Settlement:
People Living in Places

RELATED READINGS

• Geography for Life: National Geography Standards, Chapter 4, pp. 64-65, 87-89, and 96-97.
• Patterna of World Urbanization, in World Population: Fundamentals of Growth.
• Teachers Guide: Exploring Sustainable Communities.
• Activity: Perception of Place.

1. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

   Where are people located?

   What are the implications of population distribution patterns?

   1. People occupy a small part of Earths surface.
   2. People tend to congregate in lowland areas.
   3. People favor coastal areas.
   4. Almost 90% live north of the equator.

2. US CENTER OF POPULATION

   Why has the center of US population changed as it has over time?

   How do peoples perceptions affect potential settlement of places?

   (FIGURE 4) Center of US Population, 1790-1980

   1. Part of historical movement of American population from east to west.
      1. Migration moved the "frontier" westward to the Appalachians by 1775.
      2. In the early to mid-1800s migrants were lured to the west coast for gold and land.
      3. By 1890, the Great Plains were being settled and the frontier was declared "closed".

   2. With the closing of the frontier, migration from rural to urban areas increased.
   3. 20th century growth of the "Sunbelt" at the expense of the "Rustbelt".
   4. Peoples perception of places influences decisions of where to live.

3. URBANIZATION

   How do the concepts of site and situation help explain the location of urban areas?

   What are the projected patterns of urban distribution and the significance of these patterns?

   1. The location of settlements (cities) and the ability of settlements to maintain viability are influenced by site and situation (New York City as an example).
      1. The site refers to the local condition. The initial site of New York City was an advantage: sheltered harbor, river access to the hinterland, and located on a great circle route to Europe.

      2. The situation refers to the links with other places. As places change in function and importance, new links must be implemented or the settlement may not remain viable. As economic and population centers shifted to the interior, the situation of New York City changed. In order to maintain connections with the new centers, links were established via the Erie Canal and later by railroad.

      3. Different sites would be more desirable depending upon the time in history and the people making the site selection.

      4. Geographers have identified some common sites selected for settlement.

      (Defensive Sites and Trade Sites drawings)

   2. The worlds cities are growing by 1 million people each week and the global trends are for populations of cities to increase and for the number of cities to increase.
      1. As much as 90% of future population growth is expected to be in cities.

         (FIGURE 5) Urban growth in the US and major world regions
         

      2. Most of the urban population increase will be in the developing countries of the world.

         (FIGURE 6) Populations of selected world cities
         

      3. The United Nations projects an increase in mega-cities (population of 10 million or more) from 12 to 21 by the year 2000.
         1. In 1950, eight cities in the world had population of 5 million or more and only one city (New York) had a population of 10 million.
         2. 17 of the 21 mega-cities in 2000 AD will be developing coutries.

4. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

   "...community that actively engages residents in planning and decisions and provides a human-scale design, ethnic diversity, economic opportunities, and an infrastructure that both runs efficiently and doesnt waste energy and resources. " (World Resources Institute, Exploring Sustainable Communities. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 1998:3).

   1. June 1996 Second UN Conference on Human Settlement, Habitat II, nicknamed the "City Summit".
      1. Adequate shelter for all.
      2. Sustainable human settlements in urbanizing worlds.
   2. Goal Six of the Presidents Council on Sustainable Development.

5. NATURAL HAZARDS

   What are natural hazards and where are they located?

   Why do people settle in areas prone to natural hazards?

   What are the spatial patterns of the affect of natural hazards on population?

   1. As world population size has increased and economies expanded, the need for space and access to resources has influenced a portion of the population to venture into areas previously considered hazardous.

   2. A natural hazard is defined as "an element of the physical environment harmful to people and caused by forces extranedous to them". (G. Jones and G. Hollier, Resources, Society and Environmental Management. Liverpool: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd., 1997:77).
      1. Total number reported is increasing (refer to Table 4).

         Decade	Total Number of Distasters
         1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s	356 523 767 1,387
         Table 4: Total number of officially reported disasters, 1950-1989

      2. The number and variety of diasasters varies by region and country.

      (FIGURE 7) Number of disasters recorded in the Philippines and in Indonesia, 1981-91
      

   3. During the 20th century about 4 million people around the world lost lives due to natural disasters; the loss is not evenly distributed by region or country.
      1. Greatest economic damage occurs in deveoped countries of the world ($17 billion from Hurricane Andrew in the US in 1989).
      2. Greatest human impact in terms of death and disorganization suffered by the poorest countries (250,000 people and 280,000 cattle died in Bangladesh typhoon in 1970).

   4. Major forms of natural hazards and impact.
      1. Earthquakes
      2. Volcanoes
      3. Hurricanes
      4. Tornadoes
      5. Thunderstorms (lightning and hail)
      6. Drought
      7. Floods

(FIGURE 8) Major tectonic plates of the world
Picture and description found at the USGS site.

(FIGURE 9) Plate tectonics: forces at work.
Volcano lesson at USGS site.
Types of Plate Motion.

(TABLE 5) World volcanoes. From National Science Teachers Association, Understanding Our Environment: Planet, 1995.
Information about Volcanoes of the World.