SETTLEMENT
Syllabus
Definitions
of settlements; Types of settlements and distinction between rural and urban
settlement;
Rural
settlements and types; Factor determining the type of rural settlements;
Urban
settlement: definitions; Urbanization and major urban centre of Bhutan;
Urban
classification based on size; Urban sprawl; Conurbation; Concentric zone
theory; Problems and gains of urbanization.
Definitions of settlements
Settlement refers to
any form of human habitation, usually a group of dwellings of any type or size
where human beings live and use the area to fulfill their needs.
Settlement also refers
to organized colony of human beings with a certain layout plan meant for
residential and other purposes, with streets and footpaths connecting them.
Types of Settlement
There are many
different types of settlement based on pattern and shapes.
Settlement can be
broadly classified into two categories based on size, population, occupation
and the facilities found there. They are:
1. The
Rural and
2. The
Urban Settlement.
Rural
settlement means type of settlement where people are mainly engaged in
agriculture and other primary activities.
Urban
settlement means the settlement where people are mainly engaged in secondary
and tertiary activities like industry, trade, transportation and services etc.
Distinction
between Rural and Urban settlement
Questions to check your understanding
1. Define the term Settlement.
A –Settlement refers to any form of
human habitation, usually a group of dwellings with streets and footpaths
connecting them, where human beings live and use the area to fulfill their
needs.
Write down any four
differences between Rural and Urban settlement.
Rural
Settlement
|
Urban
Settlement
|
1.
People engaged in primary activities
2.
Settlements are small in size which may consist of
two to few hundred houses.
3.
Have small size population
4.
Density of population is less
5.
Modern facilities are absent
|
1.
People engaged in secondary and tertiary activities
2.
Settlements are bigger in size in which there are
few thousand to few lakh people living.
3.
Have huge size population
4.
Density of population is more
5.
Modern facilities are present
|
Settlement Pattern
Settlement pattern
means the spatial organization of houses which describes the overall shape and
indentation of the settlement.
Three most important
pattern of settlement in Bhutan are:
1. THE
NUCLEATED SETTLEMENT
2. THE
DISPERSED SETTLEMENT
3. THE
LINEAR SETTLEMENT
TYPES OF THE RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN BHUTAN
1.
THE NUCLEATED SETTLEMENT
They
are also known as clustered or compact or agglomerated settlement.
In such settlement
people live in houses clustered together around the common centre for
defensive, economic or social reasons, forming a large village and later some
becomes towns.
Such settlements are
usually surrounded by cultivated lands and the farmers travel to their land in
the morning and return mostly at night. In
such settlements the houses are made up of strong building materials like
stone, mud and wood and they are mostly found in high altitude areas.
E.g. Ura in Bumthang
In
Bhutan we have four types of rural settlement and they are:
1.
Cluster
or Agglomerated or nucleated settlement.
2.
Semi-Nucleated
Settlement.
3.
Dispersed
settlement or sprinkled settlement
4. Semi- Nomadic settlement.
1. Clustered or Agglomerated or
Nucleated settlement.
In such settlement, the
houses are clustered together with narrow winding streets separating them,
around the common centre for defensive, economic or social reasons, forming a
large village. Such settlements are found mainly in high altitude areas of
Bhutan. E.g. Ura in Bumthang and Laya in Gasa.
Advantages
and disadvantages of nucleated settlement
Advantages
1. People
can help each other
2. Less
fear among the people
3. Cheap
and easy o provide basic things like electricity, clean water supply etc
Disadvantages
1. Dangerous
of house fire
2. Misunderstanding
among neighbors
3. Less
social life
2. Semi-Nucleated Settlement
Semi-Nucleated
settlements are characterized by small and compact nucleus around which the
other houses are dispersed forming a ring like shape around the main
settlement.
They are also found in
Northern, North-eastern and Central Bhutan.
3. Semi- Nomadic settlement.
In such settlement, the
main occupation of the people is rearing of cattle mainly yak and sheep.
The people live in
tents during some parts of the year when they take their animals away from the
main settlement. They move to lower altitude during winters and higher altitude
during summers. Thus, only few family
members live permanently in their main settlement and the rest migrate with
their livestock.
This type of
settlements is common in higher altitudes of Bhutan like Laya in Gasa and
Merak-Sakten in Trashigang.
4. THE DISPERSED SETTLEMENT
They are also known as
Scattered or Sprinkled settlement.
In such settlement,
individual dwellings such as farmsteads or houses are scattered widely over a
vast area. People built simple one or two storeyed houses which may not be very
far from next neighbor on their isolated farmstead. They use building materials
like bamboo, stone and mud.
They are mostly found
in low altitude like in south and south-eastern Bhutan. These type rural
settlements are mainly found in low altitudes of our country. E.g. Samtse,
Trashigang and Sarpang
Advantages and
disadvantages of dispersed settlement
1. Less
misunderstanding
2. Sound
and clean environment
3. Peaceful
social life
Disadvantages
1. Cause
more fear
2. Expensive
to provide basic needs
3. Isolated
life without neighbors
Factors
affecting formation of dispersed settlement.
The formation of
nucleated or dispersed settlement depends on the factors like the local
physical landscape and the resources available to support the given population.
Other factors affecting the formation or morphology of such settlement are
economic, social and political factors like the stability of society and nature
of ownership, inheritance and distribution of land.
Questions to check your understanding
1. Define the term ‘Settlement Pattern’.
A –Settlement pattern means the
spatial organization of houses which describes the overall shape and
indentation of the settlement
2. Describe
about Nucleated settlement with an example.
A-. Is a settlement pattern where the
houses clustered together around the common centre for defensive, economic or
social reasons, forming a large village and later some becomes towns? Such
settlements are usually surrounded by cultivated lands and the farmers travel
to their land in the morning and return mostly at night. In such settlements
the houses are made up of strong building materials like stone, mud and wood
and they are mostly found in high altitude areas. E.g. Ura in Bumthang
Compare Semi-Nucleated Settlement with semi-nomadic settlement.
A
–i. Semi-Nucleated settlements are characterized by small and compact nucleus
around which the other houses are dispersed forming a ring like shape around
the main settlement while semi-nucleated settlement may be of any shape or
size.
ii. Semi-nucleated settlement will be
permanently occupied by people throughout the year while the semi-nomadic
settlement may remain more or less empty during certain part of the year when
the herders live move with their animals.
iii.
The main occupation of people in semi-nucleated settlement will be farming
while the main occupation of people living in semi-nomadic settlement will be
herding livestock.
Iv. People of semi-nucleated settlement does
not practice seasonal migration but the people of semi-nomadic settlement
practice seasonal migration.
Write down any three
reasons why houses are built clustered together at the common centre in
Agglomerated settlement.
A- Economic
( to save the fertile for cultivation),
B- Defensive
( to defend together from invaders) and
C- Social
(to know and help each other)
Write down any three
differences between Agglomerated settlement and scattered settlement.
Agglomerated
settlement
|
Scattered
settlement.
|
The
houses are clustered together around the common centre in agglomerated
settlement
Nucleated
settlements are found mostly in high altitude areas
Houses
are usually two or three storeyed, made up of strong building materials like
stone, mud and wood in agglomerated settlement
|
houses
are scattered in vast area in scattered settlement
While
dispersed settlement are found mostly in low altitude areas.
the
houses are simple just one or two storeyed, made up of cheap materials like
bamboo, stone and mud in dispersed or sprinkled settlement
|
4.
Mention some of the factors affecting formation dispersed settlement.
A - Factors affecting
the formation or morphology of such settlement are economic, social and
political factors like the stability of society and nature of ownership,
inheritance and distribution of land
5. State the main difference between village and town.
A- The basic difference between village and town is
the economic activities performed by the people living in two different types
of settlement. In village primary occupation is main function of the people,
while in a town secondary, tertiary are main economic activities
6. What kind of functions rural settlement performs?
A- Rural settlement performs following functions:
1.
They perform primary economic
activities, which are directly linked with nature
2.
Rural settlement provide food and raw
materials to urban centers
3.
People of rural settlement are mainly
engaged in agriculture and primary occupation
3. THE LINEAR SETTLEMENT
Is an elongated pattern
of settlement which was developed mainly along the side of a major roadway on
the account of the advantages provided by the roadway
In such settlement, at
first people built few temporary huts at the terminal points of the roads,
which later increases in number and becomes permanent settlement. Some people
under such settlement began to cultivate land along the roadside but majority
set up restaurants and shops to serve both travelers and inhabitants in and
around the area.
In Bhutan, linear
settlement came into existence only later, mainly after the 1960’s
Infill
settlement: The land between two settlements are brought up,
built on and made accessible by the construction of new road
FACTORS DETERMINING THE TYPES OF RURAL SETTLEMENT
A large number of
factors determine the types of rural settlements which are classified into following
three groups:
1.
Physical Factors
2.
Ethnic and Cultural Factors
3.
Historical Factors.
1.
Physical Factors
Various physical
factors like relief, altitude, climate, drainage, depth of underground water
level, soil, etc. play an important role in determining the type and spacing of
settlements. E.g. In the dry areas, the houses are clustered around the source
of water such as pond or an oasis.
More settlement will come into existence in a
place where the relief is plain, climate is moderate, and soil is fertile with
enough water for cultivation, slowly leading to compactness of the settlement.
2.
.Ethnic and Cultural Factors
Ethnic and cultural
factors, such as caste or communal identity, are also important in determining
the layout of a rural settlement.
In some countries like
India, the main land owning caste occupies the central point forming the
nucleus while other caste (low caste) that provide services lives in the
surrounding area. This shows social
segregation, leading to fragmentation of compact settlement into several units.
3.
Historical Factors.
Historical factors have
also played an important role in determining the types of rural settlements as
well as their distribution all over the world.
Even in Bhutan, certain
areas which suffered frequent invasions from outside invaders have formed
compact settlement for defensive reason.
Similarly, we also have
settlement developed in and around the dzong so as to seek refuge in the dzong
in times of danger from invaders or war.
General Settlement Pattern in rural area
The spatial
organization or arrangement of houses along with its street system in a village
plays important role in defining its pattern.
In addition to streets, the locations of a
well or a pond or cultural elements like monasteries and temples give a
different pattern to a village.
1. Linear pattern.
2. Circular Pattern.
3. Checker Board or Rectangular Pattern.
4. Star-like Pattern.
5. Fan Pattern.
6. Terrace or Contour Pattern.
7. Shapeless or Amorphous Pattern.
1. Linear pattern.( diagram on page no 146 figure 8.2)
This settlement was
developed mainly along the side of major roadways and will have two parallel
rows of houses facing each other on the two sides of a roadway. E.g. Chimakoti.
2. Circular Pattern. .( diagram on page no 146 figure 8.3)
This settlement pattern develops when many houses were
constructed along the bank of a pond or lake or even a monastery, forming a
circular shape.
3. Checker Board or Rectangular Pattern.
This pattern of settlement develops at the meeting
place of two or more roads, where the streets are either parallel or
perpendicular to each
4. Star-like Pattern
A village acquires a star-like pattern when streets
radiate from a common centre. Expansion such village due to population growth
leads to double radial pattern.
4. Fan Pattern.
5. Terrace or Contour Pattern.
This settlement pattern on the hill slopes where the
houses are constructed in terraces following the contour lines.
6. Shapeless or Amorphous Pattern.
This rural pattern of settlement does not have any
particular shape and it may develop any rural area.
Urban settlement: definitions
Urban settlement means
the settlement where people are mainly engaged in secondary and tertiary
activities like industry, trade, transportation and services etc. and where
there are more modern facilities and high population density.
Urbanization in Bhutan
Urbanization in Bhutan began only in 1961 with the
introduction of the first five year plan under the guidance of our late Majesty
King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. Under this developmental strategy, Thimphu, the
capital of Bhutan started to grow gradually.
Construction of roads and establishment of
infrastructure, and educational and health facilities took place. The public
sector gained momentum, resulting in more and more rural to urban migration.
Now more than 40 percent of
the Bhutan’s population lives in urban areas and more than half of the urban
population is residing in Thimphu.
Urbanization- The processes in which people from rural area move
into urban area, where their traditional society is transformed.
Rate of urbanization- The increase percentage of people living in a town
is called rate of urbanization
Conurbation – The large areas where town have grown and joined
together often around the city is known as conurbation
Umland- Umland is the area in which the region and the city
are culturally, economically and politically interrelated. Infect, it is a
portion of land around an urban centre, which is linked with town
Occupancy- The process of coming together of people to live in an
area or locality is called occupancy
Urban agglomeration-the town and its adjoining urban outgrowth are known
as urban agglomeration
Classification of urban centres
Urban centres can be classified based on the size of
population which are as follows:
a.
Town-
a settlement can be classified as town if settlement has population more than
5000/400 per square Km
b.
City-
population more than 100,000
c.
Metropolitan
city-population more than 1000,000
d.
Mega
city- population more than 5000,000
Major Urban Centres of Bhutan.
Most of the major urban
centres are located in the Dzongkhag headquarters.
Following are the major urban centres:
1. Thimphu. 2. Phuntsholing.
3. Paro. 4. Samdrup Jongkhar
5. Mongar 6. Wangdi phodrang
7. Trash gang 8. Jakar
9. Samtse 10. Sarpang
11. Punakha 12. Trongsa
13. Zhemgang
14. Pemagatshel
15. Other Dzongkhag headquarters.
Population wise, the largest urban centre is Thimphu,
followed by Phuntsholing, Geylegphug and Samdrup Jongkhar.
Silent features of Bhutanese towns:
1.
Most
towns in Bhutan are over grown village and have rural areas that surround them
2.
Several
towns have distinct historical marks, for example presences of dzong
3.
Social
segregation of population on the basic of income and economic status can be
seen in town
Classification of town
Statutory town- All place with Municipality Corporation, cantonment
board declared by state law are considered as statutory town
Census town- Any settlement can be census town that fulfils the
following criteria’s
a.
Minimum
population of 5000
b.
At
least 75% of male working population should be engaged in non-agriculture
c.
Density
of population should be 400person per square km
Factors influencing location and growth of urban centres in Bhutan
Following are the most important factors influencing
the growth of urban centres in Bhutan:
1. Modes of transportation.
2. Availability of agricultural resources.
3. Availability of mineral resources.
4. Availability of educational facilities.
5. Industrialization.
1.
Modes of transportation.
The modes of transport play important role in the
growth of urban centres even in Bhutan since the roadways facilitated trade and
commerce, resulting in economic growth. Transport is essential for bringing
goods, raw materials, machineries and even man power for urban development.
E.g. The growth of Thimphu as a major urban town was
started only after the construction of national highway between Thimphu and Phuntsholing.
Other urban centres in Bhutan also started mainly after the development of
transport system.
2. Availability
of agricultural resources.
Agriculture resource is another factor which has
resulted in giving rise to urban centres in Bhutan.
E.g. Paro has grown as a town in the last few years
mainly because of the suitable climatic conditions and fertile wide plains,
which have boosted and attracted people to live there.
3.
Availability of mineral resources.
Availability of mineral resources also play vital role
in the growth of towns in Bhutan. Wherever mineral resources are plentiful,
people tend to flock and settle there in large group.
E.g. Gomtu and Pemagatshel have grown owing to
findings of minerals such as limestone and gypsum there.
4.
Availability of educational facilities.
Educational facilities existing in a place also play a
important role in the growth of towns in Bhutan. This is because the
educational institutions like colleges, training institutes or schools also
provides job facilities to a large number of people besides providing
education.
The some towns
of Bhutan which were developed due to the existing educational facilities were
Kanglung, Lobesa and even Gedu.
5.
Industrialization.
Industrialization is very closely related to
urbanization and one cannot survive without the other.
Places which have more industries usually develop much
faster than the others. This is because
different industries provides different goods which are essential for
urban development besides providing jobs along with transport and communication
facilities to a large number of people.
Growth of some towns in Bhutan such as Gomtu, Pasakha
and even Samtse are due to the growth of industries there.
Urban classification based on size
CONCENTRIC ZONE THEORY
Urban
classification based on size
(GROWTH
OF TOWN)
Concentric-Ring
Theory, hypothetical pattern of land use within an urban area, in which
different activities occur at different distances from the urban center. The
result is a sequence of rings. The theory was first suggested by American
sociologist E. W. Burgess in 1925. He said that towns expand outward evenly
from an original core in a series of concentric circles so that each zone grows
by gradual colonization into the next outer ring.
In addition, the cost
of land may decrease with increased distance from the city center as demand for
it falls. This means that commercial agents that can afford high land values
will be concentrated in the city center
CENTRAL
BUSINESS DISTRICT (CBD)
CBD is the heart of the
city, which can be described as commercial core. It has different types of
shops, office buildings, banks, hotels, theatres, clubs etc. The area remains
full of multi-story buildings where the daytime population is high while at
night the area is almost deserted. The CBD draws its population from all parts
of the city since it is highly accessible from all corners of the city. The
price of the land in CBD area is the most expensive when compared with any
other parts of the zones of the city. Two CBD of Thimphu are as follows
1. E.
g. Clock Tower area of Thimphu.
2. Administrative
building in and around Tashi Choedzong
ZONE OF (OR IN)
TRANSITION
The factory zone
surrounds the CBD and it supports business and light manufacturing industries. This
zone is surrounded by slums where poor people of economically weaker sections
live. The existing slum housing will be slowly displaced by CBD expansion.
Thus, it is known as zone of (or in) transition. In most of the cities,
the factory zone and zone of Transition are found together. The term is broadly
synonymous with what is nowadays more commonly referred to as the ‘inner city’.
E.g. Kala bazaar Area
of Thimphu
ZONE
OF WORKING MEN’S HOMES
This zone is mostly
occupied by industrial workers who have migrated out from the zone in
transition but want to settle down near to their working place i.e. factories
and industries.
Density of population
is high and industrial plants are nearby. Streets are narrow and crowded.
Houses are older, originally designed for workers such as tenement bocks or
back to back housing.
E.g. R.I.C.B colony area of Thimphu
RESIDENTIAL
ZONE/ SUB-URBAN ZONE
In this zone of the
city or town middle class groups mainly occupy the area for single-family
settlement. The whole zone is full of residential buildings.
The population will be
high especially in the night but moderate during the day time. This zone
usually has better class housing often with gardens, broad tree-lined streets.
E.g. Chang jiji area of
Thimphu
COMMUTER’S
ZONE/OUTER SUBURBS
This zone is the outer
most part of town, which can be termed as rural-urban fringe. It has the
residences of upper or very high class people separated from the city by green
belt. It is called the commuter zone because of the people who go to the city
to work. They are often found detached
from the main city in the beginning but later linked by ribbon development.
They are mostly surrounded by agricultural land.
E.g. upper Motithang
area of Thimphu
CONURBATION
Conurbation means a large urban area formed joining
together of several large and smaller
towns or urban areas mainly due to population explosion and physical expansion
of the existing urban areas which lead them to merge together. They are often
formed as a result of urban sprawl. Typically, they have the population in
excess of 1 million and some many times that size.
E.g. The Osaka-Kobe conurbation, which has population
over 16 million people
Problems resulting from the growth of large urban
centres
Following are the main problems of urban growth / urbanization.
1. Rise in unemployment.
2. Growth of slums and squatter settlement.
3. Urban Sprawl.
4. Traffic congestion.
5. Pollutions.
6. Other miscellaneous problems.
1/ Rise in unemployment.
Many people from the rural areas migrate to the urban
areas in hope of better opportunities. However, once they reach in the towns,
many of them will not find the jobs because there is a mis-match between the
skills they posses and the jobs available in the town.
As a result, an unemployment
problem arises, which further instigates other social problems.
SLUM AREA OF KALA BAZAAR
1. Growth of slums and squatter settlement
Slums and squatter settlements have grown and spread
wherever there is urbanization. It is because the low income people are not
able to afford the facilities provided by the areas. Thus, they settle on the
outskirts of the towns with minimum facilities.
Slum means area of a city which is characterised by poor
housing or dilapidated buildings, multi-occupancies and overcrowding with poor
sanitation.
Squatter
settlement means a
temporary sheds made up of tins, mats, torn clothes and bamboo etc, in which
there will be no proper sanitation, electricity, drinking water etc.
Various diseases as well as crimes usually originate
from slums and squatter settlements and then spread slowly towards core of
city.
A slum is defined as sub-standard structure of housing, which
are overcrowded, lack of ventilation, and zero sanitation facilities.
2. Urban Sprawl.
Urban sprawl is another problem of urban growth. Urban
sprawl means expansion of urban areas by encroaching on the nearby farmland and
beyond, due to continuous growth of existing towns / cities both in size and
population. Unchecked urban sprawl may lead to loosing of all the
nearby farmlands and increasing of other urban problems. It also damages the
environment ≠
3. Traffic congestion.
Another growing problem of urban areas is traffic
congestion. As per the RSTA record of December 2010, there are
53,382 vehicles registered in Bhutan, increased by 16.5% compared to 45819 in
2009. More than 45% of the vehicles are found in Thimphu and
Phuntsholing alone. Such
increased number of vehicles in urban areas leads to traffic jam and accident
especially during the peak hours which directly threatens both pedestrian and
drivers besides increasing air pollutions.
4. Pollutions.
Pollutions of air, water, land and even noise is
another problem of growing urban areas.
Due to increase in urban
population, the number of vehicles, factories or industries will also rise
constantly leading to more and more pollutions. This
will give rise to the outbreak of various kinds of diseases which ultimately
leads to more sickness and death among the urban dwellers.
5. Other miscellaneous problems.
Besides the above mentioned problems, there are also
many other problems in growing urban areas such as social problems, waste
disposal, inadequate sewerage, water and housing problems and over-usage of the
existing facilities. All these problems will make the life more difficult
in urban towns and cities. All such problems will rise with rise in urban population,
until and unless the concerned municipality corporation takes care it.
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