTLEMENT: A settlement which is usually unifunctional and
is associated with primary economic activities.
• URBAN SETTLEMENT: A settlement which is multifunctional and is
associated with secondary, tertiary and quaternary economic
activities
Settlement classification according
to size, complexity, pattern and
function
Isolated farmstead
Hamlet
Village
Small town
City- large town
Conurbationan-extended urban area, typically
consisting of several towns merging with the
suburbs of a central city.
Pattern
• Pattern is the physical shape of a settlement and its position in
relation to other settlement
• Dispersed or isolated- buildings are far apart from each other
• Nucleated or clustered- buildings are situated close to each other
Dispersed/ isolated
Nucleated/clustered
Rural settlement
• How site and situation affect the location of rural settlements
• A good site will have the availability of the :
1. Drinking water with rivers
2. Arable land/ fertile soil
3. Grazing (pasture) for live stock
4. Building material
5. Fuel source for cooking purposes
6. Transport routes
• Other influencing factors
7. defence
8. Relief and drainage
Classification of rural settlement
according to pattern and function
• Dispersed pattern- are ones where the houses are spread out over a
wide area
Advantages of a dispersed pattern
• Farmer works for himself, keeps own profit
• Enough land
• Can use his own initiative/ plans
• Lives on his own single tract of land
• Can maximize use of machinery (no need to share)
• There is privacy
Disadvantages of dispersed pattern
• No social contact
• Far away from neighbours
• No protection/ no security- this leads to farm murders
Physical factors responsible for rural settlement pattern

1. Poor quality of soil

2. Abundant fertile soil
3. Reliable water supply
4. Few perennial rivers
5. Hilly landscape
Social factors responsible for rural
settlement pattern
• Private land ownership
• Capitalism
• Morden farming methods
• Peace
Nucleated pattern
• Nucleated pattern-are ones where houses are grouped closely
together.
Advantages of the nucleated
pattern
• the residence has on a daily base social contact with each other
• Protection is easier
• Sharing and helping each other
Disadvantages of a nucleated
settlement
• No independent decision making can take place
• Machinery must be shared
• Difficult to be economically successful
Nucleated pattern
• Physical factors responsible for rural settlement pattern
1. Limited fertile soil
2. Wet point settlement ( develop around water sources in a dry area)
3. Dry point settlement (develop in areas that are prone to flooding)
4. Gentle slope
Social factors responsible for
rural settlement pattern
1. Collective land ownership
2. Socialism or communism
3. Traditional farming methods
4. Religion or culture
Function
• All rural settlements only focus on one function e.g. farming-mono
functional settlements. Most inhabitants are involved in this activity.
The reasons for different shapes in
rural settlements:
• Round – develop around a market place or some shared/ communal
land
• Linear: develop along rivers, road, coastline, railways or thermal belt
in a valley
• Cross road: settlements develop in a cross to allow everyone to have
access to the road
• T-shape- settlement develop to form a T along a road junction to
allow everyone access to the road.
• Star-shaped- many roads connect and the settlements spread out
along these roads.
Land use in rural settlements
• Agricultural areas where crop and stock farming occur
• Conservation areas where the natural vegetation and habitat
is covered with the animals of the areas
• Recreation areas-ecotourism, flying/landing strips
• Plantation /forestry
• Farm workers housing
Rural settlement issues
• Rural-urban migration: movement of people from rural areas
to urban areas.
• Push factors: factors that force people out of the rural area.
• Degradation of land through poor farming methods
• Reduced soil fertility
• Natural disasters e.g droughts, floods
• Crop failure due to drought or floods
• Lack of jobs due to mechanisation (means that farms need
fewer labourers )
• Low standard of living and poor quality of life
• lack of safe (clean) water
Pull factors: factors that attract people out of the rural areas
• Employment
• Education- better schools and educational opportunities
• Industries and services in cities offer employment opportunities
• Better services such as health care and entertainment.
• Expectation of better housing and better quality of life.
• Expectation of a constant supply of clean water and sanitation.
• Good transport and communication networks.
• Attracting of the “city lights”
• More reliable source of food.
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF RURAL
DEPOPULATION ON PEOPLE AND THE ECONOMY
• Rural depopulation: refers to the decrease in the number of
people found in the rural areas.
• Causes of rural depopulation
Poverty
Distance from urban services
Lack of basic services
Poor health care
Few educational opportunities
Few employment opportunities
Consequences of rural depopulation on people
and the economy
• Decline in wage earners therefore decreased buying power.
• Dwindling population results in shops closing down,
decreasing staff or reducing stock
• Facilities close down e.g. banks, post office
• Residents have to travel greater distances services that close
down e.g. travel to other towns
• Schools close down or quality of educational facilities
decrease
• Land value drops
• Younger and more productive people leave resulting in an
ageing population
• Decrease in productivity of the area
• Ghost towns could develop
• Increase in poverty
• Cycle of rural decline and decay sets in
• Decrease in use of resources in rural areas, resources not
used to develop economy
• Cycle of poverty continues for many people
Strategies to address rural
depopulation
• Job creation projects in rural areas
• Decentralisation of industries
• Development corridors
• Improved basic services in rural areas
• Skills development in rural areas
• Farming related industries in rural areas
Social justice in rural areas
• Social justice issues are problems that affect a person’s standard of
living. All people have the right to the satisfaction of their needs.
• Social and economic inequalities
• Unemployment
• Land ownership issues
• Woman that carries home responsibilities alone
• Lack of services like sanitation and fresh water
Social injustices in rural areas
• Lack of arable land
• Poverty and malnutrition
• Droughts and floods
• Soil erosion and overgrazing
• Land reform
• Lack of services
• Unemployment
• Limited infrastructure
• Limited access to health care, housing, water, electricity and education
Access to resources and land reform
• Access to resources and land reform is a way to address social justice
• Build proper houses for people
• Provide them with tap water
• Services should be provided to people in rural areas
• There must be access to health care services- build clinics and
hospitals in rural areas
• Land redistribution and land restitution should be implemented
• Land reform is necessary in South Africa inequalities due to apartheid
legislation that prevented people from owning land.
• LAND OWNERSHIP STRATEGIES
1. LAND REDISTRIBUTION
Land owned by the government is allocated to disadvantaged and poor
people (especially in rural areas) for settlement and farming
2. LAND RESTITUTION
Land that was forcibly removed from people under various
discriminatory laws is returned to them. People lodge claims through
the Land Claims Court who decide on an outcome.
3. Land tenure- legal right to use the land
URBAN SETTLEMENT
TERMINOLOGIES
• Urban settlement: Multifunctional settlement, dominated by secondary and
tertiary activities

• Urban growth: An increase in the number of people living in the urban area
(can take place without urbanisation)

• Urban expansion: The physical growth of urban areas

• Urbanisation: A process whereby the percentage of people living in the

urban area increases.
• Break-of-bulk town/city: Where one type of transport is replaced by
another type, e.g. a harbour or port.
• Central place town/city: Provides urban services to surrounding rural area.

• Dispersed pattern/isolated pattern: Buildings are arranged far apart from one
another.

• Dormitory town/city: A settlement which is mostly residential, as people work in a

nearby city.

• Dry-point settlement: A settlement in a wet area which could be flooded and so is

situated away from the water source that is a threat.

• Function: Refers to the activities (primary, secondary or tertiary)that take place in

settlements.

• Gap town/city: A town or city situated at a point of access over or through a

physical barrier, e.g. at a mountain pass.
• Hierarchy: Ranking of places from villages to megalopolis OR ranking of functions or

orders within an urban centre.

• Informal settlement: An informal or unplanned area that is occupied by people who do

not have access to formal housing and who erect dwellings on open land, usually on

the outskirts of a town illegally . Buildings are made of cardboard, zinc, plastic or wood,

or any available materials. It is also sometimes called a squatter camp or shanty town.

• Junction town/city: Where two major transport routes meet. This can be roads or

railway lines.

• Land use zones: Areas in an urban area that have a specific purpose or function.
• Minimum service area: The minimum area needed to maintain a settlement,

service or function.

• Multifunctional: This is classified as urban because it has both secondary and

tertiary activities.

• Nucleated pattern/clustered pattern: Buildings are arranged close to one another.

The origin and development of
urban settlement
• As soon as people found methods of producing access food, some
people could start specialising in other activities like making clothes,
manufacturing and rendering services.
• People started settling in larger clustered settlements
• Today more than 50% of the world population lives in urban
settlements of different sizes.
HOW SITE AND SITUATION AFFECT THE LOCATION OF URBAN
SETTLEMENTS

• Site-refers to the exact location on which the settlement develops.

Factors are:
• Water supply
• Relief
• Underlying structure of the rock and soil
• Drainage
• Resources e.g. raw material
• Aspect of slope
• Situation-refers to location of the settlement in relation to the
surrounding area.
Factors are:
• Transport
• Access to market
 CLASSIFICATION OF URBAN
SETTLEMENT ACCORDING TO
FUNCTION
• Types of urban settlements according to function
• CENTRAL PLACES: This type of town renders the basic services to the
surrounding community. All urban settlements have this function but in
small towns this may be the only and main function.
1 central places
supplies urban goods and services to surrounding
places
Lower order goods and services Higher order goods and services

need often (bread, milk) Need less often (health spa)

Smaller threshold population Larger threshold population
Several shops/ services Less shops/ services
• 2 TRADE AND TRANSPORT TOWN: These towns develop at important
transport route intersections and most important activity is trade with
surrounding settlement.

break of bulk Junction Gateway/gap town

transport changes eg Intersection of two main Point of access at
from sea to land transport routes physical barrier
Cape town De Aar Worcester
3. SPECIALISED TOWNS: These
towns only specialise in one function
Resort Industrial Mining Education Commuters

Margate Secunda Welkom Stellenbosch Commuters

Low and High order functions/ services and centers
 URBAN STRUCTURES AND
FUNCTIONS
• Land use zones
• The structure of an Urban area can be divided into different land use
zones in the city. Aland use zone is an area which has features that
defines its function. A residential area is made up of houses and flats,
recreational areas , schools and shops. These features tells us people
live in this area. An industrial area, which is made of many large
buildings for a producing products.
URBAN PROFILE
A SIDE VIEW OF A CITY
STREET PATTERNS
MODELS OF URBAN STRUCTURE
•I Burgess/ Concentric model
• This model divides a city into rings
• The CBD is the core and oldest part of the city, and the newest parts
are in the Outer rings
• The inner city is poor and the outer Suburbs are wealthy
• The principle is that the rich can afford to live further away from the
city centre
• Hoyt/ sector model
• The sector model divides the city into slices
• The principle is that Inner city zones expand outwards along transport
routes
• Both the Sector model and Concentric model predate the era of the
motor can as a common form of private transport
• Multiple nuclei
• In the multiple nuclei model the city has many centres or clusters of
activity o The CBD is not necessarily in the geographical centre of the
city
• For example shopping centres are developed to cater for those who
live in the city outskirts or suburbs
• Different type of activities cluster together and some activities are
incompatible with other
Changing urban patterns and land use and the South African city

• Urban renewal
• Renovating the urban area
• Facadism keeping the external front of the building but modifying the
rest of the building
• Gentrification- upgrade run down areas in the inner city
• Invasion and succession-one inappropriate land use replaced by
another more appropriate land use e.g. residential to commercial.
Decentralisation of functions

• Commercial functions moving to the residential area

• Convenience of having different functions in one area
Urban settlement issues
RECENT URBANISATION PATTERNS IN SOUTH AFRICA
• South Africa is experiencing rapid urbanisation due to rural-urban
migration and international migration.
• South Africa is approximately 62% urbanised.
• Urbanisation continues to increase in South Africa.
INNER CITY PROBLEMS

• Due to rapid urbanisation the urban area, especially the inner city,
experiences great pressure to try and cope with this increase. This
results in inner city problems
 Urban blight
Urban blight refer to a city or part of a city that is in a dilapidated state
It was part of a fully function urban area
Solutions
• Allow invasion and succession
• Renovate buildings
• Demolish old buildings
Traffic congestion

• Due to an increase in urbanisation we have an increase in vehicles

leading to traffic congestion
• The transport networks cannot cope effectively with this increase
• Occurs mainly during peak hours e.g. morning when going to work
and afternoon when coming from work
Strategies to reduce traffic congestion

• Staggered working hours/flexitime

• Introduce other forms of transport
• Lanes dedicated to public transport, e.g. buses and taxis
• Decentralisation of offices, industries and shops
• Park-and-ride facilities
• More efficient public transport system, e.g. Gautrain and Rea Vaya
• One-way streets
• Underground transport
• Subsidise the cost of public transport
• Encourage lift clubs
Lack of planning

• Many people are moving to cities and the city cannot plan effectively
to cater for the needs of these people
• This leads to unhindered growth and urban sprawl
• People build shelters where ever possible
• This is uncontrolled and basic services are difficult to provide
Overcrowding

• Many people moving to urban areas are poor

• They live in areas with low rentals
• This results in families living in small rooms, shacks or even a few
families sharing a room resulting in overcrowding
• This creates huge pressure on basic services and facilities e.g. schools
Housing shortages

• Growing urban populations create housing shortages

• This has resulted in informal settlements, urban blight and urban
sprawl
• The government’s RDP house project has helped but due to the
massive increase in urbanisation it was not as effective. More than 3
million urban dwellings have been built by the state
• Another form of housing built to accommodate the large urban
population are flats.
Service provision
• Due to rapid urbanisation and unplanned settlements it has made it difficult to provide
services to all the people.
• The increasing demand for services and infrastructure is greatest in the informal
settlements and the transition zone, and this is where poverty is also the greatest
problem.
• Basic services include housing, healthcare facilities, educational facilities, sanitation,
clean drinking water and electricity.
• These are basic services because they are required for human wellbeing.
Infrastructure includes roads, power lines and communication networks.
• People need infrastructure to access the services and function offered by the city.
• This result in many protests
• Government project have increased the provision of services but more needs to done
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

• Settlement which are densely populated areas

• High building density
• Self constructed shelters
• Lack of basic services
• Mostly due to rural-urban migration
Growth of informal settlements

• Approximately 11% of South Africans live in informal settlement

• It is caused by rural-urban migration, natural growth, poverty etc.
• As the country becomes more urbanised more informal settlements
develop
•
Issues associated with informal
settlements
• Overcrowding
• Limited service provision
• Poorly constructed shelters
• Unhygienic living conditions
• Overcrowding
• High level of pollution
• Limited access to emergency services
Strategies to address issues relating to
informal settlements

• Education
• Employment
• RDP houses
• Involve locals in projects
• Partnership with private sector (financial Support etc)
ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICES

• Damage to the natural environment by man

• Air pollution
• Carbon emissions/greenhouse gases from vehicle, industries, people
etc.
Noise pollution

• From vehicle, people, activities etc

Destruction of ecosystems

• Ecosystems are destroyed by:

• Urban development
• Deforestation
• Pollution
ECONOMIC INJUSTICES

• Poverty
• Due to:
• Lack of employment
• Lack of education
• Economic decline
 Poor public transport systems

• Mostly taxis many of which are not road worthy

• Poor transport networks
• Poor quality buses which are not reliable.
• Projects such as Rea-Vaya and Gautrain try to handle problem
SOCIAL INJUSTICES
• Unequal access to resources and services
• We have two different economic worlds in one country
• A good example is the high income areas and the informal
settlements
• They vary with regards access to resources and services
MANAGING OF URBAN CHALLENGES IN SOUTH
AFRICA

• Increase employment opportunities thereby promoting economic growth

• Encouraging the decentralisation of functions and people
• Development of green cities, this incorporates the green area and open spaces into
the design from the start
• Provide housing and basic services to the population
• Make different land uses walking distance from each other
• Having functions in one area, limits movement
• Transport routes with pedestrian access in residential areas
• Wider streets which integrate with the environment e.g. planting trees on the side
of the road
•