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ORIGIN RURAL AND URBAN FORMS

EVOLUTION URBAN BASED ON NATURAL
SETTLEMENTS AND MAN-MADE
GROWTH FACTORS
Human Settlement means cluster of dwellings of any type or
size where human beings live.
Man as Nomad & Cave Dweller

Hunting and Gathering Society

Towards Settled Habitation

The Common
Habitat and Onset
of Civilization
 Man as Nomad & Cave Dweller
• Earth estimated to be
formed about 4 billion years
ago. Homo Sapiens (the
one existing species of
man) believe to date from
about 500,000 B. C.
• Earliest man did not settle
anywhere as they wandered
around in search of food.
• Did not know how to
construct buildings so lived
in the open.
• Occasionally took shelter on
top of trees to protect
themselves from wild
animals.
• Later man began to live in
caves by the side of rivers,
lakes and springs.
• Sites protected by rivers,
swamps or elevated terrain
preferred.
• Caves not used as places for
fixed residence.
• When food gathering in the
vicinity became difficult, early
man moved to another
location.
Hunting and Gathering Society

• Early humans lived by hunting

and gathering.

• They were organized in small

nomadic groups.

• No permanent settlements.

• Human society was largely

dominated by the environment
and natural forces.
 Towards Settled Habitation

• Man learned to practice

cultivation.

• Could stay at one place

and produce food.

• Began to settle down near

the fields cultivated by
them.

• Choose fertile lands and

where water was available
in plenty.

• Learned to build huts and
mud houses.
• Some of the earliest settlements began to take shape.
• Settlements then consisted of groups of houses built by the side of
agricultural fields, a shrine and a burial ground.
• Some inhabitants continued to live in caves and wander around for
hunting animals - more as a pastime rather than as a necessity
 The Common Habitat and
Onset of Civilization

• Inhabitants as a community
under a recognized leader.

• Began to get the first lessons of

civilized living.

• Started learning to provide for

Settlements of
themselves the three basic
an ancient
necessities of life - food, pueblo
clothing and shelter. belonging to a
Taos-speaking
Native American
tribe of Pueblo
people. It is
approximately
 RURAL SETTLEMENTS

• In the form of village,

• The majority of its
surrounded by farms with Small
inhabitants are involve in
population.
activity like farming, fishing,
forestry, mining.
• Occupation such as forestry,
farming ,fishing mining, tourism.
• The pattern of rural
settlement can vary from a
• Service provided are in limited
single farm to a cluster of
range and mostly for every day
houses.(dispersed, linear
needs.
and nucleated)
• Close knit communities and the
• In the past most of the
atmosphere is quiet.
population lived in rural
Dominance of community
areas.
feeling.
 RURAL SETTLEMENTS

RURAL ADVANTAGES:

1. More natural environs.

2. Better social/support network.
3. Less stressful environment.
4. Perceived as safer.

RURAL DISADVANTAGES:-

1. Limited transportation available.

2. Social network can lead to strain.
3. Limited employment
opportunities.
4. Slower social, political progress.
 URBAN SETTLEMENTS
• The many people are
engaged in non – rural
activity.
• They work in office, shops
and factories, operate
machinery, provide health
care or other services.
• Urban settlement can be
small like 1000 people or
can be as large as Tokyo-
Yokohama in Japan with
over 30 million people.
• In the form of towns and cities.
• They are large, both in
population and area.
• Has functions such as
business, manufacturing,
government cultural center.
• Wide range of services offered
including specialized service.
• Like-Unlike rural settlement,
neighborhood is separate with
limited knowledge of others.
• Traffic and pollution problem.
 URBAN SETTLEMENTS

URBAN ADVANTAGES:-

1. Services: Proximity to major and varied services.

2.Employment: Majority of higher paying
jobs/careers
are found there.
3. Current: art, fashions, politics, and higher culture.
4. Multi-cultural
5. Transportation: Mass transit, buses, taxis...etc.

URBAN DISADVANTAGES:-

1. More crime.
2. Pollution: more people, more waste, more noise,
less trees and Nature, etc.
3. Impersonal and sometimes isolating.
4. Clear distinction between social classes.
 POPULATION DENSITY
The U.S. Census Bureau defines
urban settlements as areas with
more than 50,000 people and at
least 1,000 people per square
mile; including contiguous
census tracts or blocks with at
least 500 people per square
mile.
In contrast, rural settlements
contain less than 2,500 people,
at a density between one and
999 people per square mile.
TRANSPORTATION ECONOMY
NETWORK
Urban areas are dependent on a
Rural transportation networks global economy of import and
consist of local and county roads export, whereas rural economies
with limited interconnectivity to rely on a local and agricultural-
rail and bus lines. based economy with
dependencies on services, such
Urban settlements contain as hospitals and educational
highway infrastructure as well as establishments in nearby urban
airports and light or heavy centres.
commuter rail.
• The relationship between rural and
urban areas cannot be belittled or
ignored, no matter how insignificant
the interaction may seem to be.
Needless to say, both rural and urban
• Comparative analysis of such distinct
areas constitute some functional
elements that make life what it is in
any given region.
• Cities, as we have seen, cannot survive
alone, neither can the countryside
achieve much without some support
• For example, for urbanites, financial
from the cities.
• Cities for example, need the human
resource or labour that comes from
the rural areas, while the rural areas
on the other hand need the financial
capital support that they derive from
the cities (Ravinder, 2009 p. 1).
• Rural folks and those in the urban areas
have intensively different ways, and each
of them is at their own level of
civilization.
settings becomes relatively difficult,
bearing in mind that the milestones used
for benchmarking the developmental
progress for urban setting are slightly or
even intensively different.
development means more to them than
to rural folks, the reason being that
urban dwellers live all their lives
according to their financial power. In
rural areas on the other hand, life can be
managed through a number of
approaches.
 CLIMATE CULTURAL

TOPOGRAPHY ECONOMIC

RESOURCES RELIGIOUS

GEOGRAPHY ADMINISTRATI
VE

POLITICAL
• Conurbation/metropolitan area – a supercity consisting of multiple cities and towns. The population is usually
several million.

• Large City – a city with a large population and many services. The population is >1 million people.

• City – a city would have abundant services, but not as many as a large city. The population of a city is over
100,000 people.

• Large town – a large town has a population of 20,000 to 100,000.

• Town – a town has a population of 1,000 to 20,000

• Village – a village generally does not have many services, possibly only a small corner shop or post office. A
village has a population of 100 to 1,000.

• Hamlet – a hamlet has a tiny population (<100) and very few (if any) services, and few buildings.

• Isolated dwelling – an isolated dwelling would only have 1 or 2 buildings or families in it. It would have
negligible services, if any.