Characteristics of Urban Places (SL IB Geography)

What is a settlement?

• A settlement is a place where people live and carry out a range of activities, including trade and manufacturing
• Settlements have different types based on:
  • Shape or form
  • Population size
  • Function 
  • Features
  • Hierarchy 
• Settlements range from isolated buildings in rural areas to urban megacities of over 10 million people
• The physical geography of an area impacts on the settlement pattern

What are urban settlements?

• The definition of an urban area varies:
  • In the UK, the government defines settlements with a population of over 10 000 people
  • In many places, urban settlements are those with more than 5 000 residents 

Urban settlement characteristics

• Urban areas tend to:
  • Have a high density of human structures, such as houses, commercial buildings, roads, bridges, and railways
  • Be large and have a high population density
  • Depend on water supply, relief, and soil fertility for their location and development
  • Have diverse social and cultural activities, such as entertainment, education, and healthcare
  • Be densely populated areas that have a high degree of economic, social and cultural diversity
  • Be located near major transportation routes, such as roads, railways, ports and airports, to ensure trade and mobility
• Urban areas:
  • Have a complex and hierarchical structure of land use, with different zones for residential, commercial, industrial, recreational and administrative functions
  • Are influenced by various factors, such as:
    • Physical geography
    • Climate
    • History
    • Politics
    • Culture
    • Globalisation

What is meant by settlement site and situation?

• The site is the physical land that the settlement is built on
  • Natural conditions, historical development, planning regulations, market forces, and social preferences are just a few of the factors that have an impact on the site
• The situation can be thought of as the position of the settlement in relation to other features, e.g., a forest, a lake, etc. 

What are settlement functions?

• The functions of settlements change over time 
• The functions are the main activities which occur in a settlement
• Many settlements first start with only one function, then develop others as the settlement grows or is forced to change, for instance:
  • Liverpool, in the UK, began as a major port of trade, but this function went into decline during the 1970s with the advent of containerisation, and the Mersey was too shallow to allow large ships into dock
  • Tourism has become the major function of Liverpool's economy, focusing on The Beatles and the Merseybeat era
  • In 2008, Liverpool became the European Capital of Culture, beating other British cities such as Newcastle and Birmingham
  • The city's waterfront was designated a World Heritage Site in 2004.
    • This status was revoked in 2021 because its redevelopment didn't maintain the site’s original authenticity.
    • It lost the features which made it a maritime feature

Examples of Functions in Urban Settlements

What is a settlement hierarchy?

• The importance or significance of a settlement is determined by its place in the settlement hierarchy
• A hierarchy is when settlements are ordered and classified based on three principles:
  • Population size 
  • Number of services provided
  • Number of settlements
• The higher up the hierarchy, the fewer settlements are found 
• However, there is an increase in the:
  • Population of the settlement
  • Number of services provided 
  • Type of services
• The hierarchy follows a path: 
  • Dispersed ⇒ Hamlets ⇒ Villages ⇒ Market towns ⇒ Large towns ⇒ Cities ⇒ Conurbations ⇒ Megacities
• The result is a pyramid-shaped model, where there are more cities than megacities and more villages than towns

Settlement hierarchy diagram

• All settlements offer certain functions and services
• A settlement's physical and population size will determine the number of services it offers
• The minimum number of people necessary before a particular good or service will be provided in the area is called the threshold population
• A small village or hamlet with a small population will only provide low-order services such as a post office, general store and maybe a pub
• Towns will provide low- and high-order services such as a church, medical centre, garages, schools and restaurants 
• Cities and conurbations will focus on high-order services such as leisure centres, schools, churches, chain stores and hospitals
• There are exceptions to this:
  • Some places may have more services than average, such as a small seaside resort 
  • Others may have fewer, such as a commuter or dormitory town

What are megacities?

•  Urban areas with more than 10 million inhabitants
  •  Examples: Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, etc.

World megacities

• In 2007, more people lived in an urban environment than a rural one
• By 2050, it is thought that more than two-thirds (7 billion) of the world population will live in urban areas
• This scaling up of the urban environment is the fastest in human history
• The largest growth of megacities is seen in Asia

Reasons for the growth of megacities

• The main reasons for the rapid growth of megacities are:
  • Economic growth due to an increase in industry
  • Natural increase
  • Rural-urban migration

What is urban growth?

• Urban growth is the increase in size or population of urban areas
• The growth is driven by various factors, including:
  • Economic development
  • Migration,
  • Industrialisation
  • Urban planning
• The urban growth process may be planned or spontaneous
  • Planned growth occurs when the growth of an urban settlement is carefully managed
  • Spontaneous growth occurs without planning and management
• Urban growth may have both positive and negative effects:
  • Positive effects include higher productivity, innovation, and living standards
  • Negative effects include environmental degradation, congestion, inequality and vulnerability to disasters and epidemics

• Urban growth is uneven across regions and countries, with higher levels of urbanisation in high-income countries and lower levels in low-income countries
• There are various patterns of urban growth, such as compact, sprawling, or polycentric cities
  • The patterns depend on the physical, social, and institutional factors that shape them

Factors affecting urban growth

• There are a range of factors which affect urban settlement growth, including:
  • Climate/weather
  • Agriculture
  • Industry
  • Residential

Climate/weather

• The climate and weather have an impact on the:
• Availability of natural resources
• Demand for energy
• Health and comfort of the population
• Attractiveness of the city for tourism and migration

Agriculture

• Agriculture provides food and income for the city dwellers, as well as raw materials for some industries. 
• The productivity and diversity of agriculture depends on the:
• Soil quality
• Water supply
• Climatic conditions of the city

Industry 

• Industry contributes to the economic development, employment, and innovation of the city 
• The type and scale of industry depends on the availability of:
• Labour
• Capital
• Infrastructure
• Markets
• Industry also impacts the environment and public health of the city through pollution and waste generation

Residential 

• Residential refers to the housing and living conditions of the city population. 
• The growth of residential areas depends on the:
• Population size, density
• Income of urban dwellers
• Preferences of urban dwellers
• Mobility of the urban dwellers
•  Residential areas also affect the demand for public services, such as transportation, education, health care, and recreation