HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
What is settlement?
Settlement: Is the place where people live together and engage in various social, economic, and political activities. Example: industrial activities, Agricultural activities, educational activities.
TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SETTLEMENT
There are two main types of human settlements namely:-
i. Rural settlement.
ii. Urban Settlements.
1. RURAL SETTLEMENT
Rural settlement: is the settlements which are found in rural areas. Normally rural settlements are characterized by low population. In rural settlement the main human activities are primary activities based on extraction of nature like agriculture, mining, lumbering, fishing, and so on.
CHARACTERISTICS OF RURAL SETTLEMENT
1. The main human activities are primary activities.
2. It characterized by low population density.
3. It characterized by scattered settlement pattern.
4. It characterized by poor housing: most of houses is slums with grass roofs.
5. It characterized by having large empty land due to low population.
6. It featured by of poor provision of social services.
2. URBAN SETTLEMENTS
Urban settlement: This is the type of settlement found in urban areas. Normally urban settlement it characterized by high population density. The main human activities in urban settlement are secondary, tertiary, and other human activities.
CHARACTERISTICS OF URBAN SETTLEMENTS
1. They are found large towns and cities.
2. They characterized by continuous buildings.
3. The main human activities include, trade, commerce, social and industries.
4. They characterized by high population density.
5. They characterized by linear and nuclear settlement patterns: most houses arranged along the road, railays or river as well as in collective form.
6. Urban settlements are characterized by presence of good provision of social services such as water supply, electricity, education and health services.
SETTLEMENT PATTERNS (LAYOUT)
Settlement pattern: Refers to the arrangement of settlements.
TYPES OF SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
Settlement Patterns are categorized in to three types which are:-
1. The Scattered (dispersed settlements): Is the arrangement of houses are randomly spread out over an area. Most of the activities performed by them include cultivation, animal keeping, honey extraction, etc.
2. Nucleated settlement pattern: is the settlement pattern where by the human population are closely nearby each other. Its arrangement of houses are concentrated in a group in a relatively small area. Normally found in urban centres such as large towns and cities.
3. Linear settlement: is the one in which houses are developed or built along the specific features such as rivers, railway or road. The lines or arrangement may be straight or curved depending on the nature of the feature along which house are built.
FUNCTIONS/ IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
All settlements have certain activities/useful functions such as elaborated below:-
1. They support agriculture development: Where farmers produce different agricultural crops and animals, hence settlement serve as agriculture collective centers.
2. They encourage communication services: Some settlements serves as communication functions centers and they perform various communication activities, due to the presence of various infrastructures like telephone graphs.
3. They provide residential areas: settlements provide residences where people live and share different values and culture activities.
4. They provide administrative functions: These are center from which the surrounding areas are administered some of these center can be district or regional center and local administration.
5. They provide commercial and market centre: These are place where business takes place. These centers are composed of shops, markets and means of transport and communication like roads and telephones facilities.
6. They provide mining center's: They are settlements which have ground infertile mainly as a result of mining activities. These settlements are characterized by having mineral resources Example: Geita, Mwadui, Magadi and etc.
7. They provide manufacturing centres: These kind of settlement are mainly formed in town areas which grow rapidly with the establishment of industries and they normally have a certain advantage to the people living around as they provide employment and goods.
8. They encourage fishing industry: The river sites like ports and ocean ports are important for fishing activities.
9. They provide social services: They provide the health and educational facilities such as hospital, and clinic likewise the area can be places of entertainment and recreational center.
10. They support tourism industry centers: These centers are mainly characterized by resort and around them many hotels which enter mainly of holiday.
11. They generate employment opportunities: Settlements serve employment function on different sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, mining, trade and other fields.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE GROWTH OF SETTLEMENT
Factors that influence growth of settlements can be categorized into two, Physical factors and Human factors.
A. PHYSICAL FACTORS/NATURAL FACTORS/ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Normally the factors that affect the establishment of settlement it classified in to Physical factors:-
1. Good climatic condition: Areas with reliable rainfall and low temperature attract people to establish settlement while areas with high temperature descourage high settlement.
2. Fertile soil: people tend to establish settlement in areas wth fertile land for agriculture activities.
3. Topography: people likely to settle in areas with gentle slope rather than steep slopes.
4. Water bodies: people likely to settle in areas with water bodies for different purpose such as irrigation, fishing, etc.
5. Availability of natural resources: people are attracted much with areas with natural resources such as minerals, land, water bodies, etc
6. Vegetation: the dense forests discourage the growth of settlement due to the presence of dangerous animals like lions, bigg snakes, etc
7. Availability of land: presence of large empty land encourage the growth of settlement.
8. pests and diseases: people likely to settle in areas which are free from pest and diseases such as malaria, chorela, Dengue, Ebola, etc
B. HUMAN FACTORS
9. Political stability: Normally good polity stability of the place encourage the growth of settlement.
10. Availability of economic activities: people are attracted by areas with varios evonomic activities such as mining, agriculture, industries, etc.
FACTORS LIMITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SETTLEMENT IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
1. Shortage of land/lack of space.
2. Inadequate social services e.g. water, electricity etc.
3. Risk and disaster occurrence e.g. floods, earth equate.
4. Employment crisis due to the increase of number of people.
5. Poor housing especially in rural areas.
6. Presence of social disorders e.g. crimes, robbery etc.
7. Environment problem e.g. Pollution, erosion.
8. Poor transport and communication.
9. Rural urban migration due to shortage of employment.
10. Spreads of disease e.g. Cholera, Aid etc. This is due to shortage of water.
URBANIZATION/URBAN GROWTH
Urbanization: Is the process of urban growth. It normally involve the increasing and expansion urban population in town.
CAUSES OF URBANIZATION
1. Availability of many economic activities. e.g. Trade, fishing, transportation, etc.
2. Availability of good social services.
3. Presence of peace and security.
4. Availability of many resources.
5. High rate of rural to urban migration.
6. Presence of good climate.
7. Good geographical location.
IMPACTS OF URBAN GROWTH (URBANIZATION)
Urban growth has both positive and negative impacts.
POSITIVE IMPACTS OF URBANIZATION
1. It support availability of goods and services.
2. It support development of trade.
3. It support tourism development: through various attractive places.
4. It encourage good provision of services.
5. It support development of manufacturing industries.
6. It support administrative activities.
7. They provide good social services such as water supply, electricity, transport, etc.
NEGATIVE IMPACTS/PROBLEMS CAUSED BY URBAN GROWTH
1. Rise of price of goods and services.
2. It can led to poor housing problem.
3. It can led to poor provision of social services.
4. Increase of crimes.
5. It can led to environmental pollution.
6. It can led to unemployment.
7. It contributes to high rural to urban migration leading to scarcity of labour in rural area.
8. Increase in moral decay.
9. It can led to deforestation.
10. Loss of biodiversity.
WAYS OF OVERCOMING PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH URBAN GROWTH
1. Population control: Emphasizing seriously in family planning program.
2. Improvement of rural areas e.g. Employment opportunities, improve social services.
3. To educated people the danger caused by rapid population growth.
4. Provision of adequate social service on rural and urban area.
5. Improvement of the living standard of the people.
6. Maintenance of the cleanness of the environment.
7. Population retribution.
8. Enforce laws to restore unpleasant settlement.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
1. Elaborate six factors which encourage the establishment of settlement in different parts of Tanzania.
2. Critically explain six physical factors that influence the establishment of settlement in different parts of the world.
3. Examine six (6) factors affecting the growth of settlement in different parts of the world.
4. Why most cities and towns nowdays are growing fast? Six points.
5. Urbanization is both blessing and curse. Discuss this statement by giving six points.
6. Elaborate six function of towns.
7. Analyze six problems associated with urbanization.
