What is a Settlement?

A settlement is where people dwell or live with all the social, material, organizational,
spiritual, and cultural elements to sustain it, ranging from the smallest house to the largest
city.

Types of Settlements

Three main types of settlements are:

1. Nucleated Settlement
2. Dispersed Settlement
3. Linear Settlement

What is a Nuclear Settlement?

A nuclear settlement is a town, community or city where the houses are grouped closely
together giving its other name clustered settlements.

Characteristics of a Nuclear Settlement

1. Houses are close together.
2. Social services are available in these settlements.
3. As these settlements develop in certain places over certain periods of time they attain
particular shapes.
4. Roads are narrow in the old parts of these settlements.
5. People from different castes, religions, races and ideologies live together in these
settlements and hence they have a better social life.
 Where can a Nuclear Settlement Be Found?
Nucleated settlements are towns or cities that start out with a plan and group around a central
location often around a central feature like a church, pub or village green. These locations are
not limited to man-made edifices like town halls. They can also include roadways, bodies of
water and even hilltops. These settlements are generally close to water sources like brooks,
rivulets, rivers, lakes, reservoirs etc.

Examples of Nuclear Settlements

In the deserts of Rajasthan, we find nucleated settlements near assured sources of water.
Fertile plains, transport hubs and mining centres, commercial centres often lead to the
development of this type of settlement.

Pushkar, Rajasthan

Little Thetford in England

 References
https://www.toppr.com/ask/question/define-the-characteristic-of-nucleated-settlements/
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-71063-1_88-
1#:~:text=Human%20settlement%20is%20a%20place,cultural%20elements%20that
%20sustain%20it.
https://www.theclassroom.com/what-is-nucleated-settlement-12081577.html
https://www.3dgeography.co.uk/settlement-patterns