Human Settlements Test - 2

The correct answer is  Economic activity

Key PointsUrban settlement

• Urban settlements indulge in non-agricultural activities e.g. industries and manufacturing, trade and commerce, transport and communication, defence and administration.
• The definition of urban areas varies from one country to another. Some of the common bases of classification are the size of the population, occupational structure and administrative setup. 
  • Population Size: The lower limit of the population size for a settlement to be designated as urban is 1,500 in Colombia, 2,000 in Argentina and Portugal, 2,500 in U.S.A. and Thailand, 5,000 in India and 30,000 in Japan. Besides the size of the population, the density of 400 persons per sq km and the share of non-agricultural workers are taken into consideration in India.
  • Occupational Structure: In some countries, such as India, the major economic activities in addition to the size of the population in designating a settlement as urban are also taken as a criterion
  • Administration: The administrative setup is a criterion for classifying a settlement as urban in some countries. For example, in India, a settlement of any size is classified as urban, if it has a municipality, Cantonment Board or Notified Area Council.

On the basis of forms or shapes of the settlements

These may be a number of geometrical forms and shapes such as Linear, rectangular, circular star like, T-shaped village, double village, cross-shaped village etc. 

Linear pattern

• In such settlements houses are located along a road, railway line, river, canal edge or along a levee. 

Rectangular pattern

• Such patterns of rural settlements are found in plain areas or wide intermontane valleys. The roads are rectangular and cut each other at right angles.

Circular pattern

• Circular villages develop around lakes, tanks and sometimes the village is planned in such a way that the central part remains open and is used for keeping the animals to protect them from wild animals. 

Star like pattern

• Where several roads converge, star shaped settlements develop by the houses built along the roads. 

T-shaped, Y-shaped, Cross-shaped or cruciform settlements

• T-shaped settlements develop at tri-junctions of the roads while Y-shaped settlements emerge as the places where two roads converge on the third one and houses are built along these roads. 
• Cruciform settlements develop on the cross-roads and houses extend in all the four directions.

The correct answer is Option 1

Key PointsSettlement

• Settlement refers to an organized colony of humans with dwelling units  and roads they use for travelling. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Hunters, herders, adventurers set up camps for a limited period of time as temporary settlements. Few dwelling units forming a settlement is a hamlet. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• In geography, statistics, and archaeology, a settlement, locality, or populated place is a community in which people live.
• A settlement can range in size from a small number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities with surrounding urbanized areas.
• Settlements may include hamlets, villages, towns, and cities.
• Settlement refers to the cluster of houses over space which manifests the socioeconomic conditions and the environmental constraints. Thus, a settlement has both physical and social structures.
• It is not only about concrete houses but also about who resides there.
• The settlement is an expansion of the socio-historic, cultural, and religious perception of a man in a given geographic environment.
• From the nomadic herdsmen, the concept of the area grew, and with the growth of the family, the sedentary housing system grew and from it villages grew.
• The villages which had non-agricultural surplus developed into ‘Mandis’ and the transportation routes connected the Mandis and hence developed the urban settlements.

The correct answer is Functional Zone.

Key PointsFunctional Zone

• A functional zone is an area designated for only one kind of activity—for example, an industrial zone, residential zone, recreational zone, etc.
• The land is divided in two ways, by its physical characteristics, and by its function.
• Each zone type is subject to specific rules and regulations concerning the type of activities built.
• The assumption is that urban functions should be allocated to specific areas to improve efficiency and mitigate externalities associated with incompatible land uses.

Additional Information

• Economic zone means a zone with a separate economic area with an investment and business environment especially favorable for investors, which has defined geographical boundaries and which is established in accordance with regulations of the Government.
• An enterprise zone is a geographic area that has been granted special tax breaks, regulatory exemptions, or other public assistance in order to encourage private economic development and job creation. They are used most often to promote the revitalization of a city neighborhood.

The correct answer is Mesopotamia.

Key PointsMesopotamia

• The Indus Valley civilization was equally urban, with greater amenities than Mesopotamia, but it lacked well-documented evidence, and its script is still unknown.
• Sumerian, a Mesopotamian culture, is known as the earliest script authors.​

Additional InformationNile Valley

• The Nile provided the Ancient Egyptians with the most valuable resource: lush land. 
• The majority of Egypt is desert, although the land around the Nile River is rich and suitable for crop cultivation. 
• They also sold a lot of their wheat in the Middle East, which helped the Egyptians become wealthy.

Huang He Valley

• Huang He Valley (or Yellow River Valley in English) is known as the "Mother River" since it was the origin of ancient Chinese civilization. 
• The valley, which surrounds northern China's main river, has been at the heart of Chinese history for thousands of years.

Indus Valley

• One of the world's first great civilisations flourished in the Indus Valley. 
• It all started about 5,000 years ago in what is now Pakistan and Northern India. In the Indus Valley, there were around 1,400 towns and cities. 
• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were the most important.

The correct answer is Both A and B.

Key PointsLinear settlements

• Linear settlements are those settlements where the buildings are constructed in lines, often next to a geographical feature like a lake, a river or around a road. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Linear settlement is also known as Chain village or ribbon development. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Linear settlements usually have a long and narrow shape. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
• Where settlement is built along a route, the route predated the settlement, and then the settlement grew along the transport route.
• Example: Northern Malabar, fisherman villages along roads in Ganga-Yamuna doab.

The correct answer is Statutory town.

Key PointsStatutory town

• The first category of urban units are known as Statutory town.
• These town are notified under law by respective State/UT government and have local bodies like municipal corporation, municipality, etc, irrespective of demographic characteristics.
• For example- Vadodara (Municipal corporation), Shimla (Municipal corporation)

Additional Information

• The second category of towns is known as Census Town. These were identified on the basis of census 2001 data.Cities are urban areas with more than 100,000 population. Urban areas below 100,000 are called towns in India.

The correct answer is Forests and hills in the northeast.

Key Points

• Dispersed or scattered settlements
  • Dispersed Settlements Dispersed or isolated settlement pattern in India appears in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of few huts in remote jungles, or on small hills with farms or pasture on the slopes.
  • Extreme dispersion of settlement is often caused by the extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and land resource base of habitable areas.
  • Many areas of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala have this type of settlement.
  • Villages having dispersed or scattered settlements have farmstead scattered over a much wider area.
  • It reflects poor hydrology and land capability.
  • The number of houses per unit area in these types of settlements is very low and there is a wide gap between the houses.
  • Such Rural Settlements are the characteristics of deserts/semi-arid land with poor land capability or regions affected by natural hazards.
  • Such villages are common in:
    • Areas of extreme climate
    • Hilly tracts, Hence, Option 4 is correct.
    • Deserts
    • Thick forests
    • Grasslands
    • Areas of extensive agriculture.
    • Poor agriculture land
  • Areas where farmers need to live on agricultural land rather than distant village settlement
  • The dispersed Rural Settlements are usually of recent age since people are moving away from dense settlements in the search of new spaces.
  • With the development of technology, people have found a way to live in deserts also.
  • Semi-desert regions of Rajasthan, forest lands of North East India, Shiwaliks, Jammu, and Kashmir, and parts of Peninsular India also have dispersed types of settlements.
  • The Western Ghats in the rain shadow area, Leh-Ladhak, Kutchh, and Western Rajasthan has dispersed settlement types

Dispersed Settlements 

• Dispersed or isolated settlement patterns in India appear in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of few huts in remote jungles, or on small hills with farms or pasture on the slopes. 
• Extreme dispersion of settlement is often caused by the extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and land resource base of habitable areas. 
• Many areas of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala have this type of settlement.

Source – NCERT

In geography, a drypoint is an area of the firm or flood-free ground in an area of wetland, marsh, or flood plains. The term typically applies to settlements, and drypoint settlements were common in history.

• In the United Kingdom extreme examples of drypoint settlements include Glastonbury, situated on a low hill in the marshy, and once frequently flooded,
• Somerset Levels, and Wareham in Dorset surrounded by flood plains to the west and Poole Harbour to the east.

A drypoint has the advantages of flood protection, fertile soil, and fairly flat land which is ideal for agriculture and building. Hence, one can easily conclude that "Drypoint" settlements are common in the Deltas area.

Important Points

Wet point settlements

• River valleys, lakes, and ponds are examples of wet points.
• People prefer such a location to get the benefit of available water resources.
• In Asia such settlements are common.

Drypoint settlements

• Upland regions in low-lying areas are an example of drypoint settlement.
• People prefer such a location to save themselves from floods, insects, and pests.