Different Settlement Patterns

What is a settlement pattern?

• A settlement pattern refers to the way that buildings and houses are distributed in a rural settlement.
• Settlement patterns are important as they offer insight as to how a community has developed over time.

Factors affecting settlement pattern

• Body of water (transportation routes, water for drinking and farming)
• Flat land (easy to build)
• Fertile soil (for crops)
• Forests (timber and housing)

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Types of settlement patterns

There are majorly three types of settlement patterns

Nucleated settlement

• Nucleated settlements are those settlements or clustered settlements in which the houses are grouped together closely.
• It is mostly around a central feature like a religious place or village green.
• Moreover, new planned settlements often have a nucleated pattern.
• Example: Little Thetford in England.

Linear settlements

• Linear settlements are those settlements where the buildings are constructed in lines, often next to a geographical feature like a lake, a river or around a road.
• Linear settlement is also known as Chain village or ribbon development.
• Linear settlements usually have a long and narrow shape.
• Where settlement is built along a route, the route predated the settlement, and then the settlement grew along the transport route.
• Example: Northern Malabar, fisherman villages along roads in Ganga-Yamuna doab.

Dispersed settlement

• Dispersed settlements are those settlement where the houses are spread out over a wide area.
• These types of settlements are often the homes of farmers and can be found in rural areas.
• A dispersed settlement contrasts with a nucleated village.
• Dispersed settlement is common in the world’s rural regions.
• Example: Parts of Meghalaya, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.

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