Causes of settlement nucleation

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 806.

Causes of settlement Dispersion

Settlement Patterns

· Isolated: Singly buildings on their own. These will normally be found in mountainous areas and will normally be the farmhouse of a large farm.

· Dispersed: When individual buildings are separated by several hundred meetings. They are individual isolated buildings and do not form a single settlement.

· Loose knit: When houses are built near each other and are obviously in the same settlement, but there is spaces between them.

· Linear or Ribbon: This is a settlement that has grown in a line. The line doesn't have to be straight, but will normally follow a road, a river, the coast or the valley floor.

· Nucleated: When all the houses in a settlement are built very close together, often around a central village green or church.

· Mountainous areas that are hard to build on and hard to build good transport links to.

· Severe weather conditions e.g. extremely hot or cold or wet.

· Mainly farm land

· Floodplain or coastal area that is vulnerable to flooding

· Only limited natural resources

· No job prospects

· No nearby schools and hospitals

· No electricity supply

· No entertainment

· Good transport links (road, rail, river)

· Good fertile land nearby to grow food.

· Flat land, that is easy to build on

· Stable weather that is good for growing.

· Nearby natural resources e.g. fuel

· Good job prospects

· Good schools and hospitals

· Good and reliable supply of electricity, gas and water.

· Varied entertainment

Function: The job, purpose or use of a settlement. Large settlements will have more than one function and these functions may change over time. Functions may include:

· Shopping (Retail)

· Business(Commercial)

· Farming(Agricultural)

· Housing(Residential)

· Educational

· Healthcare

· Administration (local or national government)

· Fishing

· Tourism

· Entertainment

· Sporting

· Rural Areas: Rural areas tend to have a lot less functions than urban areas. The main purpose of settlements in rural areas is normally agriculture (farming) and possibly tourism. This is because rural areas have less people, poorer transport, poorer communication, less technology and the land is better used for other purposes i.e. agriculture.

· Urban Areas: Urban areas tend to have a lot more functions ranging from shopping functions, to educational functions, to transport functions, to administrative functions and residential functions. The bigger the urban area, the more functions that it normally has.

· Settlements will grow if their functions are being successful and in demand. Alternatively if a settlements functions fall out of demand or if the resource their function relies on runs out, then the settlement may see economic and population decline.

Physical Factors affecting growth of San Salvador and its main function (business)

· Flat Land: Compared to most of El Salvador, the area around San Salvador is relatively flat making it easier to build offices and associated facilities.

· Climate: Again compared to many other areas in El Salvador, the slightly higher climate of San Salvador makes the climate slightly cooler making the working environment more bearable.

· Site: San Salvador is located in the middle of El Salvador. This makes it easy for businesses to trade through San Salvador and the neighbouring countries of Honduras and Guatemala.

· Coast: San Salvador is only 40 minutes from the coast (La Libertad), so it is possible for businesses to trade by sea