SETTLEMENT DYNAMICS:

Settlement:
A collection of dwellings where people live. Any form of establishment which is inhabited by
human beings, eg a single dwelling, hamlet, village, town, city.
Site of a Settlement:
The exact/actual place/ground where a settlement is built. The land upon which the
settlement is actually built, eg on a hilltop, on a gentle ground, on a valley. Site is “vertical”
for it refers to immediate environment.
Situation/Location of a Settlement:
The position/location of a settlement in relation to its surrounding human/physical features,
eg near the hospital, near the road, near a river. Situation is “horizontal” for it refers to
regional interdependencies and accessibility.
Factors Influencing Location of Settlements:
(1) Water supply (2) Relief (3) Defence (4) Soil (5) Minerals (6) Fuel supply
(7) Away from natural disasters (8) Government policy (10) Well sheltered from wind
(11) Traditional beliefs (12) Communication (13) Climate (14) Vegetation.
Function of a Settlement:
Economic/social activities of a settlement eg mining, manufacturing, tourism, farming,
education. Purpose/use of a settlement. Changes over time.
Functions of Rural Settlements in Zimbabwe: Housing/settling in ; Storage ; Agriculture ;
Mining ; Fishing ; Preservation of culture ; Production of raw materials for industries in
towns.
Functions of Urban Settlements: Administrative centres ; Route/Transport centres ;
Resort/Recreational centres ; Mining towns ; Manufacturing cities ; Market towns ; Cultural
towns ; Multi-functional urban centres.
Distribution of Settlements: Way in which settlements are spread.
Morphology of a Settlement: Form, structure, pattern, shape of a settlement.

Settlement Hierarchy: (dia): Arrangement of settlements according to population size,

function or order of importance. The larger the settlement, the higher up the hierarchy and
the fewer the settlements. The lower the hierarchy, the smaller the settlements and the
more the settlements.
Hamlet: A small settlement/village which consists of 5- 6 buildings/families.
Conurbation: When two/more cities have merged together due to urban sprawl.
Megalopolis: An extensive and very high urbanized region. Overgrown urban area which
have developed due to gradual merging of many large cities to operate as one urban
system. Population exceeds 10 million people.
Metropolis: Chief city, sometimes capital city of a country/region. A very large city and a
significant economic, political and social centre of a country.
Millionaire City: A large city with over one million inhabitants.
 Sphere of Influence:
AKA Hinterland / Market area / Zone of influence / Trade area / Service area / Catchment
area / Tributary area. This is the area a settlement conducts its trade. The area which is
served by a central place/service centre with goods/services. Sphere of influence vary from
one settlement to another depending on the size/importance of the settlement, eg sphere
of influence of a village shop, growth point, town, city, school, church.

How to Delimit/Delineate the Sphere of Influence of a Place:

That is determining/demarcating the boundaries of the sphere of influence. Identifying the
extent of coverage.

(1) Interview customers/Service providers: Customers can be interviewed at their

homes/at the service centre.
(2) Using the Gravity Model: The Gravity Model can be used to determine the sphere of
influence of a place by estimating where the Breaking Point between settlements will be.
The Breaking Point is a point at which customers find it preferable to travel to one centre
rather than the other. This can be expressed by the formula: (Waugh, page 410).
. Db = Dab

Db = the breaking point between towns A and B. Dab = the distance between towns A and
B. Pa = Population of town A (larger town). Pb = Population of town B (smaller town).

Rural Settlements:
Settlements that are found on the country side.
Characteristics of Rural Settlements: Main functions/activities are primary, ie farming,
mining, forestry, quarrying, fishing ; Consists of hamlets, villages, farms ; Vast open land
between settlements ; Unplanned ; Administered by RDCs, chiefs, headman ; Social
homogeneity ; Age group mainly 0-24 and above 65 ; Poor quality of life.
Rural Settlement Patterns: (1) Linear/Ribbon (2) Circular/Ring (3) Radial
(4) Isolated/Dispersed/Scattered (5) Nucleated/Clustered.
*NB - (a) With reference to rural areas, describe and explain the settlement patterns that
exist (N2012). (b) With reference to rural areas, explain factors that have led to the
development of their settlement patterns (N2016).
Land Reform and Settlement Development:
Land Reform: A social, economic, political and legislative process aimed at redressing
access to land in a country. It involves agrarian revolution and rural development.
How Land Reform Influenced Rural Settlements in Zimbabwe: Development of planned
settlements for cheap/easy service delivery ; Development of more nucleated settlement ;
Increased size of land holding ; Development of settlements on unused land ; Development
of infrastructure eg roads, clinics, schools ; Increased lease periods (99 year lease) leading to
permanent settlements ; Reduced overcrowding in communal areas ; Fragmentation of large
farms.
Measures to Improve Quality of Life in Rural Areas:
Rural electrification ; Provision of piped/tapped water ; Improvement of Transport and
Communication system ; Money transfer systems, eg ecocash ; Irrigation schemes ;
Improved sanitation and hygiene ; Building schools, clinics, banks etc ; Programs such as
CAMPFIRE, poultry projects etc ;Supplementary food ; Land reform; Free inputs ;
Development of growth points ; Protected water sources.

Urban Settlements:
Consist of towns/cities and their suburbs.
Characteristics of Urban Settlements: Main functions/activities are manufacturing, trading
and services ; High density of building ; Tall buildings ; High level of commuting to the CBD ;
High traffic volume ; Infrastructure well developed and planned ; Administered by UCs,
mayors, municipality authorities ; Social heterogeneity ; Age group mainly 24-64 ; Offers a
variety of goods and services ; better quality of life.

Differences between Rural and Urban Settlements: (Dynamics page 125, Waugh page 393,
Hand out)

Rural – Urban Interaction:

The interdependence/relationship between rural and urban settlements. The interaction is
symbiotic/reciprocal:
Rural Areas: Provides labour, raw materials etc ; Provides space for expansion ; Areas for
second home ; Areas for recreation ; Markets for urban products; Offer accommodation to
urban workers.
Urban Areas: Provides manufactured goods, income, new technology/ideas, food, services,
information ; Market for rural agric products ; Provides employment.

City – Size Distribution:

Arrangement of urban settlement in a country according to population size and function.
That is urban settlement hierarchy.

(1) Rank-Size Rule (Zipf 1949): The rule states that, if all the cities of a country are
arranged in descending order according to population size, the second largest city has half
the population of the largest city, the third largest city has one third etc. The population size
of a given city tends to be equal to the population of the largest city divided by the rank of
the given city. The size of settlements is inversely proportional to their rank. The Rank-Size
rule can be expressed as a Formula: Pr = Pl Pr = Population of the city.
. R Pl = Population of the largest city.
R = Rank size of the city.
Factors Leading to the RSR:
Very large countries ; Countries with a diverse economic base ; Countries with a long history
of urbanisation ; Countries with a federal system of government.
(2) Urban Primacy/Primate Distribution:
This is where the largest city (often the capital) in a country completely dominates the rest,
in terms of population size, economic, social and political activities. When one city is much
larger than the rest in a country. One abnormally large urban centre in a country.Existence
of one city in a country that is many times larger than the second largest city. Eg Lima in
Peru is 12 times larger than the second largest city. Montevideo in Uruguay is 17 times
larger than the second largest city. Cairo in Egypt is 5 times larger than the second largest
city Alexandria.
Factors Leading to Primacy: Small countries whose economy can’t support many large
urban settlements ; Poor countries/Countries with a low per capita incomes ; Countries with
agriculturally based economies ; Countries with a short history of urbanisation and
industrialisation ; Former colonies where one city grew as a collection and administration
centre ; Island countries leading to development of one port due to trade ; Poor resource
based countries ;Countries with unstable economies ; Extreme climatic and physical
conditions, eg desert, rainforest areas.
Efforts to Solve Urban Primacy: Decentralisation ; Creation of growth points/new
towns/satellite towns/dormitory towns ; shifting capital city location eg Nigeria ; Rural
development.

(3) Binary Distribution: When two large cities dominate the rest in a country. Two very
large cities of similar size in a country, eg Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. Binary pattern
arises where there is a complementary development between cities without completion.

(4) Stepped Distribution: This is where a number of cities are found at nearly the same level
(Christaller’s Central Place Hierarchy).

The Nearest Neighbour Analysis Theory (NNAT): ( Waugh page 402).

*NB - Analyse the relevance of the nearest neighbour analysis theory in the study of
settlements (J2019). The NNAT is a way to identify a tendency towards nucleation
(clustering) or dispersion for settlements, shops or industries. It’s expressed as a Formula:
Rn = 2d n The figure (Rn) produced is a measure towards clustered
(nucleated), random or regular (uniform).
Clustering: Rn = 0. Dots are very close together.
Random: Rn = 1,0. No pattern at all.
Regular: Rn = 2,15. Patterns are perfectly uniform. Each dot/settlement would be
equidistant from all its neighbours.
Strength of the NNAT: Allows changes in distribution to be compared over time ; Enables
one region to be compared with another ; Provides a basis framework for further
investigations eg why there is clustering or regularity of settlements.
Limitations of the NNAT: Validity of comparisons ; Too large/small area can exaggerate the
Rn, hence biased conclusions ; Relief features distort measurements and conclusions ;
Centres and boundaries of settlements are difficult to establish for measurements ;
Settlement size to include is not clear eg hamlet or city ; Difficult to use in areas with
featureless plains.

Urbanisation: Increase in number of people living in towns/cities due to migration and

natural increase. Process of acquiring urban ways of life such as use of piped water,
electricity, entertainment etc. Common in LEDCs.
Urban Growth: The physical expansion of the built-up areas of towns/cities plus their
population growth.
Sub-urbanisation: Decentralisation of people, employment, and services from inner and
central city areas to the margins of the city. *NB - Evaluate impacts of sub-urbanisation.
Counter-urbanisation: The movement of people from large urban areas to rural areas/small
towns. Common in MEDCs. Associated with the old/retired people due to the need for a
cleaner environment.*NB – Evaluate impacts of counter-urbanisation.
Re-urbanisation: Movement of investment and middle class residents back into inner urban
areas after renewal. Results in the gradual filling up of once deserted areas.
Over-urbanisation: This is whereby people living in urban areas are too many and leading
to problems such as unemployment, shortage of social services etc.
De-urbanisation: A demographic and social process whereby urban people move from
urban areas to rural areas. The physical decline in urban population as a result of
economic/social change. Involves movement of people to usually uninhabited rural regions.

Urban Decay: Process whereby urban infrastructure and property declines in appearance
and structural stability. Physical deterioration and loss of value of urban infrastructure.
Causes of Urban Decay: Aging of buildings ; Technological change ; Lack of investment ;
Growth of new towns.
How to Counter Urban Decay: Urban decay can be countered through Urban Renewal and
Gentrification.
Urban Renewal: Process of renovating, remodelling and rehabilitation of urban areas. It
involves destroying old buildings and putting up modern ones or just renew part of the
building. Generally undertaken by public authorities. Urban renewal improves the image of
the city and living stands.
Gentrification: Renewal and renovation of old buildings in the inner city areas by the
rich/high income earners/professionals. It is done for the sake of prestige. It leads to the
rising prices of property.

City Centre: This is the CBD. The most accessible part of the city. Provides goods and
services within a town.
Inner City/Transition Zone/Twilight Zone: Area close/near the city centre. Usually
inhabited by the old and poor minority. Associated with poor quality, old dilapidated
housing, overcrowding, crime, vandalism, pollution, unemployment, burst water/sewage
pipes.
Urban Fringe: Margin/boundary of urban area. Area of land where there a change from
urban to rural area. Zone of transition between the build up area of the city and the country
side.
Urban Sprawl: Unplanned and uncontrolled outward growth of urban areas. The outward
spread of urban areas encroaching on to rural landscape, taking land that was used for
agriculture/recreation.
Measures to Curb Urban Sprawl: Use of Green Belts ; Vertical Expansion ; Strict planning
control/Restrictive legislation ; New towns away from original sites ; Incentives to industries
to disperse to smaller centres.
Green Belt: An area of land around a large urban area where the development of housing
and industry is restricted. Area/zone of open and semi-rural land surrounding major urban
areas. It’s not continuous. The land is reserved for recreation and farming. It’s meant to stop
the urban area from becoming too big or to prevent coalescence of neighbouring urban
areas.
New Town: A planned urban centre/settlement created in an undeveloped or rural by the
government. It’s designed for self-sufficiency and providing housing, educational,
commercial and recreational facilities for its residents.
Frontier town: Town further inland where resources are siphoned. It’s used as bases and
transit routes for exploitation.
Dormitory Town: Small town isolated from the major town, created mainly to offer
accommodation to residents who commute for employment elsewhere.
Satellite Town: Small town closely related/dependent on a large city yet it’s physical
separate from it. It offers more than residential services.
Defensive Sites: Areas/sites selected for security reasons/defence, especially during earlier
days of settlement establishment.

Urban Land Use Zones/Functional Zones:

Area set aside for a particular function/use in an urban area, ie RICE POTS.

The Central Business District (CBD):

The commercial centre/core/heart of the city/town to which people go to shop, work or for
leisure.
Characteristics of the CBD: Tall buildings ; Multi-storey buildings ; Multi-functional buildings
; Vertical zonation of land ; Limited space/No vacant land ; High land values ; High degree of
specialisation ; High volume of traffic/pedestrians during working hours and is
deserted/dead during the night/holidays ; High concentration of traffic lights ; Fast food
outlets ; Administration offices ; High concentration of commercial activities, eg retail,
banking ; Overcrowding ; Most accessible part of the city ; Underground parking ; Constant
renewal. Problems in the CBD: Pollution ; Touting ; Squatting ; Illegal vending ; Traffic
congestion/Overcrowding ; Vagrants/Destitutes/Street people ; Traffic accidents ; Lack of
parking space ; Social ills, none residential area (few live in flats).
 Possible Solutions: Sub-urbanisation/decentralisation ; Improve urban transport system,
eg widening of roads, multiple lanes, fly-overs, tuber roads, by-pass roads, ring roads,
spaghetti roads, bullet trains, traffic lights, use of public transport, staggering hours of work,
multi-storey car parks ; Laws/Legislation ; Education ; Proper waste management system, eg
3Rs ; Police patrol; Fines.
Delimitation/Delineation of the CBD:
Identifying/determining/demarcating the boundaries of the CBD. Identifying the spatial
extent of the CBD.
Methods of Delimiting the CBD:
(1) Traffic count (2) Pedestrian count (3) Distribution of parking meters/zones
(4) Land values (5) Calculation of the CBHI and CBII (6) Check for CBD
functions/characteristics, eg traffic lights, tall buildings, display on windows, banks, fashion
shops, fast food shops, specialist shops etc.

The Industrial Zone:

Area for industrial development in an urban area. Area where industries are build.
Location of the Industrial Zone: Large/more space ; Located down wind of the town ; Near
communication lines, eg along railway lines/major roads for accessibility ; Near high density
residential area ; Near source of water for cooling/dumping effluents/transport ; On urban
fringe for space/cheap land ; Edge of the city location to avoid clashes with other land
users ; In valleys/On land of low value.

The Residential Zone: Area where people in an urban area live. It’s divided into three
broad categories: (1) High Density (2) Medium Density (3) Low Density.
Factors Giving Rise to Differentiation of Housing Zones: Income of people ; Type and
quality of housing ; Land values ; Population density ; Distance from the CBD/Industries ;
Racism/Ethnicity ; Government policy.
Residential Segregation: Division/demarcation of residential areas within a population
based on race, income etc.

Factors Affecting the Location of Land use in Urban Areas:

(1) Land values/Bid-rent theory (2) Accessibility (3) Space (4) Special sites
(5) Agglomeration of activities (6) Prestige (7) Physical features – rivers, mountains,
flat/gentle slopes (8) Government policy.
The Bid-rent Theory: (diagram). The CBD/city centre have the highest land values. The
values decrease outwards from the CBD to the periphery. It’s the ability of a function to pay
for land which determines its location. Functions such as commercial (retail, banks,
insurance etc) will be located in the CBD as they can afford to pay for the land. Functions
which can’t afford to pay for the high prize, such as residential/industrial in the CBD tend to
locate at the outskirts where the land is cheap and plentiful.

Theories of Urban Land Use:

AKA Urban Land use Models/Theories of Urban Structure/Theories of Urban Morphology.
The theories attempt to describe and explain the origin, development and spatial
distribution of land use in urban areas. There are 3 main theories of urban structure:
(1) The Concentric Zone Model (Burgess, 1924) (2) The Sector Model (Hoyt, 1939)
(3) The Multiple Nuclei Model (Harris and Ullman, 1945). (Diagrams)

The Concentric Model: Describes land uses as a series of circular belts/zones around the
CBD. Each ring/circular houses a distinct type of land use. The city expands outwards.
The Sector Model: Uses wedge shaped sectors moving outwards from the CBD along
transport routes/corridors. Transport and communication links determine the formation of
various sectors.
The Multiple Nuclei Model: The city grows from several independent shopping centres.
With time, the centres merge into a large urban centre.
*NB – (a) With reference to named examples of towns/cities studied, discuss the extent to
which they conform to the various urban land use models which have been postulated
(N2003). (b) Critically examine the applicability of any one urban land use model you have
studied (N2017). (c) With the aid of a diagram, illustrate any one of the models of urban
land use (N2014). (d) For any city studied, describe and explain the distribution of its
functional zones (N2014).

Problems of Urban Settlements:

(1) Traffic problems - congestion, accidents, pollution, delays, insufficient transport for
workers, lack of parking space, shortage of fuel (2) Pollution – land, water, noise, air, sight
(3) Water supply problems (4) Housing Problems/Shortage of accommodation (5) Sewage
and waste disposal problems (6) Urban sprawl leading to land conflict on city edges (7)
Unemployment/under-employment (8) Poverty (9) Fuel and power problems (10) Urban
decay/dilapidated structures (11) Racial discrimination/segregation (12) Shortage of health,
educational, recreational facilities (13)Shortage of space for expansion (14) Social ills –
crime, prostitution, vandalism, theft (15) Squatter/slum settlements (16) decline of
industries.
Measures to Solve Urban Problems: Urban renewal ; Flexible housing loans ; Upgrading
slums ; Rural electrification ; Decentralisation ; Creation of new towns/growth points ; Land
distribution/resettlement ; Provision of cheap houses ; Improved sanitation and hygiene ;
Build more, large reservoirs ; Better ways of waste/sewage disposal ; 3Rs ; More industries ;
More police patrol ; Increase public transport ; Housing schemes/co-operatives ; Careful
planning of future needs of a city ; Legislation ; Building more
health/educational/recreational facilities.

Squatter Settlements:
AKA as Shanty towns/Slums/Tangwena. Settlements which are set up without permission
from land authorities. Illegal and spontaneous occupation of land. Buildings are made up of
waste/scrap materials such as plastic, card board boxes, iron sheets, scrap metal, grass,
wood etc. There is absence of social services such as schools, clinics, roads, electricity. Lack
of water and proper sanitation. Face danger of diseases (eg cholera, TB) and fire outbreak.
Houses may collapse during rain season. Harbour social misfits. Associated with social ills
like theft, prostitution, violence, drug abuse etc. Cause deforestation and pollution. There is
overcrowding. Make the land/city ugly.
Location of Squatter Settlements: Found in open spaces ; On urban fringe to avoid
conflicts/government regulations ; Close to industries for employment/minimise transport
cost ; Close to dumping sites to access food/materials ; Along urban rivers for cheap water ;
Away from the CBD ; Close to railway/bus terminus.
Causes of Squatter Settlements: Unemployment ; Lack of affordable accommodation in
urban areas ; Shortage of land in rural areas leading to Rural-Urban migration ; Poverty and
Destitution ; Over-urbanisation ; Availability of open space ; Poor planning ; Poor law
enforcement ; Refugees.
Measures to Deal with the Problem of Squatter Settlements: Upgrading of squatter
settlements through provision of roads, sewage, piped water, toilets, street lights, schools,
clinics etc ; Building of low cost houses for the poor eg high rising buildings/flats ; Provision
of housing loans/grants ; Eviction/Slum clearance programs; Housing co-operatives/schemes
; Giving settlers ownership/title deeds for the plots to encourage them improve/upgrade
the settlements ; Employment creation.

Growth Point Policy in Zimbabwe:

*NB (1) Evaluate the Growth Point Policy in Zimbabwe (N2019).
(2) To what extent has the establishment of Growth Points promoted socio-economic
development in Zimbabwe (N2018).
Benefits of Growth Points: Provision of service centres closer to rural areas ; Development
of infrastructure in rural areas eg roads, electricity, entertainment ; Development of small
scale industries in rural areas ; Employment creation in rural areas ; Reduce rural-urban
migration ; Decongest urban areas ; Bringing administration services closer to rural areas eg
DA offices, police, council, law courts ; Provision of marketing services in rural areas ;
Improvement in the income levels and quality of life in the rural areas.
Problems Associated with Growth Points: Pollution of water causing diseases; Prostitution
leading to the spread of HIV/AIDS/STIs ; Encroachment on agric land; White elephant
infrastructure eg stadiums ; Mainly provides service centres than industries; Mainly provides
low order goods/services.
Factors Limiting Success of Growth Points: Inadequate funding ; Poor management/Misuse
of funds/Corruption ; Poor infrastructural facilities ; Too small markets ; Lack of water ;
Narrow resource base/Lack of raw materials ; Vandalism of property ; Natural disasters ;
Remoteness; Stiff competition from large towns ; Lack of publicity of the Growth Point.