Class 12 Geography Notes Chapter 10 (Human settlements) – Fundamentals of Indian Geography Book

Detailed Notes with MCQs of Chapter 10, 'Human Settlements', from your NCERT textbook 'Fundamentals of Human Geography'. This is a crucial chapter, often tested in competitive exams. Pay close attention to the classifications and characteristics.

(Please note: Chapter 10 in 'Fundamentals of Human Geography' is 'Human Settlements'. Chapter 10 in the 'India: People and Economy' book is 'Transport and Communication'. We are covering 'Human Settlements' as requested.)

Chapter 10: Human Settlements - Detailed Notes

1. Introduction

• Definition: A human settlement is defined as a place inhabited more or less permanently. It includes the cluster of dwellings of any type or size where human beings live. This involves grouping of houses, streets, paths, and other infrastructure.
• Purpose: Settlements provide shelter, security, social interaction, and economic opportunities.
• Scope: Ranges from a small hamlet to a large metropolitan city.
• Settlement Geography: Studies the spatial distribution, patterns, functions, and evolution of human settlements.

2. Classification of Settlements: Rural and Urban Dichotomy
This classification is generally based on:

• Size: Urban settlements are generally larger.
• Occupation: Rural settlements are dominated by primary activities (agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining); Urban settlements by secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services) activities.
• Functions: Rural settlements primarily serve their own population; Urban settlements often serve wider areas (nodal points).
• Population Density: Higher in urban areas.
• Social Structure: Rural areas often have closer community ties; Urban areas tend to have more complex and formal social relationships.
• Note: The criteria for classifying settlements as rural or urban vary significantly from country to country.

3. Rural Settlements

• Closely tied to land and primary activities.

• Factors Influencing Location of Rural Settlements:

  • Water Supply: Essential for drinking, cooking, washing, irrigation, livestock. Settlements often located near rivers, lakes, springs, or on 'wet points'. Avoiding flood-prone areas is also key.
  • Land: Fertile land suitable for agriculture is a primary draw. Early settlers often chose plains or low-lying river valleys.
  • Upland/Dry Point: Locations on higher ground, terraces, or levees not prone to flooding were preferred, especially in low-lying river basins. These are 'dry point' settlements.
  • Building Materials: Availability of wood, stone, mud, etc., influenced settlement location and house types in early times.
  • Defence: Historically, settlements were often located on defensive hills, islands, or within fortified walls for protection against invaders or wildlife.
  • Planned Settlements: Constructed by governments or landowners, often featuring regular geometric patterns (e.g., resettlement schemes, canal colonies like Indira Gandhi Canal command area).

• Types/Patterns of Rural Settlements (Based on Form/Shape):

  • Clustered/Agglomerated/Nucleated: Houses are grouped closely together, often around a central feature like a religious site, market, or water body. Found in fertile alluvial plains and northeastern states of India. Reasons: fertile land, defence needs, water scarcity forcing concentration. Streets show recognizable patterns.
  • Semi-clustered/Fragmented: Develops due to segmentation of a large clustered village, or when a community settles slightly away from the main village. Dominant group may occupy the centre, with lower strata on the outskirts. Common in plains and plateaus.
  • Hamleted: Settlement fragmented into several distinct units physically separated from each other, bearing a common name (e.g., pannas, paras, pallis, naglas, dhānis in India). Often motivated by social or ethnic factors. Found in middle and lower Ganga plain, Chhattisgarh, lower valleys of Himalayas.
  • Dispersed/Isolated: Dwellings are scattered over a wide area, often isolated farms or hamlets. Common in remote jungles, hills with dissected terrain, areas with poor land resources, or extensive farming regions. Found in foothills of Himalayas, hills of NE India, Western Ghats, arid/semi-arid regions of Rajasthan.

• Rural Settlement Patterns (Based on Geometric Shape/Arrangement):

  • Linear: Houses arranged along a road, railway line, river, canal edge, or valley floor.
  • Rectangular: Found in plain areas or wide inter-montane valleys; streets are rectangular and intersect at right angles.
  • Circular: Houses built around a central feature like a pond, lake, temple, or fort, often for defensive or social reasons.
  • Star-like: Develops where several roads/paths converge; houses spread out along the roads in all directions from the centre.
  • T-shaped, Y-shaped, Cross-shaped: Develop at tri-junctions (T, Y) or cross-roads (Cross) of roads/paths. Houses extend along these routes.
  • Double Village: Settlements extending on both sides of a river where there's a bridge or ferry.

• Problems of Rural Settlements (Especially in Developing Countries):

  • Inadequate Water Supply: Lack of safe drinking water, reliance on distant or unsafe sources.
  • Poor Sanitation & Drainage: Absence of proper toilets and waste disposal systems leads to health issues. Waterlogging and unpaved streets become muddy during rains.
  • Lack of Infrastructure: Unmetalled roads limit connectivity, especially during rainy seasons. Poor communication networks.
  • Inadequate Facilities: Limited access to quality health and educational facilities. Lack of electricity in many areas.
  • Housing Issues: Poor housing conditions, congestion, lack of ventilation.
  • Garbage Disposal: Lack of organised waste management.

4. Urban Settlements

• Centres of non-agricultural activities (industry, trade, administration, services).

• Nodes of economic growth, providing services to surrounding rural areas.

• Evolution of Towns:

  • Ancient Towns: Developed around religion, culture, administration (e.g., Varanasi, Pataliputra, Rome, Athens).
  • Medieval Towns: Often developed as walled cities, feudal capitals, market centres (e.g., Delhi, London, Vienna).
  • Modern Towns: Flourished post-Industrial Revolution, based on industry, trade, transport, technology (e.g., Manchester, Jamshedpur, numerous planned cities).

• Classification of Urban Settlements:

  • Population Size: Varies greatly by country (e.g., Colombia >1,500; USA >2,500; India >5,000 with density & occupation criteria; Japan >30,000). Useful for comparison but not universally applicable.
  • Occupational Structure: Dominance of non-primary activities (secondary, tertiary, quaternary). In India, >75% of male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits is a criterion.
  • Administration: Designated as urban by administrative setup (e.g., Municipality, Corporation, Cantonment Board, Notified Town Area Committee in India).
  • Location: Strategic sites influence function (e.g., coastal towns for ports, hill stations for tourism/defence, river crossings for trade).
  • Functions: The most common and logical classification. Towns rarely have a single function but are often dominated by one.
    • Administrative Towns: National/State capitals (e.g., New Delhi, Canberra, Washington D.C., Addis Ababa).
    • Industrial Towns: Dominated by manufacturing (e.g., Jamshedpur, Pittsburgh, Shanghai).
    • Transport Towns: Major ports, railway junctions, hubs (e.g., Singapore, Rotterdam, Mughalsarai).
    • Commercial Towns: Centres of trade and commerce, markets (e.g., Frankfurt, Winnipeg, Agra).
    • Mining Towns: Developed due to mineral resources (e.g., Dhanbad, Broken Hill, Johannesburg).
    • Garrison/Cantonment Towns: Defence centres (e.g., Mhow, Ambala).
    • Educational Towns: Centres of learning, universities (e.g., Roorkee, Oxford, Cambridge).
    • Religious/Cultural Towns: Places of pilgrimage or cultural significance (e.g., Varanasi, Jerusalem, Mecca).
    • Tourist Towns: Attract visitors for recreation/leisure (e.g., Shimla, Miami, Venice).

• Urbanisation: The process of increase in the proportion of population living in urban areas. Driven by migration from rural areas and natural increase within urban areas.

• Classification based on Form/Shape: Urban settlements can also show patterns like linear, square, star, or crescentic, depending on topography and development history.

• Types of Urban Settlements (Hierarchy):

  • Town: Smaller urban centre, distinct from a village based on functions.
  • City: Larger than a town, greater number of economic functions, transport terminals, major financial institutions, administrative offices. Generally population > 100,000.
  • Million City: Cities with a population of over one million. Rapid increase globally.
  • Conurbation: Large urban region formed by the merging of several originally separate towns or cities (Term coined by Patrick Geddes, 1915). Examples: Greater London, Manchester, Tokyo-Yokohama, urban sprawl in NCR (Delhi).
  • Megalopolis: Greek word meaning "great city". Signifies a 'super-metropolitan' region extending as a continuous urban area, often merging conurbations (Term popularised by Jean Gottmann, 1957). Example: The urban landscape from Boston to Washington D.C. (Bos-Wash Megalopolis).

• Problems of Urban Settlements (Especially in Developing Countries):

  • Economic Problems: High cost of living, lack of employment opportunities for unskilled/semi-skilled migrants, leading to poverty and underemployment.
  • Socio-cultural Problems: Overcrowding leads to stress on infrastructure and social services. Lack of housing, growth of slums/squatter settlements. Inadequate social facilities (health, education). Social segregation, crime, anonymity leading to social tension. Sex ratio imbalance due to male migration.
  • Environmental Problems:
    • Water: Inadequate and unsafe water supply, depletion of groundwater.
    • Waste Disposal: Huge quantities of untreated sewage and industrial effluents pollute water bodies. Lack of proper solid waste management leads to heaps of garbage, attracting pests and diseases.
    • Pollution: Air pollution from industries and vehicles. Noise pollution. Water pollution. Land pollution. Urban heat island effect.
    • Congestion: Overcrowded transport networks, traffic jams, lack of parking space.
    • Housing: Acute shortage of housing, leading to high rents and growth of slums.

• Urban Strategy: Planning is essential to manage urban growth. WHO suggests interventions for a 'Healthy City' focusing on clean environment, basic needs met, community involvement, and accessible health services. Sustainable development concepts are crucial.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Which of the following factors is LEAST likely to be a primary consideration for the location of early rural settlements?
   a) Availability of water
   b) Proximity to industrial zones
   c) Fertility of land
   d) Defensive site features

2. A settlement pattern where houses are built along a river, road, or railway line is known as:
   a) Circular pattern
   b) Rectangular pattern
   c) Linear pattern
   d) Star-like pattern

3. The term 'Conurbation' was coined by:
   a) Jean Gottmann
   b) Patrick Geddes
   c) E.W. Burgess
   d) Walter Christaller

4. Which of the following is NOT a typical characteristic used to differentiate between rural and urban settlements?
   a) Population size
   b) Dominant occupation
   c) Climatic conditions
   d) Administrative status

5. Settlements fragmented into several distinct units, physically separated but bearing a common name (like 'panna' or 'dhani'), are classified as:
   a) Clustered settlements
   b) Dispersed settlements
   c) Hamleted settlements
   d) Semi-clustered settlements

6. Canberra, New Delhi, and Washington D.C. are primarily classified as which type of town based on function?
   a) Industrial Towns
   b) Transport Towns
   c) Administrative Towns
   d) Commercial Towns

7. The term 'Megalopolis' refers to:
   a) A city with a population of exactly one million
   b) A large area formed by the merging of several towns/cities (conurbation)
   c) A 'super-metropolitan' region extending as a continuous urban area, often merging conurbations
   d) The central business district of a large city

8. Which of the following is a major environmental problem typically associated with urban settlements in developing countries?
   a) Close community ties
   b) Dominance of primary activities
   c) Disposal of untreated sewage and solid waste
   d) Availability of abundant fertile land

9. 'Dry point' settlements are typically located:
   a) In desert oases
   b) Along coastlines
   c) On higher ground to avoid flooding
   d) Near abundant sources of building material

10. In India, besides population size and density, what is a key criterion for classifying a settlement as urban?
    a) Presence of a railway station
    b) More than 75% of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits
    c) Existence of multi-storey buildings
    d) Location within 10 km of a state capital

Answer Key for MCQs:

1. b) Proximity to industrial zones
2. c) Linear pattern
3. b) Patrick Geddes
4. c) Climatic conditions
5. c) Hamleted settlements
6. c) Administrative Towns
7. c) A 'super-metropolitan' region extending as a continuous urban area, often merging conurbations
8. c) Disposal of untreated sewage and solid waste
9. c) On higher ground to avoid flooding
10. b) More than 75% of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits

Study these notes thoroughly, focusing on the definitions, classifications, factors, and problems discussed. Understanding the examples also helps solidify the concepts. Good luck with your preparation!