Geography (9696) | Settlement dynamics

Welcome to Settlement Dynamics!

Hello Geographers! This chapter, Settlement Dynamics, is essential for understanding how and why people live where they do. We will explore everything from tiny rural hamlets to massive global metropolises, looking at how they change, grow, or decline.

Why is this important? Because most of the world now lives in urban areas, and the way we plan and manage these settlements directly impacts human well-being, the economy, and the environment. Mastering these concepts will give you the tools to analyze the challenges facing cities worldwide, from overcrowding to housing crises. Let's dive in!

Section 1: Changes in Rural Settlements (6.1)

Rural settlements are locations outside of major towns and cities. They are fundamentally changing due to economic shifts and migration patterns.

1.1 Contemporary Issues in Rural Areas (LICs, MICs, HICs)

Rural Issues in High Income Countries (HICs)

In HICs (like the UK or parts of Western Europe), the main challenge is often decline and ageing populations.

• Depopulation: Young people move to cities for better education and job opportunities (known as the 'rural-urban migration' trend). This leaves behind older, dependent populations.
• Service Provision Decline: As the population shrinks, services like schools, post offices, and shops become unprofitable and close down. This is often called the 'spiral of decline', making the area even less attractive to young families.
• Impacts of Counterurbanisation: While some areas decline, others experience growth due to counterurbanisation (people moving out of cities into surrounding villages). While this brings money, it can inflate house prices, forcing local, lower-income residents out—a process known as social change.

Rural Issues in Low/Middle Income Countries (LICs/MICs)

In LICs and MICs (like India or Brazil), the issues are often linked to massive urban growth and its consequences.

• Impacts of Internal Migration: Large-scale rural-urban migration here often leads to the loss of economically active workers (mostly young adults) from rural areas.
• Consequences of Urban Growth: Rural areas near expanding cities often face land loss due to urban sprawl (towns expanding outwards), leading to conflicts over resources and land use.
• Over-exploitation: Increased pressure on agricultural land to feed growing urban populations can lead to environmental degradation.

1.2 Case Study Requirement: Rural Development

For your exams, you need a case study of a specific rural settlement or area (a village or hamlet) and evaluate how they responded to issues of development, growth, or decline.

Example issues to address in your case study:

• How did they manage depopulation? (e.g., offering grants for young families).
• How did they maintain essential services? (e.g., converting a pub into a community-run shop).
• How did they handle the pressure of urban encroachment? (e.g., implementing strict Green Belt planning laws).

Key Takeaway for Section 1: Rural settlements face contrasting issues depending on the level of development (HIC vs. LIC/MIC), primarily revolving around population movement and the provision of services.

Section 2: Urban Trends and Issues of Urbanisation (6.2)

Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of the population living in urban areas. This is one of the most significant changes in human geography.

2.1 The Process of Urbanisation and Urban Growth

Urban growth refers to the increase in the physical size or population of urban areas.

• Causes in LICs/MICs: High rates of natural increase (births exceeding deaths) combined with massive rural-urban migration seeking economic opportunity (often pull factors like perceived job availability).
• Causes in HICs: Urbanisation rates are generally slower or have already peaked. Most growth now occurs through migration (internal movements like suburbanisation, or international migration).

Advanced Urban Movements in HICs

In many HICs, once cities reached a certain size, new migration patterns emerged:

• Suburbanisation: People and businesses move from the inner city to the suburbs (the outer ring). Causes include better transport links, more space, and lower pollution.
• Counterurbanisation: People move entirely away from major urban areas to smaller towns and villages (covered in 6.1). This is often driven by a desire for a perceived better quality of life (the 'rural idyll').
• Re-urbanisation (or Gentrification): A reversal of counterurbanisation, where people (often young professionals) move back into the previously run-down inner city, leading to renovation and increased value.

2.2 Competition for Land and Urban Renewal

As cities grow, especially in core areas, competition for land becomes fierce, leading to higher land prices. This is why urban renewal becomes necessary.

Urban Renewal: This involves redeveloping decaying or obsolete urban areas. This can range from modernising old infrastructure to completely clearing slum areas (which can sometimes lead to displacement).

2.3 The Concept of a World City

A World City (or Global City) is a highly important centre in the global economic system. They are the 'command and control' centres of the world economy.

Did you know? World cities don't have to be the biggest population-wise (e.g., London is smaller than Shanghai, but traditionally ranks higher as a World City).

Causes of Growth and Hierarchy of World Cities

• Causes of Growth: They concentrate high-level producer services (finance, law, advertising). They are hubs for international transport, telecommunications, and political influence (e.g., hosting the UN or major stock exchanges).
• Hierarchy: World cities are ranked based on their economic power and global interconnectedness.
  • Alpha (e.g., New York, London, Tokyo): Top-tier global influence.
  • Beta (e.g., Sydney, Toronto, Madrid): Significant regional influence.
  • Gamma (e.g., Manchester, Brussels, Guangzhou): Sub-regional/national influence.

Key Takeaway for Section 2: Urbanisation trends differ vastly between HICs (slow growth, complex internal movements like counterurbanisation) and LICs/MICs (rapid growth driven by migration). World cities dominate the global economic network.

Section 3: The Changing Structure of Urban Settlements (6.3)

Urban settlements are not random; they have a distinct internal structure or pattern, often described as functional zonation—different zones dedicated to different activities.

3.1 Factors Affecting Location of Activities

The location of specific activities (like shops, homes, or factories) in a city is governed by SLEP factors:

• S (Social): Proximity to desirable areas (e.g., wealthy housing attracts high-end services). Residential segregation is a major social factor (see 3.4).
• L (Legal/Political/Planning): Government zoning laws and urban planning schemes determine where specific activities are allowed (e.g., Green Belts restricting outward growth).
• E (Economic): Land cost, access to markets, labour supply, and transport links (e.g., manufacturing needs cheap, accessible land).
• P (Physical/Environmental): Relief (flat land is easier to build on) and natural features (e.g., ports must be on the coast or river).

3.2 Changes in Retailing, Services, and Manufacturing

Urban locations are dynamic. Over time, activities shift:

• Retailing/Services: Historically concentrated in the CBD. Now, many move to out-of-town retail parks or edge-of-town shopping malls for cheaper land, better parking, and easier access (often competing with the CBD).
• Manufacturing: Traditionally located near ports or railways (inner city). Modern factories require larger, single-storey plots for assembly lines and truck access, causing them to move to industrial estates on the urban periphery.

3.3 The Central Business District (CBD)

The CBD is the functional core of the city.

• Characteristics: Highest land values, highest concentration of tall buildings, high pedestrian flow during the day (but often quiet at night), focus of transport routes, and concentration of specialised shops and services (e.g., finance and government).
• Changing CBD: Many CBDs have declined due to out-of-town competition. Responses include pedestrianisation schemes, urban renewal, and focusing on leisure/cultural attractions (e.g., theatres, restaurants) rather than just retail.

3.4 Competition for Space and the Bid Rent Concept

In urban areas, everyone wants the best location, leading to spatial competition, which drives up land prices.

The Bid Rent Theory explains how land value and commercial activity change with distance from the CBD.

Step-by-step explanation:

1. Inner Zone (CBD): Financial institutions and high-order retail are willing to pay the most because they rely heavily on maximum accessibility and foot traffic. They compensate by building vertically (skyscrapers).
2. Middle Zone: Manufacturing and less specialised retail cannot afford CBD rents, so they locate further out.
3. Outer Zone (Periphery): Residential areas and extensive farming can only afford the cheapest land, as they rely less on central accessibility.

The result is functional zonation, where land use zones radiate outwards from the CBD based on who can 'bid' the highest rent.

3.5 Residential Segregation

Residential Segregation is the separation of people into different neighbourhoods based on characteristics like income, race, or ethnicity.

Causes (Why separation happens):

• Income: Affluent groups can afford houses in desirable areas (e.g., near good schools or parks), while lower-income groups are restricted to cheaper housing.
• Race/Ethnicity/Culture: Groups may choose to live near family and friends (influence of family and friends) for cultural comfort and support networks.

Processes (How separation is maintained):

• Housing Market Operation: Estate agents may steer different groups towards certain areas (sometimes unintentionally, sometimes deliberately).
• Planning: Decisions regarding the location of social housing or infrastructure can reinforce existing segregation patterns.

Key Takeaway for Section 3: The structure of a city is determined by competing needs (Bid Rent Theory) and key location factors (SLEP). This competition results in clear functional zones and often leads to residential segregation based on socio-economic factors.

Section 4: The Management of Urban Settlements (6.4)

Rapid urban growth, particularly in LICs and MICs, creates enormous challenges that require complex management solutions. Your syllabus requires two specific case studies here.

4.1 Challenge 1: Managing Shanty Towns (Squatter Settlements)

Shanty towns (or favelas, barriadas, bustees) are illegal, informal settlements built on marginal land (e.g., steep slopes, floodplains) on the edges of cities in LICs/MICs.

Challenges of Shanty Towns

• Lack of Infrastructure: No formal access to clean water, sanitation, or electricity. This leads to high incidence of disease.
• Insecure Tenure: Residents do not legally own the land, making them vulnerable to forced eviction.
• Safety and Health: Houses are often unstable, crime rates can be high, and risk from natural hazards (landslides, floods) is severe.

Attempted Solutions (Case Study Focus)

You must evaluate the attempted solutions in a specific shanty town in an LIC or MIC (e.g., Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, or Dharavi, Mumbai).

1. Site and Service Schemes: The government provides residents with a small plot (site) and basic infrastructure (service) like water pipes, allowing residents to build their homes incrementally.
2. Self-Help Schemes (or Incremental Housing): Governments provide materials, technical advice, and loans, but the residents (labour) improve their own homes and community. This is often more sustainable as residents are invested.
3. Slum Clearance and Resettlement: (Often unsuccessful) Complete demolition of the settlement and moving residents to high-rise flats. This breaks social networks and residents often struggle to afford high-rise upkeep.

4.2 Challenge 2: Providing Infrastructure (Power or Transport)

Modern cities cannot function without reliable infrastructure (the basic physical and organisational structures needed for society to operate). You need a case study evaluating the management of either power or transport infrastructure for a city.

If focusing on Transport Infrastructure (e.g., Delhi Metro, or Curitiba BRT)

Rapid urban growth leads to chronic congestion and high levels of air pollution.

• Challenges: Traffic delays (economic cost), increased fuel consumption, health issues from pollution, and equity issues (poor access to jobs for those in the periphery).
• Solutions to Evaluate: Mass transit systems (metro, light rail), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, pedestrianisation, congestion charging (e.g., London), or developing cycle lanes.
• Evaluation Tip: Does the solution serve the whole population, or only the wealthy? Was the construction phase disruptive?

If focusing on Power Infrastructure (e.g., managing electricity supply in Lagos)

Growing cities require vast amounts of energy, often straining existing power grids.

• Challenges: Frequent power outages (blackouts), reliance on expensive and polluting diesel generators, and illegal connections (which endanger safety and strain the official network).
• Solutions to Evaluate: Upgrading transmission lines, building new power plants (hydro, solar, gas), promoting energy conservation, or decentralising power supply (microgrids).
• Evaluation Tip: Does the solution promote sustainability (using renewables)? Is it resilient to demand spikes or climate hazards?

Key Takeaway for Section 4: The management of urban challenges requires specific, evaluated case studies. Solutions for shanty towns focus on housing and tenure security, while infrastructure management focuses on mitigating congestion and ensuring reliable utility supply.