question_answer

Describe any five patterns of rural settlements of the world, on the basis of their shapes.

Answer:

Patterns of rural settlements:

(i) On the basis of setting: The main types are:

(a) Plain villages,

(b) Plateau villages,

(c) Coastal villages,

(d) Forest villages and

(e) Desert villages.

(ii) On the basis of functions: There may be:

(a) Farming villages,

(b) Fishermen?s villages,

(c) Lumberjack villages,

(d) Pastoral villages etc.

(iii) On the basis of forms or shapes of the settlements:

There may be a number of geometrical forms and shapes such as:

(a) Linear pattern: In such settlements houses are located along a road, railway line, river, canal edge of a valley or along a levee.

(b) Rectangular pattern: Such patterns of rural settlements are found in plain areas or wide inter- mountain valleys. The roads are rectangular and cut each other at right angles.

(c) Circular pattern: Circular villages develop around lakes, tanks and sometimes the village is planned in such a way that the central part remains open and is used for keeping the animals to protect them from wild animals.

(d) Star like pattern: Where several roads converge, star shaped settlements develop by the houses built along the roads.

(e) T-shaped, Y-shaped, Cross-shaped or cruciform settlements: T-shaped settlements develop at tri-junctions of the roads. Y-shaped settlements emerge at the places where two roads converge on the third one and houses are built along these roads. Cruciform settlements develop on the cross-roads and houses extend in all the four directions.

(f) Double village: These settlements extend on both sides of a river where there is a bridge or a ferry.