Urban Settlement

These settlements are multi-functional (have many functions). Secondary and tertiary functions take place in urban settlements.

Types of settlements according to their MAIN function:
1. Trade and transport towns and cities:
a) Gap or gateway towns form where traffic routes converge – at mountain passes, ports and    bridges, for instance. An example is Worcester in the Western Cape.
b) Junction towns form at railway or road junctions. An example is De Aar in the Northern Cape.
c) Break-of-bulk towns form where one type of transport is changed for another – at a harbour goods are offloaded from the ship and onto a truck to be transported inland. An example is Port Elizabeth.

2. Specialised towns and cities:
These towns have one dominant function and are located where the resource needed for this function is available – recreational towns, for example, Plettenburg Bay, and mining towns, for example, Kimberley.

3. Central places:
These towns provide services to the surrounding population. Examples are Harrismith and Bethlehem. Many South African towns are central places.
In many cases the original main function of an urban settlement has changed, for example, Johannesburg was originally a mining town but its main functions now are commercial and government.

Urban hierarchySettlements form a hierarchy based on their size, number of people and functions.

High and low order functions
High-order functions are specialised functions and are found only in settlements that are high in the hierarchy, for example, a university or the main branch of a bank. Low-order functions are not specialised functions and are found in settlements low in the hierarchy as well as in settlements at the top of the hierarchy, for example, a corner café or agency of a bank.

There are more settlements at the base of the hierarchy and fewer settlements at the top:

Very large, highly complex urban areas have developed in some countries:
••A conurbation is a large urban area composed of a number of towns that have merged, for example, Midrand to Pretoria.
••A megalopolis is formed by the merging of conurbations, for example, New York and the urban areas on the east coast of the US.

Central Place Theory (developed by Christaller)This theory is used to explain the distribution of central places of different sizes and complexity. Remember that a central place is an urban settlement that provides services to the surrounding population.

Concepts:
It is important that you learn these definitions!
•• Threshold population – the minimum amount of people required to support a business. Low-order services or goods have a smaller threshold population as they are used often.
•• Range – the maximum distance that people will travel to obtain a service or goods. Low-order goods have a small range.
•• Sphere of influence (also called the market area) – the area served by a central place. Places that are low in the hierarchy have a small sphere of influence. Christaller believed that the sphere of influence should be hexagon-shaped so that all areas were served by a central place.

Therefore to summarise central place theory: there are more low-order central places and they are closer together. Low-order places have a smaller sphere of influence and serve a smaller population. They offer fewer functions and these are low-order functions.

Form or morphology of urban settlements
•• Shape: dependent on physical factors, economic factors and transport routes. Be able to identify the shapes of towns in the mapwork examination.

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