Section 2: Settlement Site,
Function and Hierarchy
A settlement is place where people
live and work. It can be large, small,
permanent or temporary
Part 1: Distinguish between site
and location of a settlement
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Settlements have developed over time
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Location and growth of settlements are related to
physical and human factors
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The first consideration about any settlement is its
location. Why is a settlement found in a particular
place? What are the reasons why this SITE was
chosen as opposed to another place?
The Site of a settlement
The site of a settlement is
The point at which the town (or hamlet, village or city)
is located. The town is located at this place (its
‘building site’) because they have one or more
advantages.
What are the main factors?
The Situation of a settlement
The situation of a settlement helps to describe where the
settlement is located with reference to other features
like other settlements, mountains, rivers and
communications – it is situation that determines
whether the place will continue to grow
Location Advantages
Wet point site
Dry point site
Building materials
Defence
Fuel Supply
Food supplies
Nodal points
Bridging points
Shelter and aspect
Drinking water supply
High ground to avoid flooding
Wood and stone
Views, rivers and slopes
Heating and cooking
Farming land – good soil
Where 2 routes meet
Ford – river crossing point
South Facing slopes
The thing to remember . . .
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. . . . Is that most cities, towns and villages grew
up many years ago. As the places grew into
villages and then onto towns and eventually into
cities they changed and many forgot the actual
‘site’ reasons – in the 19th and 20th centuries many
of the physical advantages were replaced by
human factors
Question – what factors are important for the
development of settlements today?
Location Advantages
Wet point site
Dry point site
Building materials
Defence
Fuel Supply
Food supplies
Nodal points
Bridging points
Shelter and aspect
Political factors
Economic factors
Water is piped – not important
River banks are built up
Cement shipped in
Not important
Fuel shipped in
Food shipped in
Possibly more important?
Rivers crossed anywhere
Not important
Government policy/planning
Are some parts rich/poor
The Site of Belfast
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Belfast was a river crossing point (or ford).
In fact it was almost an accident that Belfast
grew at all as Carrickfergus was more
important until the 18th Century when
Belfast’s position (and function) allowed it
to grow into the main industrialised city in
Ireland
So what about Ballymena then?
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What are the different reasons for the
growth of Ballymena?
What is a Settlement Function?
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The function of a settlement is the main
activity that a settlement has. It relates to
the main job that a place has - for example
the main function of Belfast would be . . .
What are the main functions?
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Market Towns
Mining Towns
Industrial Towns
Ports
Route Centres
Service Centres
Cultural/Religious centres
Administrative Centres
Residential Towns
Tourist Resorts
Can you think of an example for
each of these in Northern Ireland
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Market Towns
Mining Towns
Industrial Towns
Ports
Route Centres
Service Centres
Culutral/Religious centres
Administrative Centres
Residential Towns
Tourist Resorts
Do Settlements have different
Patterns?
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The notes from Page 20 and 21 are taken
from ‘The wider world’ and they explain the
relationship between the function and
settlement patterns.
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Basically, settlements are shaped in
different ways
Threshold Population
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This is the number of people that are needed to
make sure that there is enough demand for a
particular service
For example – 350 people are needed for a village
shop
2,500 people are needed for a doctor
10,000 people are needed for a secondary school
50,000 people are needed for a Marks and Spencer
60,000 people are needed for a Sainsbury’s
Range
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This is the maximum distance that people
are prepared to travel in order to get or use a
service. People are not prepared to travel
far to a corner shop but will travel longer
distances to shop in supermarket or a
furniture store