Chapter 2
Human settlements
Meaning of Human Settlement
- A group of houses of any type and size in which humans live is called a human settlement
- Humans construct houses and other buildings for the purpose of living and own some area for their economic sustenance.
- Settlements vary in size and type. Their size ranges from a parish to a metropolis.
Village
- Small settlements which specialise in agriculture or other primary activities are called villages.
City
- Larger settlements are specialized in secondary and tertiary activities and are called urban settlements.
Fundamental differences between rural and urban settlements
1. Rural settlements
- In rural settlements, economic needs are fulfilled through primary activities
- People living in rural settlements mainly depend on agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, hunting and collection
- Rural people are less mobile and hence their social ties are closer.
- Good education, high health facilities, good and big markets are not available in rural settlements
- People living in rural areas have fewer facilities available
2. Urban settlements
- In urban settlements, economic needs are fulfilled through secondary or tertiary activities
- People living in urban settlements mainly depend on manufacturing, trade and service sectors
- In urban areas the way of life is complex and intense and social relations are formal.
- Good education, high health facilities, good and big markets are available in urban areas.
- Facilities are available to people here
Types of rural settlements
1. Clustered, packed or concentrated
- A clustered rural settlement is a closely built area of houses.
- In this type of village the common living area is clearly defined and separated from the surrounding fields, barns and pastures.
- The clustered built-up areas and its central streets present some familiar patterns or geometric shapes such as rectangular, radial, linear etc.
- Such settlements are usually found in fertile alluvial plains and north-eastern states.
2. Semi clustered / fragmented
- Semi-clustered or fragmented settlements are the result of the tendency of dispersed settlements to get clustered in a limited area.
- Often such a format may also arise as a result of the disintegration of a large compact village.
- In such a situation, one or more sections of the rural society voluntarily or forcibly start living at a little distance from the main cluster or village.
- In such situations, usually the landlords and other dominant communities dominate the central part of the main village while people from the lower strata of the society and those engaged in menial occupations settle in the outskirts of the village.
- Such settlements are widely found in the plains of Gujarat and some parts of Rajasthan
3. Parish settlements
- Sometimes a settlement is divided into several units physically separate from each other but they all have the same name.
- These units are locally called Panna, Pada, Pali, Nagla, Dhani etc. in different parts of the country.
- Such villages are found in abundance in the middle and lower Ganga plains, Chhattisgarh and the lower valleys of the Himalayas.
4. Dispersed settlements
- In India, the dispersed or isolated settlement pattern is seen in the form of solitary huts or clusters of a few huts in remote forests or in the form of fields or pastures on the slopes of small hills.
- This type of settlement is found in many parts of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala
Urban settlements
- Urban settlements - Unlike rural settlements, urban settlements are generally larger in size.
- These settlements are engaged in a variety of non-agricultural, economic and administrative functions.
- A city is functionally linked to its surrounding areas.
- Hence the exchange of goods and services takes place sometimes directly and sometimes through a chain of market cities and towns.
- In this way, cities are connected to villages both directly and indirectly and they are also connected to each other.
- In the 1991 Indian Census, urban settlement has been defined as follows.
- 'All places where there is a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or a notified town area committee and at least 5000 persons are residing,
- If 75% of male workers are engaged in non-agricultural activities and the population density is 400 persons per square kilometer, such a place or area will be called an urban settlement.
Growth of cities in India
- Cities in India have emerged since prehistoric times.
- Even during the era of the Indus Valley Civilization, cities like Harappa and Mohenjodaro existed.
- On the basis of their development in different eras, Indian cities can be classified as follows-
- Ancient city, medieval city, and modern city
1. Ancient City
- There are many cities in India that have a historical background of more than 2000 years.
- Most of these have developed as religious or cultural centres.
- Varanasi is the most important city among these. Prayag (Allahabad), Pataliputra (Patna), Madurai are some other examples of ancient cities in the country
2. Medieval Town
- The history of approximately 100 present-day cities is linked to the medieval period.
- Most of these developed as the headquarters of princely states and kingdoms.
- These are fort cities built on the ruins of ancient cities.
- Among such cities, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra and Nagpur are important.
3.Medieval town
- The history of approximately 100 present-day cities is linked to the medieval period.
- Most of these developed as the headquarters of princely states and kingdoms.
- These are fort cities built on the ruins of ancient cities.
- Among such cities, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra and Nagpur are important.
4. Modern Town
- The British and other Europeans developed many cities in India. While establishing their foothold in the coastal areas, they first developed trading ports like Surat, Daman, Goa, Pondicherry etc.
- The British later consolidated their hold on the three main nodes of Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras) and Kolkata (Calcutta) and built them up in the English style.
- Rapidly expanding their influence, either directly or through control over princely states, they established hill towns as administrative centres, summer retreats, and combined civil, administrative and military spheres in them.
- After 1850, cities based on modern industries also came into existence. Jamshedpur is an example of this.
- After independence, many towns developed as administrative centres like Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Dispur etc. and industrial centres like Durgapur, Bhil, Sindri, Barauni.
- Some old cities developed as satellite cities around metropolitan cities like Ghaziabad, Rohtak and Gurugram around Delhi etc.
- With increasing investment in rural areas, a large number of medium and small towns have developed across the country.
Urbanisation in India
- The level of urbanisation is measured as the percentage of urban population to the total population.
- In the year 2011, the level of urbanization in India was 31.10 percent which is much lower than developed countries.
1. Administration City
- Cities with higher order administrative headquarters are called administrative towns, such as Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bhopal, Shillong, Guwahati, Imphal, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Chennai etc.
2. Industrial town
- The main driving force behind the development of these cities like Mumbai, Salem, Coimbatore, Modinagar, Jamshedpur, Hooghly, Bhilai etc. has been the development of industries.
3. Commercial Town
- Cities and towns specialising in trade and commerce are placed in this category. Kolkata, Saharanpur, Satna etc. are some examples.
4. Mining Town
- These towns have developed in mineral rich areas like Raniganj, Jharia, Digboi, Ankleshwar, Singrauli etc.
5. Garrison town
- These towns have emerged as garrison towns, like Ambala, Jalandhar, Mhow, Babina, Udhampur etc.
6. Religious and cultural city
- Varanasi, Mathura, Amritsar, Madurai, Puri, Ajmer, Pushkar, Tirupati, Kurukshetra, Haridwar, Ujjain became famous due to their religious and cultural importance.
7. Educational Town
- Some of the main campus towns developed as educational centres such as Roorkee, Varanasi, Aligarh, Pilani, Allahabad.
8. Tourist Town
- Nainital, Mussoorie, Shimla, Pachmarhi, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer (Ooty), Mount Abu are some of the tourist destinations.
Smart Cities Mission
- The aim of the Smart Cities Mission is to promote cities
- Which provide infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and better life to its citizens.
- A feature of smart cities is the implementation of smart solutions for infrastructure and services.
- This will make areas less prone to natural disasters while also using less resources and providing affordable amenities.
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