Where do we live?
Settlements develop and change due to variety of processes and their sustainability allows them to function successfully, affecting the identity of that location. |
Factual Questions:
What are the different type of settlements? What makes a good location for a settlement? What is meant by urbanisation? Why are some settlements abandoned? Conceptual questions: How do settlements change over time? How can settlements be more sustainable? Debatable questions: Are cities the future? |
How were early settlements chosen?
The site is the actual place where the settlement such as a village or town grew up. In early settlements the deciding factors were natural site factors.
Building material , shelter, protection, water, wood, rivers and flat land are all examples of natural site factors. Create a mind map in your exercise books explaining why each of these natural factors would have been significant to early settlers.
The site is the actual place where the settlement such as a village or town grew up. In early settlements the deciding factors were natural site factors.
Building material , shelter, protection, water, wood, rivers and flat land are all examples of natural site factors. Create a mind map in your exercise books explaining why each of these natural factors would have been significant to early settlers.
Imagine you are an early settler (e.g. Roman) and you are looking for a place to live.
1. Look at the images and write down the natural advantages (good site factors) and disadvantages (bad site factors).
2. As a group decide and explain which site you would choose.
What are different types of settlement?
Settlement Function
The number of services that a settlement provides increases with settlement size.
Small settlements will only provide low-order services such as a post offices, doctors and newsagents. Large towns, cities and conurbations will provide low and high-order services such as leisure centres, chain stores and hospitals.
Larger settlements and conurbations have a much larger sphere of influence than smaller ones. This means they attract people from a wider area because of the facilities they offer. Cities such as London have a global sphere of influence, whereas a small hamlet or village may only have a sphere of influence of a couple of kilometres.
Services such as department stores selling high order goods have a higher threshold than those selling low order goods such as newsagents. This means they need a higher number of people to support them and make them profitable, therefore they will only be found in larger settlements. It also means that there are fewer big department stores than small newsagents.
The range of a service or product is the maximum distance people are prepared to travel to purchase it. The range of a newspaper is much lower than an item of furniture for example.
Settlement Pattern
A settlement pattern means the shape of a settlement. The shape of early settlements was usually influenced by the surrounding landscape.
The number of services that a settlement provides increases with settlement size.
Small settlements will only provide low-order services such as a post offices, doctors and newsagents. Large towns, cities and conurbations will provide low and high-order services such as leisure centres, chain stores and hospitals.
Larger settlements and conurbations have a much larger sphere of influence than smaller ones. This means they attract people from a wider area because of the facilities they offer. Cities such as London have a global sphere of influence, whereas a small hamlet or village may only have a sphere of influence of a couple of kilometres.
Services such as department stores selling high order goods have a higher threshold than those selling low order goods such as newsagents. This means they need a higher number of people to support them and make them profitable, therefore they will only be found in larger settlements. It also means that there are fewer big department stores than small newsagents.
The range of a service or product is the maximum distance people are prepared to travel to purchase it. The range of a newspaper is much lower than an item of furniture for example.
Settlement Pattern
A settlement pattern means the shape of a settlement. The shape of early settlements was usually influenced by the surrounding landscape.
What makes a good location for a settlement?
Site and Situation.
The location and growth of an settlement depended upon its site and situation. The site was the actual place where people decided to locate their settlement. This is the place where the settlement is located, eg on a hill or in a sheltered valley.
Growth of that settlement then depended upon its situation in relation to accessibility and availability of natural resources. This describes where the settlement is in relation to other settlements and the features of the surrounding area, eg is the settlement surrounded by forest or is it next to a large city?
Site and Situation.
The location and growth of an settlement depended upon its site and situation. The site was the actual place where people decided to locate their settlement. This is the place where the settlement is located, eg on a hill or in a sheltered valley.
Growth of that settlement then depended upon its situation in relation to accessibility and availability of natural resources. This describes where the settlement is in relation to other settlements and the features of the surrounding area, eg is the settlement surrounded by forest or is it next to a large city?
How do settlements change over time?
Case study 1 - Hong Kong, SAR China
Case study 2 - London, UK
Case Study 3 - Mexico City, Mexico
Have a look at how some other iconic cities have changed through time: blazepress.com/2014/06/worlds-iconic-cities-changed-time/
This website allows you to compare places of your own choice over time. Ignore the fact that it is Russian!
pastvu.com/ |
Settlement - Building your own town - The write-up
Well done, you have built your town, now you need to write-up your project. This should be done in your OneNote.
You have completed 9 stages. For each of these stages you need to document the development and the reasons for the changes that you made. This can be done in either of one of two ways:
Photographic
In your OneNote you clearly set out each of the 9 stages. You should have 9 separate images. Underneath each image (which is labelled eg Stage 1, 1500), you have carefully explained what decisions you have made and why you have made them. For example, 'we built 50 new houses next to the coal mine to provide homes for the coal miners'.
Cinematographic
As in the photographic example, but this time you make a short film (iMovie) which documents the stages you followed. Your explanations might be in the form of a narration or written text. The completed film should be uploaded to OneNote so it is important that you export it in an appropriately small size.
Well done, you have built your town, now you need to write-up your project. This should be done in your OneNote.
You have completed 9 stages. For each of these stages you need to document the development and the reasons for the changes that you made. This can be done in either of one of two ways:
Photographic
In your OneNote you clearly set out each of the 9 stages. You should have 9 separate images. Underneath each image (which is labelled eg Stage 1, 1500), you have carefully explained what decisions you have made and why you have made them. For example, 'we built 50 new houses next to the coal mine to provide homes for the coal miners'.
Cinematographic
As in the photographic example, but this time you make a short film (iMovie) which documents the stages you followed. Your explanations might be in the form of a narration or written text. The completed film should be uploaded to OneNote so it is important that you export it in an appropriately small size.
What is urban growth?
Urban growth refers to the development and growth of towns and cities. The reasons why people leave rural areas to urban areas can be classified in terms of push and pull factors.
Push factors are the reasons why people leave an area. They include: lack of services, lack of safety, high crime, crop failure, drought, flooding poverty, war Pull factors are the reasons why people move to a particular area. They include: higher employment, more wealth, better services, good climate, less crime, political stability, more fertile land, lower risk from natural hazards. Why do people migrate? People migrate for many different reasons. These reasons can be classified as economic, social, political or environmental:
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Why are some settlements abandoned?
Search online for the lyrics of 'Ghost Town' by the Specials. What do you think is meant by the term 'ghost town'? What do you think is the message of the lyrics of the song? |
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The challenges facing settlements
Case study - Pripyat, Ukraine |
Bodie - USA |
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This is a recent example in China from the BBC
www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-44051042/sichuan-earthquake-the-ghost-town-visited-by-millions
www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-44051042/sichuan-earthquake-the-ghost-town-visited-by-millions
Activity
Explain carefully and in your own words why Pripyat and Bodie became abandoned?
Research another abandoned 'ghost town'. Using pictures to illustrate your work, explain why this third example of a 'ghost town' became abandoned.
Explain carefully and in your own words why Pripyat and Bodie became abandoned?
Research another abandoned 'ghost town'. Using pictures to illustrate your work, explain why this third example of a 'ghost town' became abandoned.
How can settlements be more sustainable?
A sustainable city, or eco-city is a city designed with consideration of environmental impact, inhabited by people dedicated to minimization of required inputs of energy, water and food, and waste output of heat, air pollution - CO2, methane, and water pollution.
A sustainable city can feed itself with minimal reliance on the surrounding countryside, and power itself with renewable sources of energy. The purpose of this is to create the smallest possible ecological footprint, and to produce the lowest quantity of pollution possible, to efficiently use land; compost used materials, recycle it or convert waste-to-energy, and thus the city's overall contribution to climate change will be minimal, if such practices are adhered to. |