12th Standard Geography — Human Settlements Online Test

About Human Settlements

Medium ~60 min study

Human Settlements is the second unit of the Tamil Nadu State Board Class 12 (Plus Two) Geography book. It opens with the Huacachina oasis in Peru and defines a settlement as any form of human habitation, from a single dwelling to a large city.

The unit traces settlements from the Great Rift Valley and the river valleys of the Nile, Ganges and Yangtze, then studies the site factors that decide where people settle: water supply, dry and wet points, defence, resources, route centres, bridging points and river confluences. It goes on to rural patterns, urban stages from town to megalopolis, census definitions, functional classes of towns, the Burgess model, urbanization trends and urban problems.

This page brings together the ten printed one mark questions with answers checked against the lesson, plus twenty additional questions with short explanations.

What you'll learn

• Differentiate site from situation and list the factors that decide a settlement's site.
• Identify the patterns and types of rural settlements.
• Describe the stages of urban settlements from town to megalopolis.
• Classify towns by their functions with examples.
• Explain the five zones of the Burgess concentric zone model.
• Describe urbanization trends, urban sprawl and the problems of urban India.

Before you start

• Population Geography (Unit 1) of the Class 12 book.
• Basic ideas of rural and urban areas and of the Indian census.
• A world map showing major rivers and cities.

Human Settlements explained

What this unit covers

Origin, site and situation

The Neolithic Revolution began in Mesopotamia and the first cities grew in fertile river valleys. Site describes the physical nature of a place; aspect, shelter, water supply, dry and wet points, defence, mining, precious metals, nodal points, bridging points and confluences explain where settlements grew. Situation relates a settlement to its surroundings and decides whether it grows into a city.

Rural settlements

Rural patterns include linear, rectangular, circular, star like, T-shaped and Y-shaped forms. By shape, settlements are compact (nucleated) or dispersed.

Urban settlements

Census definitions, the stages of town, city, million city, conurbation and megalopolis, urban agglomeration, the Standard Urban Area and the administrative, commercial, cultural, recreational and industrial towns.

Burgess model and urbanization

Ernest Burgess (1925) described five concentric zones from the C.B.D. to the commuter zone. The unit then reviews urbanization in the world and India, the urban fringe, urban sprawl and eight problems of Indian cities.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Calling dispersed settlements typical of fertile plains; the book links fertile plains with compact or nucleated settlements.
• Mixing up conurbation and megalopolis: Patrick Geddes coined conurbation in 1915, Jean Gottman popularized megalopolis.
• Taking zone E of the Burgess model as middle-class housing; E is the commuter zone and D holds middle and upper class homes.
• Treating urbanization and urban growth as the same; one is a proportion, the other an absolute number.

Test yourself on these with the practice test, then check the worked reasoning in the solved MCQs.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between site and situation?

Site describes the physical nature of the place where a settlement is located, such as water supply, building materials, soil, climate, shelter and defence. Situation describes the settlement in relation to other settlements and physical features around it, and it decides whether a place grows into a large city.

What are dry point and wet point sites?

A dry point site is slightly raised above the surrounding area, so it is less likely to flood, as at Ely in Cambridgeshire. A wet point site has access to water, usually beside a river, as in the Welsh valleys and the spring-line settlements of the North and South Downs.

What are the types of rural settlement based on shape?

Rural settlements are classified as compact or nucleated settlements, where houses are built very close to each other in fertile plains, and dispersed settlements, where houses are spaced far apart and interspersed with fields but the market is centralized.

What is a conurbation?

A conurbation is a large area of urban development formed by the merging of originally separate towns or cities. Patrick Geddes coined the term in 1915. Greater London, Manchester, Chicago and Tokyo are examples, and Hyderabad and Cochin are Indian examples.

What are the zones of the Burgess model?

Ernest Burgess (1925) divided a city into five concentric zones: A, the central business district; B, the transition zone with slums; C, the zone of independent working men's homes; D, the zone of better residence; and E, the commuter zone within one hour's travel of the centre.

What is urban sprawl and what causes it?

Urban sprawl is the expansion of people away from central urban areas into low-density, monofunctional and usually car-dependent communities. Its causes are lower land rates, a rising standard of living, lack of urban planning, lower house tax rates, rising population and consumer preferences for larger homes.

What are the main problems of urbanization in India?

The lesson lists scarcity of space and housing, inadequate social amenities, unemployment, transport congestion, the energy crisis, inadequate water supply, environmental pollution and an increase in crimes.