Settlement Pattern
ORIGINS OF SETTLEMENTS
Religious - graves, churches, temples
Cultural - schools, libraries
Political/Military - leaders house,
walls
Economic - stores, food
Population and Density (Basic
Element)
The population is not
distributed evenly across
village, town, city, region, and
Country
Settlement patterns are also
vary enormously form large
Population
Distribution
Pop. Distribution the pattern of
where people live in a region or
country.
Two types
Dispersed people are spread out,
example: in an agricultural area
Concentrated people are close
together, example: in a city
Linear concentrated patterns exist
when populations are concentrated
in a line, example: along a major
Population Density vs. Distribution
Pop. Density measures how many
people per square kilometer of land.
Pop. Distribution looks at the
patterns.
Same population density but different
distributions
Types of Settlement Patterns
Rural settlement outside of cities
and towns, low pop. density and
dispersed distribution
Urban settlement in cities and
towns, high pop. density and
concentrated distribution
Rural Settlement
The patterns are effected by three factors
The resources found in the area
The transportation methods that were
available at the time of original
settlement
The role that the government played
Urban Settlement
Patterns
After the Agricultural Revolution there was a
surplus of food therefore not everyone needed
to farm
Instead specialized jobs became more
prevalent, example milling grain
It made sense for job specialist to live in one
area, hence a city formed
Goods and services in the cities are traded
for agricultural products from the surrounding
areas
The area that a city trades with is called its hinterland
DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN
SETTLEMENTS
Athens - first city over 100,000
by the 5th century BC over 300,000
Rome - center of an empire 200 BC-400 AD
all roads lead to Rome
Paris, London, Vienna - all old Roman
sites
Mid-Evil Europe - after the fall of Rome
urbanization decreased
patterns of castles, walls & narrow streets
compact space surrounded by walls
Renaissance-Baroque Cities
Renaissance 15-16th centuries
Baroque 16-18th centuries
development of wide avenues &
monuments
Paris & London rebuilt, Washington D.C.
Industrial City
19th century to present
city designed around industry and
transportation
most modern cities
Distance Between Cities
Determined by two factors
Population density low density
= towns that are far apart
Transportation if main mode of
transport was walking then towns
would need to be closer together.
Definition of the City
Physical Definition of the City - Non-
rural settlement that is, built up,
economically functional, has a local
government, and a legal boundary.
Environmental Definition of the City
urban dust domes
(defined by pollution)
heat island
(defined by increased temperatures)
Growth of the City
Skyscrapers - using vertical space
intensive use of land
shops at street level
professional
offices at higher
levels
Outward Expansion
advent of the automobile &
transportation routes
decline of public transport
URBAN PATTERNS
City Center
best known area, most visually
distinctive
San Francisco, London
original site of settlement
Central Business District
retail & office space
assessable
often a focal point with
skyscrapers
Zones in Transition
mixed use with light industry
transition from business to residential
older neighborhoods (slums)
home to ethnic groups not culturally
integrated
ghettos vs. ethnic neighborhood
Suburbs
residential
nodes of retail services
Three Models of Urban
Structure
Created to help explain where
different types of people tend to
live in an urban area
All three were created using
Chicago as the model
1. Concentric Zone Model
2. Sector Model
3. Multiple Nuclei Model
Concentric Zone Model
Created 1923 Sociologist E. W.
Burgess
Def.- a model of the internal
structure of cities in which social
groups are spatially arranged in a
series of rings
continued
5 zones
1. CBD central business district
Innermost ring- concentration
of non-residential activities
2. Zone in Transition
Industry and poorer-quality
housing
Often subdivided apartment
houses
Often filled by immigrants
continued
3. Zone of Working Class Homes
Modest older houses occupied
by stable families
4. Zone of Middle Class Homes
Newer and more spacious
homes
5. Commuters Zone
Area of people who dont live in
city where they work
Concentric Zone Model- Burgess
Sector Model
Created in 1939 by economist Homer
Hoyt
Def. a model of internal structure of
cities in which social groups are
arranged around a series of sectors,
or wedges, radiating out from the CBD
Certain areas of cities are more
attractive for various activities
Due to chance or environmental
factors originally
continued
As city grows, activities spread outward in
wedges/sectors from the center
Once a high rent housing district is
established, the more expensive new
housing grows on the outer edge of that
sector
Best housing found in a corridor
extending from downtown to outer edge
of city
Industrial and retail activities develop in
other sectors - usually along good
transportation lines
Sector Model - Hoyt
Multiple Nuclei Model
Created in 1945 by geographers C. D.
Harris and E. L. Ullman
Def.- a model of internal structure of
cities in which social groups are
arranged around a collection of
nodes of activities
Cities are complex and include
more than one center around which
activities revolve
Ex. Ports, neighborhood business
centers, universities, airports,
continued
Some activities are attracted to
particular nodes, whereas others try
to avoid them
Bookstores and pizza joints tend to
cluster around Universities
Hotels and warehouses around
airports
High-class housing rarely in same
neighborhood as manufacturing
Multiple Nuclei Model
Harris and Ullman
