Notes Class 12 Chapter 3 Geography Maharashtra Board

Human Settlements and Land Use

Introduction

• Human Settlements: Places where people live together in groups, ranging from a single house to large cities.
• Purpose: Settlements fulfill social, economic, and cultural needs by providing spaces for living and working.
• Factors Influencing Settlements: Physical (e.g., terrain, water availability), cultural, and economic factors shape where and how settlements develop.

1. Why Settlements Form

• Humans are social and prefer living in groups for companionship and shared needs.
• Settlements arise when people gather in a specific area, build homes, and engage in economic activities.
• The relationship between humans and their environment (e.g., availability of water, fertile land) drives settlement development.

2. Factors Affecting Settlement Development

Physical Factors

• Relief: Flat lands are preferred over steep slopes for building homes.
• Altitude: Lower altitudes are more suitable due to milder climates.
• Soils: Fertile soils support agriculture, encouraging settlements.
• Climate: Moderate climates attract more settlements.
• Drainage: Well-drained areas prevent flooding.
• Groundwater Level: Access to water sources is critical, especially in dry regions.
• Example: In deserts, settlements cluster around water sources like rivers or oases.

Cultural and Social Factors

• Social Bonding: Communities form for mutual support and cultural practices.
• Security: In the past, nucleated (closely packed) settlements offered protection from attacks.
• Example: Villages in medieval times were compact for defense.

Economic Factors

• Resources: Availability of resources like minerals or fertile land supports economic activities.
• Trade and Transport: Settlements often develop along trade routes, rivers, or roads.
• Example: Cities like Mumbai grew due to port-based trade.

3. Types of Settlements

Settlements vary by size, spacing, and function. They can be classified as:

Based on Size and Spacing

Compact/Nucleated Settlement:

• Houses are closely packed.
• Common in areas with limited land or for security.
• Example: Villages in fertile plains.

Semi-Clustered/Fragmented Settlement:

• Houses are partially grouped, with some spread out.
• Often due to social or economic divisions.
• Example: Settlements split by caste or religion.

Dispersed Settlement:

• Houses are spread out over a large area.
• Common in hilly or resource-scarce regions.
• Example: Farmhouses in rural hilly areas.

Isolated Settlement:

• Single or very few houses, far from others.
• Found in remote areas.
• Example: A forest ranger’s cabin.

Based on Patterns

Settlement patterns describe the spatial arrangement of houses:

Linear Pattern:

• Houses align along a road, river, or railway.
• Shape follows the feature (e.g., straight or curved along a river).
• Example: Villages along a highway.

Rectangular Pattern:

• Houses form a grid with parallel lines.
• Common in planned cities.
• Example: Chandigarh’s planned layout.

Patternless:

• Haphazard growth due to increasing population.
• Houses built wherever space is available.
• Example: Unplanned urban slums.

Radial Pattern:

• Settlements grow around a central point (e.g., a temple or market).
• Roads radiate outward like spokes.
• Example: Towns around a central plaza.

Circular Pattern:

• Houses encircle a water body like a lake.
• Common where water is a key resource.
• Example: Villages around a pond.

Triangular Pattern:

• Found at the confluence of rivers, roads, or along coasts.
• Growth occurs in multiple directions.
• Example: Settlements at river junctions.

Based on Function

Settlements are also classified by their primary activities:

Rural Settlements:

• Smaller, agriculture-focused.
• Functions: Farming, fishing, or mining.
• Example: Villages in Punjab focused on wheat farming.

Urban Settlements:

• Larger, compact, with diverse economic activities.
• Functions: Administration, industry, commerce, education, tourism, etc.
• Example: Mumbai (commercial hub), Pune (educational hub).

Urban Settlement Types (Based on Population in India)

• Class I: Population > 100,000 (e.g., Mumbai, Pune).
• Class II: Population 50,000–99,999.
• Class III: Population 20,000–49,999.
• Class IV: Population 10,000–19,999.
• Class V: Population 5,000–9,999.
• Class VI: Population < 5,000.
• Examples from Maharashtra: Mumbai (Class I), Nashik (Class I).
• Examples from India: Delhi (Class I), Jaipur (Class I).

4. Rural vs. Urban Settlements

5. Land Use and Land Cover

• Land Cover: The physical material on the land (e.g., forest, water, buildings).
• Land Use: The purpose humans assign to the land (e.g., agriculture, residence, recreation).
• Difference: Land cover is what exists naturally or is built, while land use is how humans utilize it.
• Example: A forest (land cover) used as a park (land use).

Land Use in Rural Areas

• Forests: Areas covered by trees.
• Non-Agricultural Uses: Settlements, roads, industries.
• Barren and Wastelands: Unusable land like deserts or rocky terrains.
• Permanent Pastures: Grazing lands, often owned by the village.
• Miscellaneous Tree Crops: Orchards or groves.
• Culturable Wasteland: Land left fallow for over 5 years but can be reclaimed.
• Current Fallow: Land rested for one year.
• Fallow (Other): Land uncultivated for 1–5 years.
• Net Area Sown: Land used for crops.

Land Use in Urban Areas

• Residential: Homes and apartments.
• Industrial: Factories and manufacturing units.
• Institutional: Schools, offices, hospitals.
• Recreational: Parks, playgrounds.
• Transportation: Roads, railways, airports.
• Commercial: Shops, malls, business centers.
• Plot Layouts: Vacant lands for future construction.
• Mixed Land Use: Areas with multiple uses (e.g., homes, shops, schools together).

6. Rural-Urban Fringe

• Definition: The transition zone between urban and rural areas.
• Characteristics:
• Mix of rural (e.g., farms) and urban (e.g., housing societies) land use.
• Commuters travel to urban centers for work.
• Urban sprawl occurs as cities expand into this fringe.
• Example: Areas like Hinjawadi near Pune, with both villages and IT parks.

7. Suburbs

• Definition: Smaller towns or cities near a major city, developed due to its growth.
• Characteristics:
• Have their own identity but are influenced by the main city.
• Often residential with some commercial activity.
• Example: Kalyan and Virar are suburbs of Mumbai.

8. Changes in Land Use (Case Study: Ichalkaranji City, 2007–2017)

• Observations from Maps:
• Wasteland to Industrial: Scrublands (likely yellow) transformed into industrial areas (likely dark red).
• Sparse to Dense Built-Up: Residential areas became denser (likely from light red to dark red).
• Mining Increase: New quarries appeared in rural areas (likely black).
• Recreation Reduced: Parks or open spaces (green) decreased, replaced by urban growth.
• Urbanization Along Roads: Fringe areas along roads urbanized.
• Colors Used: Green (parks), dark red (residential), light blue (commercial), light red (public buildings), yellow (agriculture), dark blue (water), black (transportation).
• River: Panchaganga River.
• Villages: Chandur, Yadrav.
• City: Ichalkaranji.
• Periods: 2007 and 2017.
• Conclusion: Over 10 years, Ichalkaranji saw increased urbanization, with industrial and residential growth replacing wastelands and recreational areas, reflecting economic development and population pressure.

9. Problems of Urban Settlements

• Economic: Unemployment, high cost of living.
• Social: Overcrowding, inequality.
• Cultural: Loss of traditional practices.
• Environmental: Pollution, waste management issues.
• Infrastructural: Traffic congestion, inadequate water supply.
• Governance: Corruption, poor urban planning.
• Solutions: Improve public transport, promote sustainable development, enhance governance.