Sunday Emmanuel

@sundayemmanuel · 25 Nov 2021

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what is a settlement

A settlement is defined as a place having one or more buildings with people living in them. It can also be defined as a collection of buildings with people living in them. It is a center for human activities and it consists of houses, a communication network, roads, tracks, and railways. It could be one house, a village, a town or a city. for it to be a settlement, futures like buildings and people living together must be there.
The factor which may favor any settlement depends on the future economic activities or resources available within the settlement.

People choose to settle in an area because of some of the following reasons
1.Availability of drinkable water
2.Presence of communication routes,e.g.roots, and roadway
3.Presence of economic resources like mineral
4.Presence of fertile soil
5.Presence of commercial activities e.g.markets

Types of settlement
They are three main types of settlement and this is:

Nucleated or dense settlements: in this type, the buildings are very close to each other or are concentrated in a small area with many social amenities. This settlement is common in urban centers and also in some rural areas.


Dispersed or scattered settlement: These buildings are scattered or far from each other with a few social amenities. A dispersed settlement is the scattered pattern of households in a particular area. This form of settlement is common in the world’s rural regions. The settlement pattern contrasts those found in nucleated villages. The terms are used by landscape historians and geographers to classify different types of settlements.


Linear settlement:A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many such settlements have a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal through some form due to physical restrictions, such as coastlines, mountains, hills, or valleys. Linear settlements may have no obvious center, such as a road junction. Linear settlements have a long and narrow shape.in this type, buildings are located along the road, railways, or even rivers in a linear form.


Nodal settlement: this is the settlement around the meeting point of roads or roadways.

Favorable condition for sitting a settlement
Factors or conditions which may favor the sitting of a settlement include the following:

Adequate water supply: there must be an adequate and dependable water supply for human use.
Land for building: such land must be low land and well-drained for the easy erection of a building
Fertile soil: the soil must be fertile to promote agricultural activities
Good communication network: the presence of good roads, railways, airports, etc may promote easy settlement of people in a place
Defense: the area should be well protected against invading enemies

Factors affecting the growth of settlement
Factors that may affect or promote the growth of the settlement include:

Accessibility: people are likely to settle in the area that is easily accessible by road, rails, etc and this tends to increase the growth of such a settlement
Economic activities: people tend to settle in areas where economic activities such as trading, farming, and mining take place to get a job in such an area
Administration: people also settle in places which are seats of government as social amenities and other facilities are often provided in such areas
Provision of social amenities: many people tend to settle in areas where social amenities like pipe boreholes and electricity are available and this increases the growth of the settlement.@Henkjan de Krijger #whatisasettlement #typesofsettlement #favourableconditionforsittingasettlement #factoraffectingthegrowthofsettlement