Types and patterns of rural settlements UPSC | Nature of rural settlements | Origin of rural settlements | Types of rural settlements | Patterns of rural settlements ~ Civil Services Self Study

Nature of Rural Settlement
The village is an example of a rural settlement. The definition and Criteria of Rural areas generally vary from country to country. But, mostly the following are Nature [ characteristics] of the rural settlement:

Most of the rural population is involved in agriculture, animal husbandry, mining, forestry, fishing activities, and other primary activities.
The occupations of rural settlements are directly linked to the land.
The size of the population is small in rural settlements.
Rural settlements generally have low population densities.
The area of rural settlement is usually small.
Rural settlements lack basic infrastructure such as sewage, roads, high communication networks, etc.
The per capita income of rural settlements is generally low.
Rural settlements have extensive land use and an open landscape.

In rural areas, people build suitable houses according to the local climatic conditions.

in areas with heavy rainfall; People's houses have sloping roofs due to which water does not stagnate in the roof.
in waterlogged areas; People build their houses in high places.
in the hot climate zone; People live in houses with thick mud walls.

Types of rural settlement:

Types of rural settlements are mainly determined by three factors namely physical factors, socio-cultural factors, and security factors. Physical factors include the nature of terrain, altitude, climate, and availability of water. Socio-cultural factors include social structure, caste, and religion. Security factors like defense against thefts and robbery also deciding factors of types of rural settlements.

Based on the above three factors, the population density of rural settlements varies from location to location; we can broadly put four types of rural settlement:

Clustered or agglomerated or compact or Nucleated rural settlement
Semi-clustered semi-compact or semi-nucleated rural settlement
Hamleted
Dispersed or isolated

Clustered or agglomerated or compact or Nucleated rural settlement:

Clustered settlements are also known as compact agglomerated or nucleated settlements. In a Clustered settlement, the distance between the houses is very less. Clustered settlements have living areas separated from their working areas such as surrounding farms, barns, and pastures. Some recognizable patterns such as rectangular, radial, linear, star, etc., are seen in these types of settlements.

Causes of Clustered Rural Settlements:

People-friendly climate or mild climate.
The abundance of water availability.
Fertile land.
Good connectivity and communication facilities like roads, waterways, etc.
For example, rectangular patterns of rural settlements are found parallel to rectangular roads.
Linear rural settlements are formed parallel to roads and rivers.
Security or Defense Reasons:

In the Bundelkhand region of central India and Nagaland, people prefer to live close by for security.
In Rajasthan, people are congested to make optimum use of the available water resources.

Semi-Clustered Settlements:

Semi-clustered settlements are also known as fragmented settlements. It is made in two ways:
This results from the tendency of clustering in restricted areas of fragmented settlements.
It also results in the separation or fragmentation of dense settlements. In this, one or more sections of the village people live voluntarily or compulsorily some distance away from the main cluster settlement.
In general, the dominant community occupies the central part of the village while daily wage laborers or people from the lower strata of the society settle on the outskirts of the village.
Semi-cluster settlements are generally found in the plains of Gujarat and some parts of Rajasthan.

Hamlet settlement:

Hamlet settlements are usually fragments of physically separated settlements and have many different units and specific names. For example, Panna, Para, Palli, Nagla, Dhani, Tola, etc. are some familiar names.
The division of large villages is usually driven by social and ethnic factors.
Hamlet settlements are generally found in the middle and lower Gangetic plains, Chhattisgarh, and the lower valley of the Himalayas.

Dispersed or isolated:

Dispersed or solitary settlements are small in size and are often found as isolated huts or settlements in the remote forest of the hills.
It is commonly found in rough areas like Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala.

Patterns of rural settlements :

Patterns of rural settlement reflect the way the houses are sited about each other. Surrounding topography and terrain influence the pattern, shape, and size of rural settlements. Based on the settlement pattern, the following are important patterns of rural settlements:

Linear Pattern
Rectangular pattern
Circular pattern
Star-like pattern
T-shaped, Y-shaped, and Cross-shaped pattern
Double village

The linear pattern of rural settlements is located along the road, railway line, river, and canal side of the valley.

The rectangular pattern of rural settlements is found in the plains. Roads in the plains are rectangular and intersect each other at right angles.

Circular rural settlements develop around lakes and ponds, sometimes villages are planned in such a way that the central part remains open and used to keep animals to protect them from wild animals.

Image source: NCERT

T-shaped rural settlements develop at tri-junctions of roads (T), while "Y"-shaped settlements develop as places where two roads meet at a third, and houses are built along these roads.

Where there is a bridge or a boat on both banks of the river, double village settlements develop.

You may like also:

Civil Services Self Study

Search Post on this Blog

Types and patterns of rural settlements UPSC | Nature of rural settlements | Origin of rural settlements | Types of rural settlements | Patterns of rural settlements

Related Post