Settlement
Definitions
Site: the land or area on which a
settlement is built
 Situation: location in relation to the
surrounding area
 Function: intended purpose for the
settlement (can change over time)


Site:
 Area’s
main physical characteristics
 Close to water supply
 Altitude: low lying
 Aspect: south facing slopes
 Dry point – good defensive sites
 Nodal points
 Resources: minerals
 Coastal areas

Situation:
 Location
of settlement in relation to
surrounding area
 Natural routeways: gaps & valleys
 Developed routeways: transport lines

Function:
 Towns
main economic activities
 Towns today are multi fiunctional
R eligious
 I ndustrial
 C ommercial & Communications
 E ducational
 P orts
 O pen Spaces (recreational)
 T ourism
 S ervices

Physical factors effecting location
questions to ask…
Relief: is the land flat enough to build on?
 Drainage: is there a water supply near by
and is the land well drained?
 Soil quality: can the land provide food?
 Altitude: is the site on low land?
 Aspect: is the site in a sunny sheltered
location

Advantages offered by river sites
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Water and food supply
A fertile floodplain
Flat land which is easy to build on and
travel across
Transport: either on the river or across it
Defence: river bends and islands are
easily defended
The site of Irish Settlements
Sheltered harbour- Dungarvan, Co.
Waterford
 Bridging point- Ballina, Co, Mayo
 Route focus: Mullingar, Co. Westmeath
 Dry point: Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly
 Centre of fertile farmland, Athy, Co.
Kildare

Distribution and density of
settlements on OS Maps
Describing distribution
1.
Describe where people
are located
2.
Link this to factors
3.
refer to areas where
people are absent and
why they are absent
1.
2.
3.
Describing density
Note areas with
significant amount of
housing
Link to factors favouring
settlement
Note areas of dispersed
or clustered settlement
etc by using map
evidence
Development of settlement on
maps and photographs
You are expected to identify and locate
by 6-figure grid reference and then
describe and explain various periods of
past and modern settlements
 All ancient settlements are labelled as
antiquities on the OS map

Historic Settlements: What to look for
on OS maps
Mesolithic (7000
BC)
middens
Neolithic (new
stone age) (3500
BC)
First Farmers, low lying land near rivers,
soil was fertile, river provided food, water
and transport.
Map evidence: Megalithic tombs, barrows,
portal dolmen, passage graves, court
cairns, stone circles, standing stones
Bronze age (2000
BC)
Copper mines, barrows, cist graves, wedge
tombs
Iron age/ Celts (600
BC- 500)
From Central Europe, Iron weapons,
Defensive structures: elevated sites, cliff
edges, centre of lakes, scattered across
country
Map Evidence:Ring forts, promontory fort,
hill forts, crannog, barrows, fulacht fia
Early Christian
(500-800 AD)
St Patrick, Illiterate, stone crosses,
monastic life, round towers for protection,
monasteries became first towns, education
and alms
Map evidence: Holy well, cross inscribed
stones, round towers, high crosses, cillin,
monasteries, churches
Historic Settlements: What to look for
OS Maps
Viking (800- 1000 AD)
Longboats, plundered monasteries,
towns developed on dry sites, trading
centres, sheltered mouths of rivers
Map evidence: Found in place names
ending in ‘ford’ and ‘low’ or port towns
on the east or south of Ireland can be
an indicator
Norman/ medieval (1100- Bend of river, elevated site, defensive
1500 AD)
& trading purposes, bridging point,
towns walls and gates to control trade
and disease, encouraged religious
orders
Map evidence: Stone castles (near
rivers & bridging points), motte and
bailey, priories and abbeys
Plantation (1500-1700)
English planters, Fortified buildings,
defensive walls, Main street with
market square, weekly fairs, well
planned, near large estate/demense
Map evidence: Fortified houses,
demesnes, place names with grange
or lott, or town named after people
(Charleville)
Georgian (1700-1800)
Most easily seen on photographs, grid
pattern or street plan, square markets
in towns
Industrial/resort/dormito Urban planning, counteracted urban
ry/ new towns (1900sprawl,
2000)
Map evidence: areas route focus,
modern services, industrial estates
The historic development of Dublin:
case study








Dublin city has developed over many centuries. Traced through
evidence.
Viking Dublin (800-1000)
Easily defended site of the black pool (Dubh Linn)
Dry point of the river Liffey
Nearby settlement of Ath Cliath (west) provided wealth, goods for
plunder and a market
Native population captured sold into slavery
Dublin very important port in the Viking world (outside Scandinavia)
Excavations at Wood Quay showed main features ie. Religious
buildings, areas for markets, craftwork, food storage, fortified areas
The historic development of Dublin:
case study







Norman Dublin (1100-1500)
Norman invasion major effect on the Irish landscape
Characteristics of a Norman town incl. moat, castle, town walls and
gates, market place, church/monastery/priory
Important buildings made of stone (Norman walls and gates still
intact on Cook Street)
Castle was built close to the Viking high street, walls surrounded the
whole of Dubh Linn
Dublin castle stood in the strategic location beside Dublin bay.
Native Irish were not allowed to stay within the walls after dark. An
irish only settllement developed outside the town, eg. Irishtown in
Ringsend.
The historic development of Dublin:
case study







Georgian Dublin (1700-1800)
Time of growth and construction.
Stone structures replaced wooden structures
Wealth reflected in buildings such as Custom house, Four Court and
the GPO
Home to members of the Irish parliament (wealthy Protestant land
owners) lived in 3/4 stories town houses overlooking private squares
which acted as rural retreats in the city.
1801 Act of Union past meaning ireland couldn’t govern itself. Many
landlords left the city taking the wealth with them
Townhouses became rundown and began to house poorer people
leading to the development of tenements and slums.
The historic development of Dublin:
case study







Twentieth century Dublin
Poverty and devastation through the 1916 rising, civil
war and world wars
Post war years planned large housing estates on the
outskirts of city ie. Crumlin
Many inner city families rehoused in new estates
1960s three new towns built around the villages of
Tallaght, Lucan/Clondalkin and Blanchardstown
High rise flats build in Ballymun
1980s large out migration industry and housing left
vacant and derelict
The historic development of Dublin:
case study
1990s urban renewal and the Celtic Tiger dublin
emerged as an attractive place to live and work.
 Derlict buildings and vacant lands were
redeveloped and renewed into apartment
buildings etc
 The IFSC, Docklands, Temple Bar
 2000+ recession paused the construction of
projects
 Unfinished ghost buildings are visible on the
dockland

Rural settlement patterns




Rural areas, individual houses make up
settlement pattern
Dispersed settlement pattern
Clustered settlement pattern
Linear/ribbon settlement pattern
Absence settlement pattern
Dispersed Settlement Pattern



Scattered over a wide
area
Individual farmhouses
surrounded by farmland,
separated from each
other
Today the pattern can be
seen when houses are
located at the end of long
roads
Dispersed Settlement Patterns






Long tradition in Ireland
Before the 18th century open field system of farming was
practised (common land)
Usually surround central settlement
After 18th century the system changed land was
enclosed by fences and hedges
Farm houses were built on there own land that was
worked to the benefit of the farmer
Dispersed pattern developed by isolated farmhouses
surrounded by fields
Clustered settlement patterns



Houses grouped
together
Can be found around
source of water or a
church
Road junctions can
also be points of
clustered settlement
Clustered settlement patterns




Upland areas in the West of Ireland sign of the
old farming system
Clachans: small cluster of houses usually owned
by extended family
Small villages built during landlord times for
estate workers
Nucleated generally applied to urban settlement
Linear/Ribbon Settlement Patterns

Arranged in a line
usually along a road
or a scenic coastal
view
Linear/Ribbon Settlement Patterns






Many people prefer to live in rural areas close to towns
to access services
Roads entering towns have services ie. Sewerage, water
facilities, telephone and electricity cables
Less expensive for local authorities to provide them
along main roads than each individual laneway
Roadsides are valuable places in which to live
Farmers often sell the more valuable road frontage sites
for housing
Leads to unsightly linear pattern or ‘bungalow blitz’
Absence of settlement
Area of land may have no settlement due
to both physical and human factors
 Physical: relief, altitude, aspect, exposure
to the wind, poor soil or lack of water
supply
 Human: out migration, abandonment of
farms

Absence of settlement
Avoid living in land 200m above sea level
(wetter/colder), Soils are thinner and land
is steeper
 Low lying areas may be absent: river
floodplains (if there is settlement usually
on a dry point)
 Social: out migration and exhaustion of
resources

Reasons for the growth of rural
housing
Housing development in rural areas built
to accomadate people working in nearby
towns (commuters)
 Linear development resulting in pressure
on services
 Holiday homes develop along senic
coastal areas

Rural Planning
One off housing
 Explosion of linear housing – exit routes
 Celtic Tiger era (1997-2007)
 2nd homes, B&B’s
 Declined – tax levies

Issues in planning housing
development
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Provision of services- water, electricity, broadband
Provision of employment opportunities in rural for less
community
Loss of scenic amenity value created by one-off
housing
Problems of water quality due to seepage from greater
number of septic tanks
Rising land prices in rural areas. Locals cannot afford
land prices
Planning permission controls in scenic areas
Traffic management issues due to increased
commuters
Problems associated
Ghost estates due to recession people
moving futher outside the city
 many estates left unfinished
 621 ghost estates in Ireland
 Nearly every county has one
 Worst effected area in Leitrim

Measures to support rural
population growth
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
The National Development Plan 2007-2013
Providing transport infrastructure to link rural areas to
urban centres (Transport 21)
Broadband provision throughout country
Supporting rural resource based industries such as
agriculture and food
Village renewal to make villages attractive to live
Increase tourist potential
Provision of good quality waster supply to rural areas
Provision of education and training schemes for rural
population
Social inclusion, especially older population
Preservation of scenic areas
Measures to support rural population growth
County Development Plan






Each county has its own development plan
Rural Development plan:
 Protect the distinctiveness of the rural areas
 Prevent suburbanisation
Strict planning laws
Wicklow: planning permission for individual housing in
rural areas is only granted to people born and raised in
the county or those that have been living or working
there for over a year
Westmeath: planning in rural areas is only granted to
residents or natives . Those who get permission must
occupy the house for more than a year
Concerned about: Rural service provision, traffic
management, pollution, scenic quality, expanding
commuter services
Functions of Urban settlements
Function
Example on map/ photo
Example
Religious
Churches, cathedrals
Knock
Recreational
Parks, golf course, marinas
Tramore
Residential
Housing estates
Malahide
Industrial
Industrial estates, factory
Navan
Communications
Post office, transport network
Waterford
Commercial
Shop fronts, shopping centres
Galway
Functions of Urban settlements
Education
Schools, Universities, ITs
Cork
Ports
Ships, containers, marinas
Killybegs
Transport
Roads, Rail, Luas, carparks
Dublin
Open spaces
Playing fields, parks,
mountains
Glendalough
Tourism
Information offices, picnic
sites, golf courses
Killarney
services
Hospitals, garda stations
Drogheda
Defence
(Historic)
Walls, mottes, castles
Limerick
Functions changing over time
Settlements have changed over time
 In answering this question look at the
following

Town
Original
function (s)
Present
function (s)
Future
function (s)
Changing functions in Galway city






Located relatively flat site on the banks of river Corrib
Large hinterland, major urban centre in the West and
fourth largest in Ireland
Medieval: Norman landlord built a castle on the land
seized from Irish clans (Defensive Function),
quickly developed a port function with trade links growing
with France (Merchant City)
City walls have survived
Lynch’s Castle in the city centre (used as a bank since
1927
Changing functions in Galway city
Port function: important port for centuries
 Distribution centre for its hinterland acquiring a
transport function
 Bridges built made it an important crossing point
 Port function has declined since the importance
of the ports in the south and east has expanded

Changing functions in Galway city
Educational function: 1845 became a university
city
 Location of the university enhanced the
importance of the city
 Recent years: Galway Mayo Institute of
technology- the Regional Hospital is a teaching
hospital
 Many schools both primary and secondary

Changing functions in Galway city
Manufacturing function:
 Major centre west of the Shannon
 Location of multinational companies in
healthcare and IT
 High quality of 3rd level graduates and
Industrial development authority
 Led to residential estates cropping up

Changing functions in Galway city
Other services:
 Fourth largest city in the Republic
 Financial, commercial, retail and tourist
services
 Link with the Irish language
 Functions changing over time

Central Place Theory




Devised by Walter Christaller in the 1930s
Towns located on a plain were spaced a certain
distance apart so they would not compete for the
same costumer, not by sheer chance
Studied towns in Bavaria, Germany
Theory maintains that if there is even distribution,
equal money, transport opportunities, if the land is
flat and featureless then settlements are
distributed according to size
What's wrong with circles?
What’s wrong with circles
Source: http://www.uwec.edu/bfoust/155/G155_RS3/sld002.htm
Central place theory
Central Place Theory


A Central Place is a settlement which provides
one or more services for the population living
around it.
Simple basic services (e.g. grocery stores) are
said to be of low order while specialized services
(e.g. universities) are said to be of high order.
Having a high order service implies there are
low order services around it, but not vice versa.
Central Place Theory
Settlements which provide low order
services are said to be low order
settlements.
 Settlements that provide high order
services are said to be high order
settlements.
 The sphere of influence is the area of
under influence of the Central Place.

Hierarchy of settlements
Hamlets
Day to day
services
Local shops/ bread and
milk
Fanore
Village
Low order
School/church/petrol
station
Ballyvaughan
Small
town
Some high
order
Pharmacy/supermarkets
Balbriggan
Large
town
More high
order
Retail parks/variety of
shops
Bray/ Ennis
Small city
Increasing
number
Hospital/third level
college/specialist stores
Waterford
Large city
More high
order
Cathedral/university/
specialist hospital
Killkenny/
Galway
Regional
centre
All services
available
Administrative and
financial insitutions
Dublin/Cork
Central place theory four basic
ideas
1.
2.
3.
4.
Threshold population: each service has minimum
population to keep it in business
Range: maximum distance people will travel for a
product or service, range determines the size of the
hinterland
Frequency of demand: how often a product and
service is needed. High frequency demand everyday
products
Rank order: expensive items brought infrequently are
high order ie. Cars,
medium order: clothes,
low order: milk
Central Place Theory




Central place is a town or urban centre that
provides goods and services
Centrality: degree to which serves the
surrounding area, measured in terms of goods
and services offered
New York would have a high centrality
Ballygarvin, Co. Cork would have a low centrality
Central Place Theory

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To simplify Christaller made the following assumptions:
All movements take place on a flat plain where there is equal
distribution
Transport is equally easy in all directions so cost is a
proportional to distance
Customers use rational behaviour, travel to the nearest centre
All customers have equal purchasing power and demand
constant
A hexagon-shaped hinterland gives the best coverage of the
area
Distribution using Central Place

1.
2.
3.
4.
Based on the assumptions central place shows
that:
The larger the settlement the fewer there are
Larger settlements are spaced further apart
from each other
Large towns have a wider range
Larger settlements offer more high order
services
Distribution using Central Place

1.
2.
Exceptions are:
Tourist resorts that have a small
population but have large number of
functions
Dormitory towns that have a large
population but a small number of
functions
Criticisms of Central Place Theory
1.
2.
3.
4.
CPT is too simplistic and random in allocating
ranges and thresholds.
Historic view of urban settlement that does not
take transport improvements into account
Increasing concentration of all services in
larger centres
People do not always use rational behaviour
and tend to shop around for high order goods
Christaller’s CPT
Christaller made a number of assumptions
such as:
 All areas have･ an isotropic (all flat)
surface･
 an evenly distributed population･
 evenly distributed resources - similar
purchasing power of all consumers

Limitations of Christaller's model

Few real-life regions fit Christaller's model (except the flat lands of
the Dutch Polders and East Anglia in the UK)

The problem lies in the basic assumptions of the model:
People do not always go to the nearest central place (they may
chose a new edge of city superstore further away) So the K3 theory
wouldn’t work.
Large areas of flat land rarely exist. Mountains & hills etc distort
transport routes (so the K4 theory wouldn’t work)
People and wealth are not evenly distributed (if poorer people live in
a certain area & their nearest high order settlement is expensive
then they won’t visit it)




Governments often control where new towns are located, not market
forces (i.e. not necessarily where the demand for goods and
Hill
services is highest)
Train-line
















Historic Settlement
Examine the 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey map of Carrick-on-Suir that accompanies
this
paper.
Using evidence from the map describe and explain three different examples of
historic
settlement.
Central Place
Examine the Ordnance Survey map and aerial photograph accompanying this paper.
Using evidence from the Ordnance Survey map and aerial photograph, show that
Carrick-on-Suir performs the function of a Central Place or market centre for the
surrounding hinterland.
SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
Examine the Ordnance Survey extract that accompanies this paper. Using map
evidence to
support your answer, identify and explain three patterns of rural settlement.
DYNAMICS OF SETTLEMENT
With reference to one Irish urban centre that you have studied, examine how its
functions
change over time.










URBAN FUNCTIONS
Study the aerial photograph of part of Galway that accompanies this paper.
Examine any three functions of the city, using evidence from the photograph to
support your
answer.
POPULATION DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION
Describe and explain, using examples which you have studied, the difference
between the terms
Population density and population distribution.
Central Place Theory
Examine this diagram, which refers to Christaller’s Central Place Theory. Explain
what you
understand by this Theory.