Chapter 4 Human Settlements Solutions
Question - 1 : - Choose the right answers of the followings from the given options:
1.(i) Which one of the following towns is NOT located on a river bank?
Answer - 1 : -
(a) Agra
(b) Bhopal
(c) Patna
(d) Kolkata
Answer
(b) Bhopal
Question - 2 : - Choose the right answers of the followings from the given options:
1.(ii) Which one of the following is NOT the part of the definition of a town as per the census of India?
Answer - 2 : -
(a) Population density of 400 persons per sq km.
(b) Presence of municipality, corporation, etc.
(c) More than 75% of the population engaged in primary sector.
(d) Population size of more than 5,000 persons.
Answer
(c) More than 75% of the population engaged in primary sector.
Question - 3 : - Choose the right answers of the followings from the given options:
1.(iii) In which one of the following environments does one expect the presence of dispersed rural settlements?
Answer - 3 : -
(a) Alluvial plains of Ganga
(b) Arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan
(c) Lower valleys of Himalayas
(d) Forests and hills in north-east
Answer
(d) Forests and hills in north-east
Question - 4 : - Choose the right answers of the followings from the given options:
1.(iv) Which one of the following group of cities have been arranged in the sequence of their ranks i.e. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in size?
Answer - 4 : -
(a) Greater Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai
(b) Delhi, Greater Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata
(c) Kolkata, Greater Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata
(d) Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai
Answer
(d) Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai
Question - 5 : - What are garrisson towns? What is their function?
Answer - 5 : -
Garrison towns are the towns whose formation is a result of the setting up of a military base. They are also referred to as cantonment towns. Ambala, Mhow, etc can be referred to as garrison towns. The main function of the garrison towns is to cater to the needs of defence and people employed in defence services of the nation. These are specially designed for the purpose of military, navy or airforce activities.
Question - 6 : - How can one identify an urban agglomeration?
Answer - 6 : -
An urban agglomeration consists of any one of the following three combinations:
- a town and its adjoining urban outgrowths,
- two or more contiguous towns with or without their outgrowths, and
- a city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths together forming a contiguous spread.
Examples of urban outgrowth are railway colonies, university campus, port area, military cantonment, etc. located within the revenue limits of a village or villages contiguous to the town or city.
Question - 7 : - What are the main factors for the location of villages in desert regions?
Answer - 7 : -
Desert regions are characterized by aridity that is lack of water, hence scanty vegetation which is xerophytic in nature. Main factor in the desert for settlement patterns is supply of water. In Rajasthan in India there tend to be clustered settlements around oasis and other regions of water availability. Since these are the only few regions where water is available, therefore settlement around the water source become clustered and is the main driving force for habitation.
Question - 8 : - What are metropolitan cities? How are they different from urban agglomerations?
Answer - 8 : -
According to census of India the cities with population between 1 to 5 million are termed as metropolitan cities. An urban agglomeration is a stretch of urban area which may comprise two or more cities. Many of the metropolitan cities of India are basically urban agglomeration.
Question - 9 : - Discuss the features of different types of rural settlements. What are the factors responsible for the settlement patterns in different physical environments?
Answer - 9 : -
In India compact or clustered village of a few hundred houses is common, particularly in the northern plains. But, there are areas, with other forms of rural settlements. There are various factors and conditions responsible for having different types of rural settlements in India. These include:
- physical features – nature of terrain, altitude, climate and availability of water
- cultural and ethnic factors – social structure, caste and religion
- security factors – defense against thefts and robberies. Guided by these factors rural settlements in India can broadly
be put into four types:
- Clustered, agglomerated or nucleated,
- Semi-clustered or fragmented,
- Hamleted, and
- Dispersed or isolated.
Clustered Settlements: The clustered rural settlement is a compact or closely built . up area of houses. Here the general living area is distinct and separated from the surrounding farms, barns and pastures. The closely built-up area and its intervening streets give rise to pattern or geometric shape, such as rectangular, radial, linear, etc. These are generally found in fertile alluvial plains and in the northeastern states. People live in compact village for security or defence reasons, such as in the Bundelkhand region of central India and in Nagaland. In Rajasthan, scarcity of water has necessitated compact settlement for maximum utilisation of available water resources.
Semi-Clustered Settlements: Semi-clustered or fragmented settlements may result from tendency of clustering in a restricted area of dispersed settlement. In this case, one or more sections of the village society choose or is forced to live a little away from the main cluster or village. Generally, the land-owning and dominant community occupies the central part of the main village, whereas people of lower strata of society and menial workers settle on the outer flanks of the village.
Hamleted Settlements: This settlement is fragmented into several units physically separated from each other bearing a common name. These units are locally • called panna, para, palli, nagla, dhani, etc. in various parts of the country. This segmentation of a large village is often due to social and ethnic factors.
Dispersed Settlements: Dispersed or isolated settlement pattern in India appears in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of few huts in remote jungles, or on small hills with farms or pasture on the slopes. Extreme dispersion of settlement is often caused by extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and land resource base of habitable areas.
Question - 10 : - Can one imagine the presence of only one-function town? Why do the cities become multi-functional?
Answer - 10 : -
Towns and cities are generally classified on the basis of the functions they perform. No town performs a single function, rather they are classified on the basis of the dominant function they perform. Even specialised cities, as they grow into metropolises become multifunctional wherein industry, business, administration, transport, etc. become important. The functions get so intertwined that the city can not be categorised in a particular functional class. Due to varying needs of human beings all the people of a town cannot be engaged in a single activity. Even if a town is a garrison town, basic trade activities must be carried out to provide the residents with the articles of day to day need, food items etc. To support the dominant activity of the town, the ancillary activities start emerging.
Mumbai is a transport town due to presence of port in Mumbai but it is also hub of international trade in India, hence is a trade town, Also it is the commercial capital of the country due to varying commercial activities, which are a result of the presence of large capital in the city because of it being a trading town and a port city. Therefore the presence of a dominant of a single function also attracts people to the town, which in turn create conditions conducive for development of other functions hence, towns become multifunctional. The functions performed in a town are extremely dynamic, new functions keep’ on adding and old functions getting linked with each other. Therefore, in modern economies no town can be a single functioned town.