Chapter 10 – Human Settlements Questions and Answers: NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography: (Fundamentals of Human Geography)

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below:
(i)
Which one of the following forms of settlement develops along either side of roads, rivers or canals?
(a) circular
(b) linear
(c) cross-shaped
(d) square

Answer:
(b) linear

(ii)
Which one of the following types of economic activities dominates in all rural settlement?
(a) primary
(b) tertiary
(c) secondary
(d) quaternary

Answer:
(a) primary

(iii)
In which of the following regions has the oldest well-documented urban settlement found?
(a) Huang He Valley
(b) Indus Valley
(c) Nile Valley
(d) Mesopotamia

Answer:
(b) Indus Valley

(iv)
How many of the following cities in India have attained the million status at the beginning of 2006?
(a) 40
(b) 42
(c) 41
(d) 43

Answer:
(a) 40

(v)
Sufficiency of which type of resources can help to create adequate social infrastructure catering to the needs of the large population in the developing countries?
(a) financial
(b) human
(c) natural
(d) social

Answer:
(c) natural

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words:
(i)
How would you define a settlement?

Answer:
A human settlement is defined as a place inhabited more or less permanently. It may include temporary camps of hunters or herders and also the permanent settlements called villages, towns, cities, large agglomeration.

(ii)
Distinguish between site and situation.

(iii)
What are the bases of classifying settlements?

Answer:
Settlements can be classified on basis of residence and main occupation into rural and urban. Settlements may also be classified on bases of their shape, pattern types into Compact or Nucleated settlements and Dispersed settlements.

(iv)
How would you justify the study of human settlements in human geography?

Answer:
The study of human settlements is basic to human geography because the form of settlement in any particular region reflects human relationship with the environment. Human settlement in any particular area reflects human land association and is affected by physical, economic and social factors. Availability of water, type of soil, topography, availability of minerals etc. play an important role in development of any settlement. As it reflects and is deeply affected by the inter-relation between human and physical world, it becomes an important part of human geography.

3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words:
(i)
What are rural and urban settlements? Mention their characteristics.

Answer:
Rural settlement: These settlements are those which have population of less than 5000 people and density of less than 400 persons and more than 75% people are engaged in primary activities.
Characteristics:
Most of the people are engaged in primary activities. They directly depend on land resources for their livelihood.
The population of villages is less and they have less density of people.
They depend on urban areas for obtaining manufactured consumer goods whereas they are providers for all primary products.
They lack in both economic and social infrastructure.
Urban settlement: The census of India defines urban settlement as “All places which have municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee and have a minimum population of 5000 persons, at least 75 per cent of male workers are engaged in non-agricultural pursuits and a density of population of at least 400 persons per square kilometers are urban.
Characteristics:
The population as well as population density of urban areas is veiy high.
Most of the people are engaged in secondary and tertiary activities.
They depend on rural areas for raw material and primary products. They are supplier of manufactured and consumer goods.
They have advanced social and economic infrastructure.

(ii)
Discuss the problems associated with urban settlements in developing countries.

Answer:
People flock to cities to avail of employment opportunities and civic amenities. Since most cities in developing countries are unplanned, it creates severe congestion. Shortage of housing, vertical expansion and growth of slums are characteristic features of modern cities of developing countries. In many cities an increasing proportion of the population lives in substandard housing, e.g. slums and squatter settlements.
Economic Problems: The decreasing employment opportunities in the rural as well as smaller urban areas of the developing countries consistently push the population to the urban areas. The enormous migrant population generates a pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labour force, which is already saturated in urban areas. This increases the pressure on existing infrastructure of cities.
Social-cultural Problems: Cities in the developing countries suffer from several social ills. Insufficient financial resources fail to create adequate social infrastructure catering to the basic needs of the huge population. The available educational and health facilities remain beyond the reach of the urban poor. Lack of employment and education tends to aggravate the crime rates. Male selective migration to the urban areas distorts the sex ratio in these cities. Also many people flocking to these areas are unable to adjust to changed conditions, hence face social isolation, which leads them to depression and also to crimes like alcoholism and drug abuse. Male selective migration leads to imbalance in sex ratio.
Environmental Problems: The large urban population in developing countries not only uses but also disposes off a huge quantity of water and all types of waste materials. Many cities of the developing countries even find it extremely difficult to provide the minimum required quantity of potable water and water for domestic and industrial uses. Massive use of traditional fuel in the domestic as well as the industrial sector severely pollutes the air. Huge concrete structures erected to accommodate the population and economic play a very conducive role to create heat islands.

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
How are the settlements of world classified based on shapes?

Answer:
The major type of settlement classified by types of shape are
Compact or nucleated settlements
Dispersed settlements.

Question 2.
What are the predominant activities in the rural settlements of the world?

Answer:
Rural settlements are dominated by primary activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing etc.

Question 3.
What does the pattern of rural settlements reflects?

Answer:
Patterns of rural settlements reflect the way the houses are cited in relation to each other.

Question 4.
What factors influence the shape and size of a village?

Answer:
The factors that influence the shape and size of a village are the site of the village, the surrounding topography and the terrain of the area.

Question 5.
Which urban center is the first to reach 1 million mark and when?

Answer:
London is the first million city of the world, and it reached 1 million mark by 1810.

Question 6.
How site of a place is different from its situation?

Answer:
Site of’ a place is its exact location whereas situation is the relative position of a place in relation to the surrounding areas and available facilities.

Question 7.
Which is the first mega city of the world?

Answer:
New York is the first city to become a mega city in 1950 with 12.5 million people.

Question 8.
Which continent has the largest number of million cities in the world?

Answer:
Asia has the largest number of million cities in the world.

Question 9.
How many mega cities are there in the world?

Answer:
There are 438 mega cities in the world in 2005.

Question 10.
Which architect planned the capital of Australia?

Answer:
Canberra, the capital of Australia was planned by American architect Walter Burley Griffin in 1912.

Question 11.
What does the name of the Ethiopian capital indicate?

Answer:
The name of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa indicates new city (Addis- new, Ababa-flower) and was established in 1878.

Question 12.
What is the main cause of urbanization?

Answer:
The most important cause of urbanization is rural-urban migration. During the late 1990’s some 20 to 30 million people were leaving the countryside every year and moving into towns and cities.

Question 13.
What are administrative towns?

Answer:
National capitals, which house the administrative offices of central governments are called administrative towns. For example; New Delhi, Canberra, Beijing, Addis Ababa, Washington D.C., and London etc.

Question 14.
What are trading and commercial towns?

Answer:
It includes important agricultural market towns (Winnipeg and Kansas city); banking and financial centres (Frankfurt and Amsterdam); large inland centers (Manchester and St Louis); and transport nodes (Lahore, Baghdad and Agra).

Question 15.
What is the main cause of congestion in urban areas?

Answer:
Most cities in India are unplanned which is the main cause of congestion. Migration from rural areas main cities.

Question 16.
What are cultural towns? Do they perform some other functions also? Mention.

Answer:
Places of pilgrimage are considered cultural towns. For example; Jerusalem, Mecca, Jagannath Puri and Varanasi etc. These urban centers are of great religious importance. Additional functions which the cities perform are health and recreation (Miami and Panaji), industrial (Pittsburgh and Jamshedpur), mining and quarrying (Broken Hill and Dhanbad) and transport (Singapore and Mughal Sarai).

Question 17.
Towns and cities of developed and developing countries reflect marked differences in planning and development. How?

Answer:
Towns and cities of developed and developing countries reflect marked differences in planning and development. While most cities in developed countries are planned, most urban settlements of developing countries have evolved historically with irregular shapes. For example, Chandigarh and Canberra are planned cities, while smaller towns in India have evolved historically from walled cities to large urban sprawls.