Human Settlements and Migration

Human response to environment finds expression in settlements. A settlement is a group of human dwellings. In some places, like India, the term 'settlement' may imply a unit area identifiable for revenue collection (in which case it may be an uninhabited settlement, too).

CLASSIFICATION

Settlements may be classified in several ways. The most common division is into towns and villages, the basic
difference between them being that the chief occupation of the. people in towns is trade or indus~1'Y. while most of the people in villages deal in agricultural work. '.
Settlements can also be classiffed by their design or spatial structure: in some areas large numbers of farms or homes may be spread over aq area to produce a dis~ersed pattern, while at other places people prefer to live close to one anothe.!- in compact or nucleated settlements.

Yet another way of looking at settlements is by virtue of their site or position.
The shapes of settlement are often related to their sites. If farming is the major concern, the shape ofthe settlement may have a grid pattern. If the settlement is focussed on a water supply source ora fort, it tends to take a circular pattern; settlements at the convergence of transport routes often assume the shape of a star.
Whatever type it may be, basic requirements for a settlement art! availability of water, food supplies, material for building shelters, means of protection against natural hazards as well as human enemies.