Rural and Urban Settlements

Settlements are one of the most important needs for human beings after food. They construct houses to protect themselves from various natural phenomena or other man-made problems. It also helps them to enjoy the social life. “It is a most essential step to enjoy, this social life. It helps men to adapt themselves to their physical and cultural environment. Depending on economic activities, settlements can be divided into two categories.

• Rural settlements
• Urban settlements

A) Rural Settlements

• Most of the people of Rural settlements are engaged in agriculture and allied activities such as forestry, poultry, dairy, farming, fishing, animal husbandry, etc. Basically, the occupations of the people of rural settlements are dependent on natural resources, farms. In the rural area, the population density is much lower as compared to the Urban area where the size of the population is higher with high population density.
• Depending on the size, structure & growth of the population, rural settlements are divided into four-part:

1) Close Settlement

• In close or compact settlements, everything is well developed. It means road networks, lanes, Streets are developed. Even the surrounding areas or the fields are also well organized. Here most of the people are farmers. These types of settlements are found in the alluvial plans, such as Huang He plain, Indo-Gangetic plains, etc. The people of these settlements are dependent on the natural resources, surrounding them. The hunting and fishing communities are also found here.
• In some villages of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,  peasants are grouped together and lived near the cannel, well or any other water resources.
• In some tribal areas of North-East states, this type of settlement is developed at the top of the hills.

2) Semi-close settlements

• It is a settlement of intermediate types. Because of the pressure of the population, people are forced to seek living space. outside the village. But not far from the main site due to the economic interdependence. These kinds of settlements are mostly found in the Khadar region of Yamuna, besides the Ganga and its tributaries. Tharu tribes of the Tarai region are the best example of semi-close settlements.

3) Hamleted settlements

• Small Hamlets, individual habitations are spreading over the Mouza or Mauza, in these types of settlements. Basically in these settlements, hamlets are half or equal to the number of villages. It is found in the plane and the plateau region and the population depends on the environment. If found in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and some of the coastal plains.

4) Dispersed settlements

• In these settlements, the numbers of villages are less than the hamlets. These settlements are seen due to their tough nature and land formation. It is commonly found in mountainous, semi-desert, and forest regions. It is found in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan.

Characteristics of Rural settlements

1. Population density is very low. It is 31 to 40 villages per 100 sq. km in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and less than 20 villages per 100 sq. km in Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and some of the North-East part of India.
2. The primary occupation of people of the rural settlement is agriculture. Farmers are also engaged in various other activities like fishing, animal husbandry, etc.
3. Societies of the rural settlement are caste-based. Even their occupations depend on their caste.
4. Social solidarity is maximum in rural communities com­pared to urban communities. The basis of unity in the villages are purposes, customs, common experiences, and traditions.
5. The joint family system is another characteristic feature of rural settlements. It controls the behavior of the individual members of the family. In this system, the head of the family is generally, the father. He is responsible for maintaining discipline among members.

B) Urban settlements

• lt is a large and compact settlement. Here most of the people are engaged in the secondary or tertiary sectors. Here population density is maximum (at least 400 person/sq. km.)
• According to the census department of the Government of India, urban settlements are divided into 5 categories based on size and population. These are

1) Urban Village

• Most of the people (almost 75%) of such areas are depend on non-agriculture activities. Though the land is dominated by agriculture and allied activities. It is a mixture of Rural and Urban settlements.

2) Town

• The size of the population of this area is less than one lakh and it is called the smallest unit of Urban settlements.
• In town, occupations of the people are retail and wholesale trade, manufacturing, professional services, etc.

3. City 

• Cities are larger than towns.
• It is completely an urban settlement. In the city, the population is between one lakh to one million. Basically, it is a leading type of town. Cities are larger versions of towns. It also has a huge number of commercial activities. It has transportation terminals, provincial administrative offices, influential financial institutions, etc.  When the population crosses the one million mark then it is got the status of “a million city“.

4. Megalopolis

• It is a Greek word, that means “great city“. It was coined by Jean Gottmann in 1987. North to South of Washington of the United States is the best example of this type.
• In India examples of megalopolis are:

1. Mumbai: 16.6 million
2. Kolkata: 13.25 million
3. Delhi: 12.80 million
4. Chennai: 6.40 million

5. Conurbation

• This term is coined by Patrik Geddes in 1915. The word conurbation is made up of two words, one is ‘con’ and another is ‘urban’. That means continuous urbanization.
• For example, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. It is made up of seven corporations and 15 municipal councils.
• Similarly, the Delhi NCR region is made up of Delhi with the surrounding districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
• Other examples are Kolkata, Greater London, Chicago, etc.

Characteristics of Urban settlements

1. Here, the size of population density is very high. In fact, it is larger than the rural community.
2. People from different classes, castes, ethnic groups are lived together. That means it is heterogeneous in nature.
3. The life of urban people is dynamic and the rate of social mobility is very high.
4. Life in the city is always busy. The life of the people (work and entertainment) in the urban community is regulated by the clock. The main charac­teristics of urban life are based on regularity, order, and punctuality.
5. Most of the urban contacts are of secondary group and contacts are instrumental. That means, people use another person to fulfill their necessary purposes. People don’t need to interact with entire persons.