
What is a dispersed settlement in geography?
Dispersed Rural Settlements A dispersed settlement is one of the main types of settlement patterns used to classify rural settlements. Typically, in stark contrast to a nucleated settlement, dispersed settlements range from a scattered to an isolated pattern (Figure 12.6).
What are the different types of rural settlement patterns?
Historic rural settlement patterns occur in many different forms, from single dispersed farmsteads, through a range of agglomerations of simple farm clusters and hamlets to much more complex nucleations around greens, churches, or castles.
How did the development of farming affect the settlement system?
The development of farming brought with it the need for more permanent settlements. The small nucleated settlements of the hunters and gatherers were turned into more dispersed settlements as the farmers needed more room for their fields, pastures and other farming operations.
What are the advantages of dispersed settlement?
The large size of the land in dispersed settlements makes it ideal for the employment of machinery in economic activities for improved productivity. In the United Kingdom, a dispersed settlement can be found in different parts of the country.

What are the advantages of dispersed settlements?
However, there also benefits that come with living in a dispersed settlement. The isolation of the households is not entirely bad, as it provides the inhabitants with privacy. Poor sanitation and deplorable drainage systems are rarely a problem in dispersed settlements since a few people use these amenities.
What led to the development of dispersed settlement?
If the landscape has few natural resources, a low population, infertile or poor soil, and bad weather conditions, then few towns will develop in the area and people will travel great distances to the nearest town. All of these factors contribute to a dispersed pattern.
What are the factors that influence the dispersion of rural settlement?
Water Supply: Usually rural settlements are located near water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and springs where water can be easily obtained. Land: People choose to settle near fertile lands suitable for agriculture. Upland: Upland which is not prone to flooding was chosen to prevent damage to houses and loss of life.
Why did dispersed rural settlement patterns dominate the Midwest of the United States?
Dispersed rural settlement patterns dominated in the American Midwest in part because the early settlers came primarily from the Middle Atlantic colonies. Dispersed rural settlements were considered more efficient for agriculture than clustered settlements.
What is the function of dispersed settlement?
The term dispersed settlement refers to a settlement structure in which individual farms and small groups of farmsteads or hamlets occur in a cluster of scattered parcels of land (Farm). The term dispersed settlement is also used for individual farms with a shared cadastral area and legal district.
What is dispersed settlement short answer?
A dispersed settlement, also known as a scattered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement patterns used by landscape historians to classify rural settlements found in England and other parts of the world. Typically, there are a number of separate farmsteads scattered throughout the area.
What factors have influenced the settlement?
In order to better categorize which factors ultimately affect settlement, geographers have generally accepted four umbrella terms to describe these elements: climatic, economic, physical, and traditional.
What are the factors that influence the distribution of settlement?
The factors that influence distribution pattern of settlement are geographical, socio economic, and population factors [19].
What is the evolution of rural settlement?
A Rural Settlement, as the point of origin and primary residence of human society. The concept of evolution of rural settlement includes the colonization, spread and competition of different groups in the process of origin and growth of rural settlement. began to grow. to form approximately in Neolithic Period.
Why did many European countries convert to dispersed patterns?
Why did many European countries convert to dispersed patterns? To improve agricultural production. In Great Britain, between 1750-1850 the British government transformed the rural landscape by taking multiple independently owned farms and clustering it into one big farm owned by an individual.
What causes changes in settlement patterns?
Settlement patterns are partly influenced by population pressure. In urban areas, there is a tendency for the slums to develop in areas which have been designated as flood-prone zones.
How did industrialization change settlement patterns in American cities?
With industrialization came a rapid rise in population as mortality declined. The economy shifted to manufacturing, urbanization increased, and there was a proportional decline in the agricultural population.
Which of the following factors is responsible for the dispersion of settlement?
Solution. - Patterns of settlements are affected by various physical factors like relief, soils, climate, availability of water supply, etc. - Physical factors influence the type and spacing of settlements, which results in various patterns of settlements.
Where is a dispersed settlement?
Dispersed settlements are ones where the houses are spread out over a wide area. They are often the homes of farmers and can be found in rural areas. Example of a dispersed settlement: Brülisau, Switzerland is an example of a linear settlement.
What is dispersed settlement 7?
Answer: There are five patterns of rural settlements: Dispersed settlements: These are composed of distant and isolated dwellings. Such settlements are largely found in hilly areas or in other areas with poor accessibility.
What are the factors that determine the selection of sites for settlement?
Determining where to settle land has always depended on a variety of factors, including proximity and accessibility to needed resources. Locations of landforms such as rivers, mountains, and bays has influenced where towns and cities were built.
What is clustered rural settlement?
A clustered rural settlement is a rural settlement where a number of families live in close proximity to each other, with fields surrounding the collection of houses and farm buildings. The layout of this type of village reflects historical circumstances, the nature of the land, economic conditions, and local cultural characteristics. ...
Where did the dispersed settlement pattern originate?
In the United States, the dispersed settlement pattern was developed first in the Middle Atlantic colonies as a result of the individual immigrants’ arrivals. As people started to move westward, where land was plentiful, the isolated type of settlements became dominant in the American Midwest.
What are the main economic activities in the mountain region?
Mining, livestock raising, and agriculture are the main economic activities, the latter characterized by terrace cultivation on the mountain slopes. The sub-mountain regions, with hills and valleys covered by plowed fields, vineyards, orchards, and pastures, typically have this type of settlement.
What is a scattered village?
A scattered dispersed type of rural settlement is generally found in a variety of landforms, such as the foothill, tableland, and upland regions. Yet, the proper scattered village is found at the highest elevations and reflects the rugged terrain and pastoral economic life. The population maintains many traditional features in architecture, dress, and social customs, and the old market centers are still important. Small plots and dwellings are carved out of the forests and on the upland pastures wherever physical conditions permit. Mining, livestock raising, and agriculture are the main economic activities, the latter characterized by terrace cultivation on the mountain slopes. The sub-mountain regions, with hills and valleys covered by plowed fields, vineyards, orchards, and pastures, typically have this type of settlement.
What is linear settlement?
Linear Rural Settlements. The linear form is comprised of buildings along a road, river, dike, or seacoast. Excluding the mountainous zones, the agricultural land is extended behind the buildings. The river can supply the people with a water source and the availability to travel and communicate.
What are the two categories of settlements?
Using as classification criteria the shape, internal structure, and streets texture, settlements can be classified into two broad categories: clustered and dispersed.
When was Rundlinge invented?
The current leading theory is that Rundlinge were developed at more or less the same time in the 12th century, to a model developed by the Germanic nobility as suitable for small groups of mainly Slavic farm-settlers.
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Why do rural areas have linear settlement patterns?
This is because people settle along rivers, mountain ranges, roads, railway lines etc. Most communal areas are also have the nucleated settlement patterns as homes are organized into kraals and people share pastures and fields.
What was the Agrarian Revolution?
The Agrarian revolution which occurred in Europe in the 18 th century and spread to other countries led to the development of isolated farm settlements. In Zimbabwe most commercial farms have nucleated settlements as farming e.g. tobacco farming tends to be labour intensive.
What was the shelter made of?
Shelter was mostly basic and in the form of caves, tents made from animal skins, huts made out of wood, leaves and grass. The development of farming brought with it the need for more permanent settlements.
What are the different types of settlements?
There are innumerable geometric possibilities relating to local terrain and location (such as road, canal, riverbank, or spring-line settlements), political conditions, or genesis of the settlements: colonial villages often had defensive functions expressed in linear or circular forms (Figure 2 ). The simpler hamlet clusters which characterized settlement in poorer more difficult agricultural environments were often associated with kinship groups, organic growth of settlements over long periods of time, as well as tribal roots of landownership in the early Middle Ages.
How does urbanization affect grassland ecosystems?
3 ). Urbanization causes the establishment of impermeable surfaces, landscape fragmentation, habitat loss and a loss in natural resource pathways and biodiversity ( Van der Walt et al., 2015 ).
Why is connectivity important in landscapes?
Connectivity between different natural landscapes is important to ensure natural ecosystem processes and patterns. The fragmentation of the natural habitat is an important factor that contributes toward the loss of and isolation of vegetation thereby creating smaller natural vegetation patches ( Fahrig, 2003 ).
How does grazing affect grassland?
Overutilization in terms of grazing combined with the effect of trampling degrades the grassland habitat making it susceptible for invasion by alien plants and woody species encroachment. Thus, incorrect grazing practices and stocking rates combined with drought events can alter the structure, composition and ecosystem functioning of the grassland areas. Moderate to heavy grazing by domestic animals causes a decrease in forb species richness of up to 84% and even leads to the extirpation of certain perennial forbs ( Scott-Shaw and Morris, 2014 ). In areas where land is left fallow it seldom if ever returns to its original vegetation structure. Bredenkamp and Brown (2003) found that natural grasslands in the Highveld region of South Africa that are degraded due to anthropogenic influences become dominated by thatch grasses ( Hyparrhenia spp.). These Hyparrhenia -dominated grasslands tend to be stable for a very long time (up to 50 years or more) and mostly have low species richness and diversity. In the high-altitude sub-alpine grasslands of Lesotho uncontrolled and ill-managed grazing programs have resulted in the degradation of the grasslands as well as its associated peatlands where large-scale erosion occurs. This has negative impacts on the larger and very important water catchment that is regarded as the most important water catchment area of southern Africa ( Du Preez and Brown, 2011 ).
How does capillary rise occur?
Capillary rise with evaporation from the soil surface or transpiration from salt-tolerant vegetation occurs in the valleys ( Plate 30 ). Much valley land has been salted and swamped as a result of recent rise of the groundwater. Flow from groundwater into saline marshes (salt pans) occurs at the lowest part of the cross section. This salty groundwater was set in motion by increased percolation into it consequent on the replacement of forest by wheat on the uplands. In a nearby area, such clearing ( Peck and Hurle, 1973) increased percolation by 45 mm yr −1, a large increment to the 3−5 mm yr −1 prior to clearing, when most of the rainfall was held until transpired in the soil and therefore did not enter the saline groundwater or start it moving.
