Chapter Notes

HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

A Human Settlement is a cluster of dwellings, of any type or size, where people live. To create a settlement, people build houses and other structures, and they claim an area of land as their economic support base. This process involves two key actions: people grouping together and dividing up territory to use for its resources.

Settlements can be as small as a hamlet or as large as a metropolitan city. As a settlement grows, its economic activities, social structure, technology, and ecology all change. Small, sparsely spaced settlements are typically called villages, which focus on agriculture and other primary activities. In contrast, larger, more closely spaced settlements are known as urban settlements, which specialize in secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (services) activities.

Differences Between Rural and Urban Settlements

There are three basic differences between rural and urban settlements:

• Economic Base: Rural settlements get their economic support from land-based primary activities like farming. Urban settlements, on the other hand, depend on processing raw materials, manufacturing goods, and providing a wide range of services.
• Functional Relationship: Cities serve as centers of economic growth. They provide goods and services not just to their own residents but also to people in the surrounding rural areas, known as their hinterlands. In return, the rural areas supply food and raw materials to the cities. This exchange happens through transport and communication networks.
• Social Life: Social relationships and attitudes differ greatly. In rural areas, people are generally less mobile, leading to more intimate and personal social relations. In urban areas, life is complex and fast-paced, and social relations tend to be more formal.

Types of Rural Settlement

The type of a rural settlement is determined by the size of its built-up area and the distance between houses. While the most common form in India, especially in the northern plains, is the compact or clustered village, other forms exist due to various factors.

The main factors influencing the type of rural settlement are:

• Physical features: The nature of the terrain, altitude, climate, and availability of water.
• Cultural and ethnic factors: Social structure, caste, and religion.
• Security factors: The need for defense against thefts and robberies.

Rural settlements in India are broadly classified into four types:

• Clustered, agglomerated or nucleated
• Semi-clustered or fragmented
• Hamleted
• Dispersed or isolated

Clustered Settlements

A clustered rural settlement is a compact, closely built-up area of houses. In these villages, the living area is clearly separate from the surrounding farms, barns, and pastures. The layout of the houses and streets often forms a recognizable geometric shape, such as rectangular, radial, or linear.

Such settlements are commonly found in:

• Fertile alluvial plains.
• The northeastern states.
• The Bundelkhand region of central India and Nagaland, where people cluster together for security reasons.
• Rajasthan, where water scarcity makes it necessary for people to live close to available water sources to maximize their use.

Semi-Clustered Settlements

Semi-clustered or fragmented settlements often form when a large, compact village breaks into smaller units or when a dispersed settlement starts to cluster in a specific area. In many cases, this pattern is a result of social segregation.

Typically, the land-owning and dominant community occupies the central part of the main village. People from lower social strata and menial workers are often forced to live on the outer edges of the village, creating a fragmented pattern. These settlements are common in the Gujarat plain and parts of Rajasthan.

Hamleted Settlements

In a hamleted settlement, the main settlement is fragmented into several smaller units that are physically separate from each other but share a common name. These units are known by local names such as panna, para, palli, nagla, or dhani.

This type of segmentation is often driven by social and ethnic factors. Hamleted villages are frequently found in the middle and lower Ganga plain, Chhattisgarh, and the lower valleys of the Himalayas.

Dispersed Settlements

A dispersed or isolated settlement pattern consists of isolated huts or small hamlets of a few huts. These are often found in remote jungles or on small hills with farms or pastures on the slopes.

This type of settlement is common in many areas of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala.

Urban Settlements

Unlike rural settlements, urban settlements are generally compact and larger in size. Their main functions are non-agricultural, economic, and administrative. Cities are functionally linked to the rural areas around them, exchanging goods and services either directly or through a series of market towns.

According to the Census of India, 1991, an urban settlement is defined as any place that meets all of the following criteria:

• It has a municipality, corporation, cantonment board, or notified town area committee.
• It has a minimum population of 5,000 persons.
• At least 75 percent of its male workers are engaged in non-agricultural activities.
• It has a population density of at least 400 persons per square kilometer.

Evolution of Towns in India

Towns have existed in India since prehistoric times, with cities like Harappa and Mohan-jodaro flourishing during the Indus Valley Civilisation. The evolution of towns continued through different historical periods until the arrival of Europeans in the eighteenth century.

Indian towns can be classified into three types based on their period of evolution:

• Ancient towns
• Medieval towns
• Modern towns

Ancient Towns

India has many towns with a history stretching back over 2,000 years. Most of these developed as religious and cultural centers.

• Varanasi is one of the most important examples.
• Other ancient towns include Prayag (Allahabad), Pataliputra (Patna), and Madurai.

Medieval Towns

About 100 of India's existing towns have their roots in the medieval period. Most of these developed as the headquarters of kingdoms and principalities. They are often fort towns built on the ruins of ancient towns.

• Important examples include Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra, and Nagpur.

Modern Towns

The British and other Europeans developed numerous towns in India.

• They first established trading ports on the coast, such as Surat, Daman, Goa, and Pondicherry.
• Later, the British consolidated their power around three main cities: Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), and Kolkata (Calcutta), which they built in the British style.
• They also established administrative centers, hill towns as summer resorts (like Shimla), and added new civil, administrative, and military areas to existing towns.
• Towns based on modern industries, like Jamshedpur, also emerged after 1850.

After independence in 1947, many new towns were developed as:

• Administrative headquarters: Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar.
• Industrial centers: Durgapur, Bhilai, Sindri.
• Satellite towns around major cities: Ghaziabad, Rohtak, and Gurugram around Delhi.

Urbanisation in India

Urbanisation is measured as the percentage of the total population that lives in urban areas. In 2011, the level of urbanisation in India was 31.16 percent, which is quite low compared to developed countries.

While the total urban population in India increased eleven-fold during the twentieth century, the growth rate of urbanisation has slowed down in the last two decades. The growth in urban population is mainly due to the expansion of existing urban centers and the emergence of new towns.

Functional Classification of Towns

Towns and cities perform various functions. While most are multifunctional, some specialize in specific activities, products, or services. Based on their dominant function, Indian towns can be broadly classified into several categories.

Administrative towns and cities

These towns serve as administrative headquarters of a higher order.

• Examples: Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bhopal, Shillong, Guwahati, Gandhinagar, Chennai.

Industrial towns

The primary driving force of these cities is industry.

• Examples: Mumbai, Salem, Coimbatore, Jamshedpur, Hugli, Bhilai.

Transport Cities

These are either port cities focused on import/export or inland transport hubs.

• Port Cities: Kandla, Kochchi, Kozhikode, Vishakhapatnam.
• Inland Hubs: Agra, Dhulia, Mughalsarai, Itarsi, Katni.

Commercial towns

These towns and cities specialize in trade and commerce.

• Examples: Kolkata, Saharanpur, Satna.

Mining towns

These towns have developed in mineral-rich areas.

• Examples: Raniganj, Jharia, Digboi, Ankaleshwar, Singrauli.

Garrisson Cantonment towns

These towns were established as military garrisons.

• Examples: Ambala, Jalandhar, Mhow, Babina, Udhampur.

Educational towns

These began as centers of education and have grown into major campus towns.

• Examples: Roorki, Varanasi, Aligarh, Pilani, Allahabad.

Religious and cultural towns

These towns gained prominence due to their religious or cultural significance.

• Examples: Varanasi, Mathura, Amritsar, Madurai, Puri, Ajmer, Haridwar.

Tourist towns

These towns are popular tourist destinations.

• Examples: Nainital, Mussoorie, Shimla, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udagamandalam (Ooty).

Smart Cities Mission

The Smart Cities Mission is an initiative to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, a clean and sustainable environment, and a decent quality of life for their citizens. A key feature is applying "smart solutions" to make infrastructure and services more efficient, less vulnerable to disasters, and cheaper by using fewer resources. The mission focuses on sustainable and inclusive development, aiming to create replicable models that can inspire other cities.