Chapter 7 - Human Environment - Settlement, Transport and Communication

Settlements

• Settlements are places where people build their homes and live.
• Early humans lived on trees and in caves and were dependent on nature for shelter. As agriculture came into existence there was a need for a permanent shelter near the crops. Due to this need, villages, towns, and cities started growing around areas where there was water and fertile land for agriculture.
• As human society progressed, with the development of trade, commerce and manufacturing, human settlements became larger. Civilizations developed near river valleys.
• Settlements are of two types
• temporary settlements
• is where a group of houses are occupied for a short period of time
• Such settlements can be found in deep forests, hot and cold deserts and mountains.
• People in these kinds of settlements practice hunting, gathering and shifting cultivation.
• permanent settlements
• is where a group of houses are occupied for a long period of time
• In these type of settlements people build homes to live in
• People in these kinds of settlements are farmers or office and factory workers.
• The place where a building or a settlement develops is called its site which is selected on the basis of following conditions
1. favourable climate
2. availability of water
3. suitable land
4. fertile soil

Rural Settlements

• A village is a rural settlement
• material like stones, mud, clay, straw etc. are used to construct houses
• people engaged in agriculture, forestry, fishing, crafts work and trading live here
• are built according to the environmental conditions in the region
• houses have slanted roofs in areas with heavy rainfall
• in areas where water accumulates in rainy season the houses are built on raised platforms and stilts 
• in areas of hot climate thick mud walled houses with thatched roofs are very common
• are of two types
• compact rural settlements in which a houses are built close together on a flat piece of land
• scattered rural settlements in which houses are scattered or spread over a large area
• mostly built in hilly areas, thick forests and regions with extreme climates

Urban Settlements

• Towns are small and cities are large urban settlements
• In these areas people are engaged in manufacturing, trading and services.

Transport

• is the means by which people and goods move
• In the early days people moved goods on foot or on animals. After the invention of the wheel, transport became easier.
• As time passed different modes of transport developed.
• Around the world, camels, bullocks, mules, donkeys, yaks and llamas are still used for transport.
• Modern means of transport helps us save time and energy.

The four major means of transport are

• Roadways
• is the most commonly used mode of transport for short distances
• Roads can be
  • metalled (pucca)
  • un-metalled (kutcha)
• There is a dense network of roads in the plains.
• Roads have also been built in forests, deserts and hilly regions.
• The Manali-Leh highway in the Himalayas is one of the highest roads in the world.
• Roads built underground are called subways or underpass.
• Flyovers are roads built over raised structures.

• Railways
• They are used to carry people and goods over long distances quickly and cheaply.
• The invention of the steam engine and the Industrial Revolution helped the development of railway systems around the world.
• Today, diesel and electric engines have widely replaced the steam engine.
• Superfast trains have made travelling faster than ever before.
• Railway networks are well developed in the plains.
• Advanced technology has been used to lay down railway lines in mountains and hilly regions.
• The Indian railway network is the largest in Asia and is very well developed.

• Waterways
• are a cheap way to carry heavy and large goods over long distances
• Waterways can be
  • inland waterways
    1. navigable rivers and lakes are a part of inland waterways
    2. Example - The Ganga Brahmaputra river system in India, the Great Lakes in North America, and the river Nile in Africa.
  • sea routes
    1. are mostly used for transporting goods from one country to another
    2. are connected to each other by ports
  • Some of the important ports are Singapore and Mumbai in Asia, Rio De Janerio in South America, New York and Los Angeles in North America, Durban and Cape Town in Africa, Sydney in Australia and London and Rotterdam in Europe.

• Airways
• are the fastest way of transport in the modern world and are also the most expensive due to the high cost of fuels
• is the only way to reach the remote areas of the world where roads and railways do not go
• Air transport is usually affected by fog and storms.
• Helicopters are useful in inaccessible areas and are used in times of natural disasters to rescue people and distribute food, medicines and other resources.
• Some of the busiest and most important airports in the world are Mumbai, Delhi, New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Cairo.

Communication

• is the process of sharing messages with others
• development of technology has resulted in new and faster modes of communication
• provides information, education as well as entertainment
• The development of communication systems has resulted in an information revolution in the world
• Through mass media such as newspapers, radio and television, we can quickly communicate with a large number of people anywhere and anytime.
• Satellites have made communication faster and have helped in oil exploration, survey of forest, underground water, mineral wealth, disaster warning and weather forecast.
• We can easily send electronic messages, voice, and video through the internet and wireless electronic systems like mobile phones.
• The Internet provides us with worldwide information and also makes our life comfortable by allowing us to book tickets, book hotel rooms or shop online.
• This inter connectivity of people, services and institutions has made us part of a large global society.