Q. 1. Give the meaning of ‘clustered rural settlement’ in India.
Ans. The clustered rural settlement is the kind of settlement that generally develops in the fertile plain and river valleys. The density of population in such areas is very high because of high productivity of the land.
Q. 2. Define the term human settlements.
Ans. Human settlement means cluster of dwellings of any type or size where human beings live.
Q. 3. Distinguish between towns and villages on the basis of occupation.
Ans. The difference between towns and villages on the basis of occupation is that, in towns the main occupation of the people is related to secondary and tertiary sectors, while in the villages most of the people are engaged in primary occupations such as agriculture, fishing, lumbering, mining , animal husbandry, etc.
Q. 4. Why is the density of rural roads very low in the hilly areas of India? Give one reason.
Ans. (i) Nature of difficult terrain.
(ii) Poor economic condition in those areas.
Q. 5. Where are compact settlements found? Give one feature of such settlements.
Ans. Compact settlements are largely found in plain areas. In such settlements, houses are built close to one another creating narrow lanes.
Q. 6. Name two places where isolated settlement pattern can be found.
Ans. It can be found in Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala .
Q. 7. Name the two major types of settlements.
Ans. Two major types of settlements :
(i) Compact settlement
(ii) Dispersed settlement
Q. 8. What is the main activity in rural settlements?
Ans. Primary activities
Q. 9. Which types of settlements are found in the Northern Plains?
Ans. Clustered settlement.
Q. 10. Name the local names of hamleted settlement.
Ans. Panna, Para, Palli, Nagla and Dhani.
Q.11. Give the meaning of ‘dispersed settlement.’ Explain any two reasons for the development of such settlements in India.
Ans. Dispersed rural settlements are those in which houses are built far apart from each other. These settlements consists of one or two house and cultural features such as a church or a temple binds the settlement together. Such settlements are found in hills, plateau and highlands.
The reasons for the development of such settlements in India are :
(i) Extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and land resource of habitable areas.
(ii) Safety of household that has to travel a long distance for basic commodities is threatened because of isolation.
Q.12. Explain any three characteristics of clustered rural settlements of India.
Ans. (i) The characteristics of rural settlement is a compact built up area of houses.
(ii) In this type of village, the general living area is distinct and separated from the surrounding farms and pastures.
(iii) The closely built up area and its intervening streets present some recognisable pattern or geometric shape such as rectangular, radical, linear, etc.
(iv) Such settlements are found in fertile alluvial plains and in the north-eastern states.
(v) Sometimes people live in compact village for security reasons, such as in Bundelkhand and Nagaland.
(vi) In Rajasthan, scarcity of water has necessitated compact settlement for maximum utilisation of available water resources.
Q.13. Explain any three features of semi-clustered rural settlements of India.
Ans. Features :
(i) Semi-clustered settlements may result from tendency of clustering in a restricted area of dispersed settlement.
(ii) Semi-clustered settlements results from fragmentation of a large compact village.
(iii) One or more sections of the village society is forced to live little away from the main village.
(iv) The dominant community occupies the central part of the main village.
(v) People of lower strata of society and menial workers settle on the outer planks of the village.
(vi) Such settlements are widespread in Gujarat plain and some parts of Rajasthan.
Q. 14. Explain any three physical factors responsible for different types of rural settlements in India.
Ans. Types of rural settlements are determined by the following physical factors :
(i) Climate : Very hot and very cold climate is unfavourable for rural settlements. Areas with favourable climate attract people to reside over those areas. North Indian plains, delta regions and coastal plains have larger population with compact settlements. In harsh climate regions scattered settlements are found.
(ii) Fertile soils : Fertile soils are important for agricultural and allied activities. Clustered settlements are generally found in fertile alluvial plains. They may be in rectangular, radical, linear shapes.
(iii) Nature of terrain : Shapes and size of rural settlements are determined by the nature of terrain. In plain areas, the shape and size of rural settlements are compact or clustered and larger, having larger number of population. On the other hand, on hilly and mountain areas they are scattered and small in size. In such areas, dispersed settlements are found in the form of isolated huts. They are found in Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Q. 15. Explain any three characteristics each of hamleted and dispersed rural settlement in India.
OR
Differentiate between hamleted rural settlements and dispersed rural settlements.
Ans. Hamleted Rural Settlements :
(i) They are fragmented into many units.
(ii) This segmentation is motivated by social and ethnic factors.
(iii) Such settlements are found in Northern Plains, etc.
(iv) These units are locally called Panna, Para, Nagla, Dhani, etc., in various parts of the country.
Dispersed Rural Settlements :
(i) It appears in India in the form of isolated huts or hamlets. They are isolated settlements.
(ii) Safety of these households is threatened because of isolation.
(iii) Households have to travel a long distance for basic commodities.
(iv) Many areas in Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala have this type of settlement.
Q.16. Differentiate between clustered and semiclustered rural settlements.
Ans. Differences between clustered and semi-clustered rural settlements: Clustered rural settlements :
(i) The clustered rural settlement is a compact built up area of houses.
(ii) It is found in fertile alluvial plains.
(iii) People live in the compact villages for security or defence reason.
Semi-clustered rural settlements :
(i) They may result from tendency of clustering in a restricted area of dispersed settlements.
(ii) Such settlements are widespread in the Gujarat plains and in some parts of Rajasthan.
(iii) One or more sections of society choose to live a little away from the main cluster.
Q.17. What are hamleted settlements? Mention any two areas of India where such settlements are found.
Ans. A hamlet is a settlement, which is too small to be considered as a town or a village. As a general rule, hamlets are rural and many of them arise around a specific site such as a mill or a large farm. In some countries, hamlets are legally defined, while in others, the word is simply a term to describe a small settlement, with no definition attached.
A typical hamlet consists of only a few houses, often clustered together close to the road. Many hamlets lack stores and services, forcing their dwellers to travel to the nearest town to meet their needs.
Two areas in India are :
(i) Middle and lower parts of the Ganga plain.
(ii) Lower valleys of the Himalayas.
(iii) Chhattisgarh .
Q.18. Explain any three factors that determine the clustered or compact rural settlements in India.
OR
Determine the characteristics of the clustered rural settlements in India.
Ans. The factors that determine the clustered or compact rural settlements in India are :
(i) Clustered rural settlement develops in the fertile plain ad river valleys.
(ii) The density of population in such areas is very high because of high productivity of the land.
(iii) The houses in these areas are compact, congested with narrow streets.
Q.19. Explain the factors that determine the rural settlements.
Ans. Factors that determine the rural settlements are :
(i) Physical factors : Nature of the terrain, altitude, climate and water.
(ii) Cultural and aesthetic factors : Caste, religion and social structure.
(iii) Security factors : Defence against thefts, robberies and wild animals.
Q. 20. What are the main factors for the location of villages in desert regions?
Ans. The main factors for the location of villages in desert regions are :
(i) Land prices are very cheap.
(ii) Groundwater is deep but still available as it has not been used.
(iii) The government makes jobs easily available for people residing in desert areas.
Q. 21. Name the types of rural settlement. What are the factors responsible for the settlement patterns in different physical environment?
Ans. Different types of rural settlements :
(i) Clustered settlements
(ii) Semi-clustered settlements
(iii) Helmeted settlements
(iv) Dispersed settlements
Factors affecting patterns of rural settlements are :
(i) Nature of terrain (ii) Altitude (iii) Climate (iv) Availability of water.
Q. 22. Give the meaning of human settlement.
Ans. A human settlement is defined as a place inhabited more or less permanently. It includes buildings in which they live or use and the paths and streets over which they travel. It also includes the temporary camps of the hunters and herders. It may consist of only a few dwelling units called hamlets or big cluster of buildings called urban cities.
Q.23. What are medieval towns?
Ans. About 100 of the existing towns have their roots in the medieval period. Most of them developed as headquarters of principalities and kingdoms. These are fort towns which came up on the ruins of ancient towns. They are known as medieval towns.
Q.24. What are ancient towns?
Ans. There are number of towns in India having historical background spanning over 2000 years. They are known as ancient towns.
Q.25. What are administrative towns? State one example from India?
Ans. Towns supporting administrative headquarters of higher order are administrative towns, such as Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bhopal, Shillong, Guwahati, Imphal, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Chennai etc.
Q.26. Name the ‘urban agglomeration’ having the highest share of immigration population in India.
Ans. Greater Mumbai.
Q. 27. Give any two examples of ancient towns of India.
Ans. (i) Varanasi (ii) Pataliputra (Patna).
Q.28. On the basis of evolution, the towns can be divided into how many groups?
Ans. On the basis of their evolution in different periods, Indian towns may be classified as: ancient towns, medieval towns, and modern towns.
Q.29. When did evolution of town started in India?
Ans. It was started in the prehistoric times, e.g., Mohenjodaro and Harappa (The Indus Valley Civilisation).
Q.30. Name any two modern towns built by the British in modern style ?
Ans. Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras) and Kolkata (Calcutta).
Q.31. How have the modern towns developed in India? Explain.
OR
How have a large number of medium and small towns developed all over the country after independence? Explain.
OR
How did the modern towns develop during the period of British domination?
Ans. The modern towns developed in India as under :
(i) The British and other Europeans have first developed some coastal locations and trading points in India such as Surat, Daman, Goa, Puducherry, etc.
(ii) The British later consolidated their hold around three principal nodes- Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and built them in British style.
(iii) They developed cantonment areas/towns such as New Delhi and Bangalore.
(iv) They developed hill stations as summer capital like Shimla.
(v) They developed administrative and industrial towns such as Chandigarh, Bhilai, etc.
(vi) After independence large number of towns have been developed as administrative headquarters such as Chandigarh, Bhubaneshwar, Gandhinagar.
(vii) Industrial towns such as Durgapur, Bhilai, Barauni are developed to establish big industrial units.
Q.32. How will you identify an urban agglomeration?
Ans. An urban agglomeration can be identified by its : (i) Size (ii) Population (iii) Occupations (iv) Economic activities
Q.33. Explain any three features of urban settlements in India.
Ans. Three features of urban settlements in India:
(i) Urban settlements are generally compact and larger in size.
(ii) Some towns and cities specialize in certain functions and they are known for some specific activities, products and services.
(iii) People are engaged in non-agricultural activities, economic and administrative functions.
(iv) Any other relevant point
Q.34. Define the term ‘Metropolitan City.’
Ans. A metropolitan city refers to cities which have population size between one million and five million sharing industry, infrastructure and housing.
Q.35. Name the metropolitan city of Bihar.
Ans. Patna.
Q.36. Name the metropolitan city of Karnataka State as per 2011 census.
Ans. Bengaluru.
Q.37. How is the level of urbanisation measured?
Ans. The level of urbanisation is measured in terms of percentage of urban population to total population.
Q.38. What was the level of urbanisation in 2011 in India?
Ans. The level of urbanisation in India in 2011 was 31.16 per cent.
Q.39. Name the satellite towns around Delhi.
Ans. Ghaziabad, Rohtak, Gurugram and Faridabad.
Q.40. How many mega cities are there in India?
Ans. Six
Q. 41. What are metropolitan cities and mega cities? Give two examples of each of the metropolitan cities and mega cities from India.
Ans. Cities which have population size between one million and five million are called metropolitan cities and more than five million cities in the world are mega cities.
Examples :
(i) Metropolitan cities : Surat, Kanpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, etc.
(ii) Mega cities : Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, etc.
Q.42. What are garrison towns? What is their function?
Ans. A town containing military base is known as garrison town.
Functions of garrison towns are :
(i) To protect the people
(ii) Maintain the peace and stability
(iii) Help of urban outgrowth
Q.43. What are metropolitan cities? How are they different from urban agglomerations?
Ans. Metropolitan cities refer to cities which have population size between one million and five million sharing industry, infrastructure and housing.
The urban agglomeration differs from the metropolitan cities in the following ways :
(i) A town and its adjoining urban outgrowths.
(ii) Two or more contiguous towns with or without their outgrowths.
(iii) A city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths together forming a contiguous spread.
Q.44. What is Class I town?
Ans. Urban centre with population of more than one lakh is called a city or Class I town.
Q.45. What are administrative town?
Ans. Towns supporting administrative headquarters of higher order are administrative towns, such as Chandigarh and New Delhi.
Q. 46. What are commercial towns?
Ans. Towns and cities specialising in trade and commerce are known as commercial towns. Kolkata, Saharanpur, Satna, etc., are some examples.
Q. 47. Define transport cities.
Ans. Transport cities can be defined as ports primarily engaged in export and import activities such as Kandla, Kochi, Kozhikode, Vishakhapatnam, etc.
Q.48. Describe the three combinations that an urban agglomeration may consist of.
Ans. An urban agglomeration may consist of any one of the following three combinations:
(i) A town and its adjoining urban outgrowths,
(ii) Two or more contiguous towns with or without their outgrowths, and
(iii) A city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths together forming a contiguous spread. Examples of urban outgrowth are railway colonies, university campus, port area, military cantonment, etc., located within the revenue limits of a village or villages contiguous to the town or city.
