 Think
about a small town that you know.
Make a list of the types of 5+ activities
that go on in the town.
Small Town
Major Metropolitan
Center (Big City!)
How might the position of a place in a
settlement hierarchy affect the people in
that place?
Small Town
Major Metropolitan
Center (Big City!)
 The
cost in terms of time and effort to
reach people from a given location
A
system or organization in which people
or groups are ranked one above the
other according to status or authority.

Teachers

Students

Principal


Academy Leader
(aka. Assistant
Principal)
Academic Deans
(aka. Guidance
Councelor)
 Major
Metro Center
 City - Wilmington
• Town (think small city)
• Suburb (think mostly homes)
• Village (think reeeeeeeeaaaly small city)
 Major
Metro Center – Philadelphia,
 City - Wilmington
• Town - Dover
• Suburb - Bear
• Village - Selbyville
 Order
the
settlements
from highest
accessibility
value (top) to
lowest
accessibility
value
(bottom)
5
minutes! Work with a partner for your
handout
Pyramid 1
Pyramid 2
Pyramid 3
Sample Hierarchy Chart
Example
Settlement type ranked by
accessibility value
Major metro center
Philadelphia
City
Wilmington
Town
Dover
Suburb
Bear
Village
Selbyville
Sample Activities
Major league baseball stadium, bank
H.Q., Museum of Art, law firms, major
bank branch, company H.Q.,
restaurants, department store,
shopping malls, supermarket, banks,
fast food places, drug store
Law firms, minor league baseball
stadium, company H.Q., restaurants,
department store, shopping malls,
supermarket, banks, fast food places,
drug store
Law firms, restaurants, department
store, shopping malls, supermarket,
banks, fast food places, drug store
Department store, restaurants,
shopping malls, supermarket, banks,
fast food places, drug store
Supermarket, banks, fast food places,
drug store
Ranked Info (ex:
Settlement Types:
Major Metro Center,
City, Town, Suburb,
Village)
Title (ex:
Settlement
Type)
Leave this blank,
it will be
covered up
Cut here
too!
Fold Here!
Fold Here!
1.
Where do you live?
2.
What type of settlement is it?
3.
List 5 examples of activities (business,
recreational, etc.).
4.
List 3 examples of activities (business,
recreations, etc.) that DO NOT, but
occur in a larger settlement type
Pyramid 1
Pyramid 2
Pyramid 3
Sample Hierarchy Chart
Example
Settlement type ranked by
accessibility value
Major metro center
Philadelphia
City
Wilmington
Town
Dover
Suburb
Bear
Village
Selbyville
Sample Activities
Major league baseball stadium, bank
H.Q., Museum of Art, law firms, major
bank branch, company H.Q.,
restaurants, department store,
shopping malls, supermarket, banks,
fast food places, drug store
Law firms, minor league baseball
stadium, company H.Q., restaurants,
department store, shopping malls,
supermarket, banks, fast food places,
drug store
Law firms, restaurants, department
store, shopping malls, supermarket,
banks, fast food places, drug store
Department store, restaurants,
shopping malls, supermarket, banks,
fast food places, drug store
Supermarket, banks, fast food places,
drug store
1.
Where do you live?
2.
What type of
settlement is it?
3.
List 5 examples of
activities (business,
recreational, etc.).
4.
List 3 examples of
activities (business,
recreations, etc.) that
DO NOT, but occur
in a larger settlement
type
5.
Draw a picture of
where you live
My
Settlement
 Any
activity has a minimum (threshold)
population needed to keep it in business.
 Activities
with large threshold
requirements will need access to large
populations
 Use
the following map to describe a
hierarchy in the patterns of settlement
 there
are more people (e.g. employees)
in the larger settlements higher in the
settlement hierarchy
 there
are likely to be a large number of
small places and far fewer large places in
the hierarchy
 True
= thumbs up
 False
= thumbs down
 False
 True
 True
 False
 True
 You
will take the role of state health
planners, trying to decide where to
locate Delaware’s next new hospital.
Use geographical analysis based on the
hierarchy principle to determine the
most likely location.