What are the Types of Rural Settlements?
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: September 12th, 2023
The Types of Rural Settlements are clustered, agglomerated or nucleated, semi-clustered or fragmented, scattered or isolated, and hamlet. Rural settlements mean the distribution of households in a geographic area, for example, some populations reside on land outside cities and towns, which contributes to rural settlement patterns. The various Types of Rural Settlements are a measure of geo-climatic conditions, collectivity, and land potential.
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Types of Rural Settlements
The Types of Rural Settlements can be broadly put into four categories:
- Clustered, or centralized: This type of rural settlement is a closely built-up area of houses. In rural areas, most homes are separated from the surrounding barns, fields, and pastures. Nearby built-up areas and middle roads show some kind of geometrical shapes and they are found in the northeastern states.
- Hamlet: In different parts of the country, a settlement is divided into several units, and is physically separated from each other. These units are called Palli, Panna, Dhani, Nagla, etc. The fragmentation of large villages may be due to ethnic and social factors. These villages can be seen in the lower valleys of the Himalayas, the Ganda plains, and areas like Chhattisgarh.
- Semi-clustered or fragmented: These types of settlements resulting from the separation of large dense villages. It can also result from clustering in a restricted area.
- Scattered or Isolated: Isolated settlement patterns can be seen in some huts in remote areas of the country, or in fields or small hills along slopes, manifesting as isolated settlements.
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