AR6902

HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
PLANNING

Compiled by
Dated: April 04, 2020
Prof.Ar.G.Tamilvanan
 HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PLANNING

UNIT I INTRODUCTION
Elements of Human Settlements – human beings and settlements – nature shells& Net
work – their functions and Linkages – Anatomy & classification of Human settlements –
Locational, Resource based, Population size & Occupational structure.
A HUMAN SETTLEMENT is defined as a place inhabited more or less
permanently. It includes buildings in which they live or use and the paths and streets over which
they travel. It also includes the temporary camps of the hunters and herders. It may consists of only
a few dwelling units called hamlets or big cluster of buildings called urban cities.

For this purpose, people may erect houses and other structures and command some area or
territory as their economic support-base. Thus, the process of settlement inherently involves
grouping of people and apportioning of territory as their resource base. Settlements vary in size
and type. They range from a hamlet to metropolitan cities. With size, the economic character
and social structure of settlements changes and so do its ecology and technology.
 Definitions of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS define people’s existence. They are places –
large and small, urban and rural, formal and informal – where people live, learn, work and
create.

They also comprise an important component of the entire environment, namely the built
environment.

The fabric of human settlements consists of physical elements and services to which these
elements provide the material support.

The physical components comprise shelter, i.e, the superstructures of different shape, size, type
and materials erected by mankind for security, privacy and protection from the elements and for his
singularity within a community; infrastructure, i.e, the complex networks designed to deliver or
remove from the shelter people, goods, energy of information.

Services cover those required by a community for the

fulfillment of its functions as a social
body, such as education, health, culture, welfare, recreation and nutrition.
Vancouver Declaration defined HUMAN SETTLEMENTS as follows:
Human settlements means the totality of the human community - whether city, town or village -
with all the SOCIAL, MATERIAL, ORGANIZATIONAL, SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL
ELEMENTS THAT SUSTAIN IT. The fabric of human settlements consists of physical elements
and services to which these elements provide the material support.

The physical components comprise

•Shelter, i.e. the superstructures of different shapes, size, type and materials erected by mankind
for security, privacy and protection from the elements and for his singularity within a community

•Infrastructure, i.e. the complex networks designed to deliver to or remove from the shelter
people, goods, energy or information

•Services cover those required by a community for the fulfilment of its functions as a social
body, such as education, health, culture, welfare, recreation and nutrition.
 Important Features of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
It is now contended that human settlements are the spatial dimension as well as the
physical expression of economic and social activity.

No creative act takes place without being influenced by settlement conditions.

In turn, the creation of workable human settlements inevitably becomes an objective of, an
indicator of and a prerequisite for social and economic development.

Settlements are an objective of development in that places where people can live, learn and
work in conditions of safety, comfort and efficiency are a fundamental and elementary
need.
Settlements are also an indicator, in that they are the most visible expression of a society's ability to
satisfy some of the fundamental needs of its members: they can mark accomplishments
as well as expose destitution, neglect and inequality.

Finally, settlements are a prerequisite for social and economic development, in that no
social progress for sustainable economic growth can occur without efficient settlements systems
and settlement networks.
 Origin and evolution of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Earth estimated to be formed about 4 billion years ago.

Earliest man did not settle anywhere as they wandered around in search of food. Occasionally
took shelter on top of trees to protect themselves from the wild animals.

Later man began to live in caves by the side of rivers and springs.

Caves not used as places for fixed residences when food gathering in the vicinity became difficult,
early man moved to another location.

Man learned to practice cultivation, began to settle down near the fields cultivated by
them and also learned to build huts and mud houses.

Some of the earliest settlements began to take shape.

 Origin and evolution of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Evolutions of the human settlements are categorized into five major phases:
 Origin and evolution of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Primitive non-organised human settlements (started with the evolution of man.)
There are no physical lines connecting this primitive settlement with others; there are no networks
between settlements.

 Man began to modify the nature

 Man settled temporarily or permanently in different location
 Began with fire and went on to animal husbandry and domestication of grazing animals
 Deforestation and agriculture complemented with permanent human settlements
 Settlements: Natural shelters – hollows in the ground, hollow trees or shallow caves
 Settlements have no link, communication lines and transportation
 Origin and evolution of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Primitive organised settlements (the period of villages – eopolis which lasted about 10,000
years.)
Due to the loss of space between them, they developed more regular shapes with no space lost
between them. The evolution reached the stage at which a rectilinear pattern develops into a regular
grid-iron one.
 Entry to the era of organized agriculture coupled with organized settlements
 Human settlements with one-room dwelling in circular form then expansion of dwelling by
placing many round forms side by side, then elongated to eliptical ones and rectilinear forms
 Due to loss of space between them, more regular shapes of settlements were formed to a
regular gridiron pattern
 Micro-scale – Man must divide the land, construct one or more shells (rooms and houses),
and circulate within a built-up area (neighborhood)
 Macro-scale – Man must own and use space but not build it, and circulate within it, although to
a much lesser degree than before (usually not more than one movement to and from every day),
man continues to follow the course of nature towards hexagonal pattern
 Population is still small
 Villages are found in plains, near the rivers and near the sea
 When population density increased, new patterns were developed with the villages covering the
entire plain based on small hexagonal pattern and the hills and mountains on a larger
hexagonal pattern.
 Origin and evolution of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Static urban settlements or Cities (polis which lasted about 5000-6000 years.)
As settlements grew in size, man came to realise that the principle of the single-nucleus was not
always valid in the internal organisation of the total shells of the community, at this single nodal
point, which was adequate for the village and for small cities, no longer sufficed.

 First urban settlement appeared as small cities in a plain or as fortresses on hills and
mountains (5,000 – 6,000 years ago)
 Expansion of nucleus in one or more directions (single nucleus principle / nodal point not valid
anymore)
 Origin and evolution of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Dynamic urban settlements (Dynapolis which lasted 200-400 years.)
In the dynamic urban phase, settlements in space are characterised by continuous growth.
Dynamic settlements, created as a result of an industrial technological revolution, multiplying in
number and form, and now being created at an even higher rate.

 Started in the 17th century

 Characterized by continuous growth
 Emerged due to industrial technological revolution
 All part of the land it covers is not sterilized
 Microorganisms in the soil no longer exist
 Original animal inhabitants have largely been banished
 Origin and evolution of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
The Universal city (ecumenopolis – which is now beginning.)
Regardless of whether dynamic settlements are simple (Dynapolis) or composite (Metropolises
and megalopolises), they have been growing continuously during the last centuries and this is
apparent everywhere at present that is the whole earth will be covered by one human settlement.

 Possible occurrence of population explosion

 Earth will be covered by one settlement
 Cities will be interconnected, in one continuous
network, into one universal city called Ecumenic City
 Ecumenopolis on the earth in the year 2120 by
which time it is expected that the population of the
earth will have leveled off at a minimum of 20,000,000,000
people and the population of the definitely urban
areas at a minimum of 18,000,000,000 people (Doxiadis)
Organisation of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
 Elements of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
The Content:
Man, Society and Networks

The Container:
Physical Settlement (Nature and Shell)
 Natural Elements
 Man-made (artificial) Elements
 NATURE - Earth and the natural site on which
settlements are built.
 MAN (Anthropos) – Creates and inhabits the
settlements
 SOCIETY – Formed in a given settlement
 NETWORKS – Functions that allow
settlements to survive and grow
 SHELLS – Built to transform the first and to
house the other elements
Basic parts of composite Human
Settlements:
 Homogeneous parts – fields;
 Central parts – built-up villages;
 Circulatory parts – roads and
paths within the fields; and
 Special parts – a monastery
contained within the homogeneous
part.
Elements of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
 EKISTICS - The science of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Ekistics is the science of Human Settlements, which examines not only built forms, but also
the interface of time, movements and systems in the built environment.

Doxiadis saw ekistics as an intellectual approach to balance the convergence of the past,
present and future in human settlements as well as a system for creatively coping with the
growth of population, rapid change and the pressures of large-scale, high-density housing.

In order to create the cities of the future, we need to systematically develop a science of
human settlements.

This science, termed Ekistics, will take into consideration the principles man takes into account
when building his settlements, as well as the evolution of human settlements through history in
terms of size and quality.

The target is to build the city of optimum size, that is, a city which respects human
dimensions. Since there is no point in resisting development, we should try to accommodate
technological evolution and the needs of man within the same settlement.
 EKISTICS - The science of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Doxiadis, Constantinos A.
(1913-1975)

 Born in Greece, Constantinos A. Doxiadis,

 Graduated from the Athens Technical
University and later obtained a Doctorate at
Charlottenburg University, Berlin.

 Chief Town Planning Officer for the Greater Athens Area

 Head of the Department of Regional and Town Planning in the Ministry of Public Works.
 After W.W.II he founded Doxiadis Associates, a private consulting firm that undertook
architectural and engineering projects throughout the world. The firm specialized in
implementing the principles of ekistics ( The study of Human Settlements) that Doxiadis
developed in numerous publications.
 Design of Islamabad, the planned capital of Pakistan, and also contributed significantly to
national master plans in Ghana, Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Greece.
 Principles of EKISTICS
Evolutions of the human settlements are categorized into five major phases:
In shaping his settlements, man has always acted in obedience to five principles.

Maximization of man's potential contacts with the elements of nature (such as water,
trees, other people) and with the works of man (such as buildings and roads.)
 Principles of EKISTICS
Minimization of the effort required for the achievement of man's actual and
potential contacts.

He always gives his structures the shape, or selects the route, that requires the minimum effort, no
matter whether he is dealing with the floors of a room, which he tends to make horizontal or with
the creation of a highway.
 Principles of EKISTICS
Optimisation of man’s protective space, which means the selection of such a distance from
other persons, animals or objects that he can keep his contacts with them (first principle) without
any kind of sensory or psychological discomfort. Example – Forts and medieval town.
 Principles of EKISTICS
Optimisation of the quality of man’s relationship with his environment, which
consists of nature, society, shells (buildings and houses of all sorts), and networks (ranging from
roads to telecommunications).

This is the principle that leads to order, physiological and aesthetic, and that influences architecture
and, in many respects, art.
 Principles of EKISTICS
Man organises his settlements in an attempt to achieve an optimum synthesis of the four
principles, and this optimisation is dependent on time and space, on actual conditions, an on
man’s ability to create a synthesis.

When man has achieved this by creating a system of floors, walls, roofs, doors, and windows which
allows him to maximise his potential contacts (first principle) while minimizing the energy
expended (second principle) and at the same time makes possible his separation from others
(third principle) and the desirable relationship with his environment (fourth principle), we
speak of “successful human settlements’.
 HUMAN BEINGS AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Man is a SOCIAL ANIMAL

There is a gradual socialization in the pattern of living which allow the whole population to
participate more and more in the city, facilities and resources

Then in the modern city growth and change over time is dominant feature which must take
precedence in all planning consideration.

Nature and extent of human settlements, confuses man with their physical structure(‘the built-up
area is the city’) or their institutional frame (‘the municipality is the city’);

But human settlements have always been created by man’s moving in space and defining
the boundaries of his territorial interest and therefore of his settlements, for which he later
created a physical and institutional structure;

When we view human settlements as systems of energy mobilised by man – either as basal
metabolic or as muscular or, recently, as commercial energy systems – we get new insights.
HUMAN BEINGS AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
 Classification of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
At the most fundamental level, human settlements can be classified based on their spatial
significance.

The earth itself can be considered a settlement on a planetary scale.

Each continent that makes up the earth can be considered a settlement.

Every individual country can be looked upon as a settlement on another scale, with its cities,
towns and villages comprising settlements at a more local scale.

Tribes, in the modern context, can be considered as the smallest of human settlement types.

A common term classification is between rural and urban human settlements.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (2001). “An urbanized area is defined as having
a population of at least 50,000 and a population density of at least 1,000 per
square mile”
 Classification of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Besides thedistinction between urban and rural areas made on the basis of
population density, rural areas can usually be characterized by a more homogeneous
community based on traditional values, an agriculture-related occupation and a small-scale local
economy.
Human settlements can also be classified based on two other criteria;
•Population and
•geographical distribution characteristics.

difficult to standardize due to the wide-ranging

Classification of human settlements is
diversity in human settlement typologies globally.
Hence, it is not surprising to find numerous classification methodologies.

Based on Sizes.
 Small and sparsely spaced (rural settlements or villages specialising in agriculture)
 Large and closely spaces (urban settlements specialising in secondary and tertiary activities)

Based on Location of Settlements / Settings– Plains, Plateaus, Mountains, Coastal, Forest,

Desert etc.
 Classification of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Based on Physical Forms – form as the expression of content, function and structure

Based on Five Elements of Human Settlements

Based on Functions – which are important to an understanding of the meaning and role of
settlements.
 Reveal nature, specialization and reason
 Based on activity (economic, social). Their performance or special role (as dormitories,
retirement villages, etc.)
 Farming villages, Fisherman villages, pastoral villages etc.,

Based on Time Dimension – age of settlements, their place in continuum (past, present, future),
their relative static of dynamic character, the whole process of their growth.

Based on degree of society’s conscious involvement in settlements creation natural

and planned settlements

Based on institutions, legislations and administrations which society has created for
settlements.
 Classification of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Based on forms or shapes of the settlements:
These may be a number of geometrical forms and shapes such as:

a. Linear pattern: In such settlements houses are located along a road, railway line, river, canal
edge of a valley
b. Rectangular pattern: Such patterns of rural settlements are found in plain areas. The roads
are rectangular and cut each other at right angles.
c. 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.
d. Star like pattern: Where several roads converge, star shaped settlements develop by the
houses built along the roads.
e. T-shaped, Y-shaped, Cross-shaped or cruciform settlements: T –shaped
settlements develop at tri-junctions of the roads. 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 direction.
f. Double village: These settlements extend on both sides of a river where there is a bridge or a
ferry.
 Classification of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
By Ekistics Units
By Ekistics Elements
By Ekistics Functions
By Evolutionary phases
By Factors and Disciplines

By EKISTICS UNITS: Four basic groups

Minor Shells or Elementary units – Man (Anthropos), room, house;

Micro-Settlements – units smaller than, or as small as, the traditional town where people used,
do and still do achieve interconnection by walking (house group, small neighborhood);
Meso-Settlements – between traditional town & conurbation within which one can commute
daily (small polis, small metropolis, small eperopolis, eperopolis); and
Macro-Settlements – whose largest possible expression is the Ecumenopolis

Physical and Social Units – Man as individual – smallest unit; Space – second unit either
personally owned or shared with others; Family Home – third unit
Social Unit – Group of Homes
Classification of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS - EKISTICS

Ekistic Units

Anthropos – 1
room – 2
house – 5
housegroup (hamlet) – 40
small neighborhood (village) – 250
neighborhood – 1,500
small polis (town) – 10,000
polis (city) – 75,000
small metropolis – 500,000
metropolis – 4 million
small megalopolis – 25 million
megalopolis – 150 million
small eperopolis – 750 million
eperopolis – 7,500 million
Ecumenopolis – 50,000 million
Classification of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS - EKISTICS
Human Settlements are classified as per the five EKISTICS ELEMENTS. Five elements forms a
system and the Goal of the Human Settlements is to make man happy and safe.
Classification of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS - EKISTICS
By EVOLUTIONARY PHASES.

Macro scale – nomadic, agricultural, urban, urban industrial;

Micro scale – specific area at a limited period of time

By FACTORS AND DISCIPLINES

Classification of HUMAN SETTLEMENTS - EKISTICS