Settlement Geography Settlement Hierarchy and Sphere of Influence

Settlement Geography Settlement Hierarchy and Sphere of Influence These icons indicate that teacher’s notes or useful web addresses are available in the Notes Page. This icon indicates that the slide contains activities created in Flash. These activities are not editable. For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation. 1 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Learning objectives What is a settlement hierarchy? What is the settlement hierarchy based upon? What is a shopping hierarchy? 2 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

What is a settlement hierarchy? A settlement hierarchy is the arrangement of settlements in an order of importance. 3 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Identify this type of settlement 4 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Learning objectives What is a settlement hierarchy? What is the settlement hierarchy based upon? What is a shopping hierarchy? 5 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

What is the settlement hierarchy based upon? The order of settlements within the settlement hierarchy is usually based on one of the following: the size of the settlement in terms of its area and population the range and number of services/functions within each settlement the relative sphere of influence of each settlement 6 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Settlement hierarchy population 1, 000, 001 + conurbation 100, 001 – 1, 000 city 2, 001 – 100, 000 town 101 – 2, 000 11 – 100 1 – 10 population and size of settlement increases village hamlet isolated dwelling Why is the hierarchy drawn as a triangle with a wide base and a narrow point? 7 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Organising a hierarchy by population size Is it easy to organise a hierarchy by population size? NO! The population figures for each type of settlement are really just a guide, as it is difficult to give a cut-off figure for when a hamlet becomes a village, or a village becomes a town. In some countries, so-called villages can be very big. For example, some villages in India may be as large as a British town. BUT it is true that the larger the settlement, the fewer of them there are – look again at the pyramid! There are many isolated buildings but very few conurbations. 8 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

What is the settlement hierarchy based upon? The order of settlements within the settlement hierarchy is usually based on one of the following: the size of the settlement in terms of its area and population. the range and number of services/functions within each settlement. the relative sphere of influence of each settlement. 9 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

What shops/services do you find in a …? 10 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

More shops and services in larger settlements The number of shops and services in a settlement depends upon the threshold population, which is the minimum number of people required by a shop/service to make a profit. Shops and services are classified according to their threshold population: classification frequency maximum example and of use distance estimate of customer threshold prepared population to travel general store – convenience very often short 200 people. (low order) comparison fairly often reasonable bank – 15 000 (middle order) – even the people next town specialist (high order) 11 of 25 not often can be quite far department store – 350 000 people © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Convenience, comparison or specialist? 12 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Types of shops and services Choose which column to put each type of shop or service into. 13 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Settlement size and services: their relation Plot a scattergraph using the following data to work out the relationship between settlement size and services: 14 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Basing a hierarchy upon shops and services Is it easy to base a hierarchy on the number of shops and services? Yes – but there are some types of settlement that do not conform to the general pattern… Liss is a large village in Hampshire, approaching the size of a small town as its population exceeds 6, 000. It is on the main railway line to Waterloo. The village has been badly hit by the closure of local services. Three banks and the bakery have closed down. Why? Tourist resorts like Swanage in Dorset have more services than their population can support to cater for tourists. Its population doubles to 20, 000 in the summer. 15 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

What is the settlement hierarchy based upon? The order of settlements within the settlement hierarchy is usually based on one of the following: the size of the settlement in terms of its area and population. the range and number of services/functions within each settlement. the relative sphere of influence of each settlement. 16 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Sphere of influence is the area served by a particular settlement. What factors give Guildford its sphere of influence? 17 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Sphere of influence is the area served by a particular settlement. Range is the maximum distance that a customer is prepared to travel. Competition from nearby settlements Functions of nearby settlements Population size of the settlement and its surrounding area 18 of 25 Size of sphere of influence Functions of the settlement Transport facilities © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Learning objectives What is a settlement hierarchy? What is the settlement hierarchy based upon? What is a shopping hierarchy? 19 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Shopping hierarchies As well as a settlement hierarchy, there is a shopping hierarchy! 20 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Sphere of influence 21 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Sphere of influence of shops and services Explain why the sphere of influence of the corner shop is much smaller than the department store. 22 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Sphere of influence of shops and services N Which grocer has the largest sphere of influence? Describe the shape of the sphere of influence of ‘grocer 3’. 0 2 km 1 grocer 2 3 Why don’t people travel to ‘grocer 3’ from the east? Give some possible reasons why ‘grocer 1’ has the smallest sphere of influence. settlement bridge river sphere of influence 23 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

How good is your hierarchy knowledge? 24 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Key ideas! Settlement hierarchy refers to the arrangement of settlements in an order of importance based on size, services and sphere of influence. Services can be classified as convenience, comparison or specialist. Sphere of influence is the area served by a particular settlement. Threshold population is the minimum number of people needed to support a settlement or service. Range is the maximum distance that people are prepared to travel to obtain a particular service. Shops and services can also be organised into a hierarchy. 25 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005