Ch10 Human Settlements - Solutions

 CBSE Class 12 Geography

NCERT Solutions
Chapter 10
Human Settlements


(i) Which one of the following forms of settlement develops along either side of roads, rivers or canals?

  1. Circular
  2. Linear
  3. Cross-shaped
  4. Square

Ans. (2) Linear

(ii) Which one of the following types of economic activities dominates in all rural settlement?

  1. Primary
  2. Tertiary
  3. Secondary
  4. Quaternary

Ans. (1) Primary

(iii) In which of the following regions has the oldest well-documented urban settlement found?

  1. Huang He Valley
  2. Indus Valley
  3. Nile Valley
  4. Mesopotamia

Ans. (2) Indus Valley

(iv) How many of the following cities in India have attained the million status at the beginning of 2006?

  1. 40
  2. 42
  3. 41
  4. 43

Ans. (1) 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?

  1. Financial
  2. Human
  3. Natural
  4. Social

Ans. (4) Social

2. Answer the following question in about 30 words.

(i) How would you define a settlement?

Ans. A human settlement is defined as a place inhabited more or less permanently. A settlement can range in size from a small number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities with surrounding urbanized areas. Settlements may include hamlets, villages, towns and cities. A settlement conventionally includes its constructed facilities such as roads, enclosures, fields systems, boundary banks and ditches, ponds, parks and woods, manor houses, moats and chruches.

(ii) Distinguish between site and situation.

Ans. Situation is in relation to the surrounding physical features while site is the exact location of a structure or settlement. If you know the site , you can easily locate a settlement on the map.

Situation includes features that are extrinsic to a settlement whereas site includes features that are intrinsic to the settlement.

Site is the land upon which a settlement is built whereas situation talks about surrounding areas.

Site is precise location of the settlement whereas situation is its description in terms of nearby man-made or natural features.


(iii) What are the bases of classifying settlements?

Ans. On the basis of size, growth of population and economic activities in which people are engaged, settlement are classified into two classes: Rural settlement and Urban settlement.

Rural settlement are most closely and directly related to land. They are dominated by primary activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing etc. The settlement size is relatively small.

Urban settlements are those settlements where population size and density of population is very high and majority of its workers are engaged in secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities.


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

Ans. The study of settlement is essential and basic to human geography because the form of settlement in any particular region reflects the human relationship with the environment. A human settlement is defined as a place inhabited more or less permanently. The
houses may be designed or redesigned,buildings may be altered, functions may change
but settlement continues in time and space.There may be some settlements which are
temporary and are occupied for short periods, may be a season.

3. Answer the following question in not more than 150 words.

(i) What are rural and urban settlements? mention their characteristics.

Ans.Any settlement in which most of the people are en­gaged in agriculture, forestry, mining and fishery is known as rural settlement. It is often called as agri­cultural workshop.

Features of Rural Settlement:

  3. Agriculture is the fundamental occupa­tion of the rural people and forms the basis of rural economy. A farmer has to perform various agricultural activities for which he needs the cooperation of other members. Usually, these members are from his family. Thus, the mem­bers of the entire family share agricultural activities. That is the reason why Lowry Nelson has mentioned that farming is a family enterprise.
  5. The village communities are homogenous in nature. Most of their inhabitants are connected with agriculture and its allied occupations, though there are people belonging to different castes, religions and classes.
  9. Usually rural settlement are located near water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and spring.
  10. The houses in rural areas are similar in their construction pattern which is according to the climatic condition.

An Urban Settlement is a concentrated settlement that constitutes or is part of an urban area. It is an area with high density of human created structures. These geometrical patterns are usually in squares and rectangles and are well laid out.

Features of Urban Settlements:

1. Urban settlements are generally compact and larger in size.

2.They are engaged in a variety of non agricultural, economic and administrative functions.

3. Cities are functionally linked to rural areas around them . Thus, exchange of goods and services is performed sometimes directly and sometimes through a series of market towns and cities. Thus, cities are connected directly as well as indirectly with the villages and also with each other.

4. The classification of urban settlements is determined by their economic and social functions and the size of their population. Generally they are divided into the following categories: small towns—up to 10,000 inhabitants, 10,000–20,000, and 20,000–50,000; medium-size cities, 50,000–100,000 inhabitants; and large cities—100,000–300,000 and 300,000–1,000,000 inhabitants.

5. Since the majority of people living in an urban settlement work outside agriculture, professional occupations and industrial manufacturing provide the economy's basis.

6. An urban settlement has a hinterland which is serve and served it.

(a) The hinterland provides food and raw materials to the urban settlement.

(b) It provides a big market for the urban settlement.

7. In order to take care of urban areas, Municipality, Cantonment Board or Notified Area Council are formed.

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

Ans. Major problems of urban areas in developing countries are:


This problem of high population density is caused due to the heavy rate of migration from rural areas. The rapid population growth has led to an acute shortage of dwelling units which resulted to; overcrowding, traffic congestion, pollution, housing shortages (slum and squatter housing), high rents, poor urban living conditions, low infrastructure services, poverty, unemployment, and poor sanitation which has become pervasive and indeed high crime rate. All of these have an effect on the high population density in developing countries.


One major serious aspect of the urban problem is the poor state of the infrastructures. Some developing countries are still faced with bad road network, lack of power supply, inadequate water supply and some basic amenities.


Lack of affordable housing has led to confrontations with well organized squatters, who take over unoccupied buildings to live rent- free or prevent demolitions which has brought about, lack of housing vacancy rate, due to the rapid job growth and housing costs that has increased. Problems such as insufficient housing, especially particular for low income families, are being faced, which resulted in overcrowding of already congested areas, the continuing deterioration of rundown neighborhoods, high social cost and untold personal misery.


Flooding is a very serious problem faced in urban areas, especially in developing countries, during the rainy seasons. The drainage is poorly constructed leading to difficulty in accessing the roads due to the flood leading to the flood disaster in some developing countries.


The increase in population leads to an increase in crime rate. Due to the high level of urban unemployment, idleness and joblessness, this has brought about a high increase in crime rates suffered by the majority of the people in Urban cities. "Without economic security and amid poor living conditions, crime is inevitable"


It could be in traffic and overcrowding. In traffic, there is an overcrowding of a route, leading to slow and inefficient flow which makes movement difficult. Large increases in motor vehicle usage have resulted in congestion on the roads. Congestion within urban areas restricts accessibility.


Traffic congestion and industrial manufacturing, prominent features of the urban landscape, also take their toll on the natural environment and those who depend on it. Lack of clean water is a major problem among the urban poor in major cities around the world, as is air pollution from both cars and factory emissions. In fact, according to an article in the "British Medical Journal," almost 10 percent of the world's disease burden is now caused by pollution and contamination, and the number is significantly higher among the poor in developing countries.