SETTLEMENTS
Definition
Settlement refers to grouping of house, huts or
buildings of any type with a certain layout plan meant for residential and
other purposes such as keeping livestock and equipments, with streets and
footpaths connecting them.
TYPES OF SETTLEMENT
Settlement
can be broadly classified into two categories based on size, population,
occupation and the facilities found there. They are:
1. Rural Settlement
2. Urban Settlement.
Ø Rural settlements are those
settlements where people are mainly engaged in agriculture and other primary
activities.
Ø Urban settlements refer to those settlements
where people are mainly engaged in secondary and tertiary activities like
industry, trade, transportation and services etc.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN SETTLEMENT
Rural Settlement
|
Urban Settlement
|
Ø Settlements are
small in size which may consist of two to few hundred houses.
Ø Have small size
population.
Ø People engaged in
primary activities
Ø Modern facilities
are often absent.
|
Ø Settlements are
bigger in size in which there are few thousand to few lakh people living.
Ø Have huge size
population.
Ø People engaged in
secondary and tertiary activities.
Ø Modern facilities
are present.
|
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SETTLEMENT
TYPES AND PATTERN
Settlement Types
|
Settlement Pattern
|
Ø It refers to the
space / gaps between the houses or settlements.
Ø Example: Nucleated,
isolated etc.
|
Ø It refers to the
spatial organization (design) which
describes the overall shape and indentation of the settlement of the settlements.
Ø Example: Linear
pattern, rectangular etc
|
TYPES OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS
1.
Nucleated / Clustered / Compact /
Agglomerated settlement
In such settlement, the houses are clustered together
with narrow winding streets separating them, around the common centre for
defensive, economic or social reasons, forming a large village.
Such settlements are usually surrounded by cultivated
lands and the farmers travel to their land in the morning and return mostly at
night.
In such settlements the houses are made up of strong
building materials like stone, mud and wood and they are mostly found in high
altitude areas.
Example: Ura in Bumthang and Khaling in Trashigang.
2. Semi-Nucleated / Semi-Agglomerated settlement
In this settlement the houses are built not so close
or not so far away from each other. This settlement is characterized by small
and compact nucleus around which the other houses are dispersed forming a ring
like shape around the main settlement.
They are also found in Northern, North-eastern and
Central Bhutan.
Example: Gangtey Goenpa in Wangdue Phodrang.
3. The
Dispersed / Scattered / Isolated / Sprinkled settlement
In such settlement, individual dwellings such as
farmsteads or houses are scattered widely over a vast area.
People built simple one or two storied houses by using
materials like bamboo, stone and mud which may not be very far from next
neighbor on their isolated farmstead. They are mostly found in low altitude
like in south and south-eastern Bhutan.
Example:
Khar in Pema Gatshel.
4. Semi-Nomadic Settlement
In such settlement, the main occupation of the people
is rearing of cattle mainly yak and sheep.
The people live in tents during some parts of the year
when they take their animals away from the main settlement. They move to lower
altitude during winters and higher altitude during summers. Thus, only few family members live
permanently in their main settlement and the rest migrate with their livestock.
This type of settlements is common in higher altitudes
of Bhutan like Laya in Gasa and Merak-Sakten in Trashigang.
What are the
factors affecting the formation of nucleated / dispersed settlement?
1. Local physical landscape.
2. The resources available to
support the given population.
3. Economic, social and political
factors like the stability of society and nature of ownership, inheritance and
distribution of land.
Distinction between
compact settlement and Dispersed settlement
Compact Settlement
|
Dispersed Settlement
|
Ø They are normally
found in fertile plains or river valleys.
Ø Main occupation of the
people is agriculture.
Ø The houses are
located adjacent to each other and provide less space.
Ø Farmland in this
settlement is small.
Ø They are generally
dirty due to lack of sanitation.
Ø People lead a
social life.
|
Ø They are normally
found in mountainous highlands, forested areas etc.
Ø Main occupation of the
people is cattle rearing and lumbering etc.
Ø Houses are located
at a distance from each other and provide more space.
Ø Farmland in this
settlement is large.
Ø They are normally
neat and clean.
Ø People lead an
isolated life.
|
Compare Semi-Nucleated Settlement with semi-nomadic
settlement.
Ø
Semi-Nucleated settlements are characterized
by small and compact nucleus while semi-nomadic settlement may be of any
shape or size.
Ø
Semi-nucleated settlement will be permanently
occupied by people throughout the year while the semi-nomadic settlement may
remain more or less empty during certain part of the year when the herders live
move with their animals.
Ø
The main occupation of people in
semi-nucleated settlement will be farming while the main occupation of people
living in semi-nomadic settlement will be herding livestock.
Ø
People of semi-nucleated settlement do not
practice seasonal migration but the people of semi-nomadic settlement practice
seasonal migration.
FACTORS DETERMINING THE
TYPES OF RURAL SETTLEMENT
A large number of factors determine the types of rural
settlements which are classified into following three groups:
1. Physical Factors
2. Ethnic and Cultural Factors
3. Historical Factors.
Physical Factors
Various physical factors like relief, altitude,
climate, drainage, depth of underground water level, soil, etc. play an
important role in determining the type and spacing of settlements. E.g. In the
dry areas, the houses are clustered around the source of water such as pond or
an oasis.
More settlement will come into existence in a place
where the relief is plain, climate is moderate, and soil is fertile with enough
water for cultivation, slowly leading to compactness of the settlement.
Ethnic and Cultural Factors
Ethnic and cultural factors, such as caste or communal
identity, are also important in determining the layout of a rural settlement.
In some places the main land owning caste occupies the
central point forming the nucleus while other caste (low caste) that provide
services lives in the surrounding area.
This shows social segregation, leading to
fragmentation of compact settlement into several units.
Historical Factors
Historical factors have also played an important role
in determining the types of rural settlements as well as their distribution all
over the world.
Even in Bhutan, certain areas which suffered frequent
invasions from outside invaders have formed compact settlement for defensive
reason.
Similarly, we also have settlement developed in and
around the Dzong so as to seek refuge in the Dzong in times of danger from
invaders or war.
