HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

LECTURE 1

Abhishek K. Venkitaraman Iyer

Assistant Professor
Faculty of Architecture, MIT

Human settlements have always been created by man's moving in space and
defining the boundaries of his territorial interest and therefore of his settlements,
for which he later created a physical and institutional structure.

In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a

community in which people live. A settlement can range in size from a small number
of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities with surrounding urbanized areas.
Settlements may include hamlets, villages, towns and cities.

Defining Human Settlements

Human settlements define peoples
existence. They are places large and small,
urban and rural, formal and informal where
people live, learn, work, and create.
They also comprise an important component of the
entire
environment,
namely
the
built

environment.
The fabric of human settlements consists of
physical elements and services to which these
elements provide the material support. The
physical components comprise shelter, i.e.
the superstructures of different shape, size, type
and materials erected by mankind for security,
privacy, and protection from the elements and for
his singularity within a community; infrastructure,
i.e. the complex networks designed to deliver or
remove from the shelter people, goods, energy of
information.
Services cover those required by a community for
the fulfillment of its functions as a social body, such
as education, health, culture, welfare, recreation
and nutrition.

Human settlements means the totality of the human community - whether city,
town or village - with all the social, material, organizational, spiritual and
cultural elements that sustain it. The fabric of human settlements consists of physical
elements and services to which these elements provide the material support. The
physical components comprise:

Shelter, i.e. the superstructures of different shapes, size, type and materials
erected by mankind for security, privacy and protection from the elements and
for his singularity within a community;
Infrastructure, i.e. the complex networks designed to deliver to or remove from
the shelter people, goods, energy or information;
Services cover those required by a community for the fulfillment of its functions
as a social body, such as education, health, culture, welfare, recreation and
nutrition.

Primitive Settlements
Non - organized settlements

organized settlements

Circular Layout

And when we saw all those cities and villages built in

the water and other great towns on dry land, and that
straight and level causeway leading to Tenochtitlan, we
were amazedIndeed, some of our soldiers asked if it
was not all a dream (Spanish chronicler, Bernal Diaz
del Castillo) describing Aztec Chinampa agriculture

MAN IS A SOCIAL ANIMAL

The Extent of Human Settlement

Nature and extent of human settlements, confuses man with their physical
structure ("the built-up area is the city") or their institutional frame ("the
municipality is the city");

But human settlements have always been created by man's moving in space and
defining the boundaries of his territorial interest and therefore of his
settlements, for which he later created a physical and institutional structure;
When we view human settlements as systems of energy mobilized by man - either
as basal metabolic or as muscular or, recently, as commercial energy systems
we get new insights.

Primarily one factor which defines the extent of human settlements: the distance man wants to
go or can go in the course of his daily life;
The shortest of the two distances defines the extent of the real human settlement, through
definition of a "daily urban system

Hierarchy of Settlements types

Defining The City

Urban Area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in
comparison to areas surrounding it.
Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended
to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.
Urban areas are created and further developed by the process of urbanization.
Measuring the extent of an urban area helps in analysing population density and urban
sprawl, and in determining urban and rural populations.

Unlike an urban area, a

metropolitan area includes not
only the urban area, but also
satellite cities plus intervening
rural land that is socioeconomically connected to the
urban core city, typically by
employment
ties
through
commuting with the urban core;
city being the primary labor
market.
In fact, urbanized areas
agglomerate and grow as the
core
population/economic
activity center within a larger
metropolitan area or envelope.

Defining the City

Concept of urban and phenomenon of urbanization are some how new to
human population.
In the entire history of human evolution, its been only fairly recently that people have begun
to live in relatively dense urban agglomeration.

Before 1850AD no society could be described as being urban societies.

Despite this rapid transformation and growth of urban

centres, the notion of urban remains

Transitory
Changing from time to time
Differing across political boundaries
Being modified depending on the purpose that the definition of
urban could serve.

At times, urban populations are defined in terms of

Ecological factor such as density and population size.
It is difficult even to compare countries based on the percentage of
urban population since many countries have different definitions of
what size population is necessary to make a community "urban.
For example;
In Sweden and Denmark, a village of 200 people is counted as an
"urban" population but it takes a city of 30,000 in Japan.

Most other countries fall somewhere in between. Australia and

Canada use 1000, Israel and France use 2000 and the United States
and Mexico call a town of 2500 residents urban. In India It need to
be more than 50,000

In order to understand a city of todays context basic understanding required are:

Past, present and future trends in urban growth;
History of urban formation
Trends in urban growth
Meaning of the term urban

Concepts concerning the meaning of the term urban based on certain criteria such
as function and space.

Urban Growth: Past, Present and Future

It is found that cities emerged in the world as early as 5,550 years ago, the first of which were

in Mesopotamia and Nile Valley, the Indus Valley and the Hoang-Ho Valley;
There were several organizational factors that may have precipitated the formation of early
cities, including commercial and trade, religious and political factors;
There is evidence that relatively large agglomerations existing in Babylon

(250,000),
Patna (350,000) and Rome (650,000) between about 400 BC to AD 100;

Radio-centric Layout

Radio-centric Layout

Acropolis

Urban area: As per Indian Census

Definition of census for an urban settlement as per the Census of India 2011, the definition of
urban area is as follows;
1. All places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area
committee, etc.
2. All other places which satisfied the following criteria:
a. A minimum population of 5,000;

b. At least 75 per cent of the male main working population engaged in non-agricultural
pursuits; and
c. A density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km.
The first category of urban units is known as Statutory Towns. These towns are notified under law
by the concerned State/UT Government and have local bodies like municipal corporations,
municipalities, municipal committees, etc., irrespective of their demographic characteristics as
reckoned on 31st December 2009. Examples: Vadodara (M Corp.), Shimla (M Corp.) etc.
The second category of Towns is known as Census Town. These were identified on the basis of
Census 2001 data.

Urban Agglomeration
The outgrowths of urban areas have also been incorporated in
larger urban areas and are designated as urban agglomeration
which comprise:
An urban area with continuous urban outgrowth which is outside the
statutory urban limits but falling within the boundaries of the adjoining
village or villages;
Two or more adjoining urban areas with their outgrowths, so as to form
a continuous urban spread;
Two or more adjoining areas without outgrowths, but which form a
continuous urban spread

Urban form determinants are factors and influences.

In the history the forms of settlements at both rural/village, urban/ city
status have been determined by these factors.

Natural world determinants

This has played an important role in shaping of all historic urban forms
Man Made determinants
This can be applied to both organic growth and planned towns
(fortification)
Locational Determinants

A-Two characteristic kind

of organic growth: western
European providing street
frontage plot development
and Mesopotamian/ Islamic
with housing access Cul-de-sac

B- The grid-iron as the

usual basis of planned urban
form

C- Organic growth
nucleus with planned grid
iron extension;

D- Planned grid-iron
nucleus with organic growth
extension

E- the special western

European circumstances.
Early Medieval organic
growth

The special western European

circumstances. Early Medieval organic
growth

Carcassonne, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

The grid-iron as the

usual basis of planned urban
form
TIMGAD - THE PATTERN OF A ROMAN CAMP

ROAD AND ARCH OF TRAJAN

VIEW FROM FORUM AREA

The grid-iron as the

usual basis of planned urban
form

TIMGAD

Natural World Determinants

Topography
The terrain on which a settlement became established, or over which it expanded.

Hilltop areas- Medieval European Burgs

Limitless Prairie- Oklahoma City
Direction of Growth (Sea side/ Riverside)- Cairo, Baghdad
Ridge top cities- Edinburgh
River Valley/ Peninsular- Durham, Miletus, Alexandria
Radical geographical adjustments- Ancient Rome, Expansion of Mexico
Topography has played a major part in the creation of urban third dimension- Visual effect

Characteristic topographical
circumstances for urban settlements and
subsequent growth

C- Hill and Ridge

top origin

D- Flat and open

prairie with no
major
topographical
growth

B- Riverbank Origin, initially

with ferry or ford limitation on
cross river settlements;

A- Seafront, island and peninsular origins;

Plan of
Barcelona,Spain

TYPES OF SEAFRONT DEVELOPMENTS - NATURAL

SAN FRANCISCO - BAY

NEW ORLEANS - GULF

FIRE ISLANDS - BARRIER

VENICE- LAGOON

TYPES OF SEAFRONT DEVELOPMENTS MAN MADE

Reclaiming land from sea - Holland

Building islands on sea - Dubai

Venice

Riverbank Origin: Medieval City of Heidelberg

Riverbank Origin:Medieval City of Heidelberg

Riverbank Origin: Varanasi

Hilltop Origin: Prague, The Prague castle overlooks the whole city from atop a hill

Natural World Determinants

Climate
different forms depending on local climatic
circumstances.
Grouping of rooms, no. of stories, with of the
lane, courtyards, use of shade and sun,
architectural elements, Privacy for women of
the family were the crucial climatic factors
decided the form of the settlements in Hot and dry
climate led to design of climate response shelter.
Settlements in hot humid required houses to
be constructed on several storeys with screened
bay windows opening onto the public streets.

A- (night) The courtyards and rooms

were filled with cool air;
B- (noon) the court is heated by the
sun,and hot air rises creating cooling
convection current in the room;
C- (afternoon) Courtyards and rooms
at their hottest but convection currents
increasingly caused by shadow
cooling

The Traditional courtyard in Dravidian Architecture

Natural World Determinants

Construction Material and Technology

Constraints due to performance of locally

available materials.
Local vernacular - Need for material in
bulk quantity necessitated the use of locally
available material.
Application of human scalelimited height of the wall, the width of the
opening and the clear span of floors

Technological development has altered this

urban third dimension and enabled the suburban expansion beyond previous natural
boundaries.

Characteristics of the room sizes,

height of building and size of the
opening in walls, as constrained by
traditional local vernacular
materials and technology related to
the scale of human figure.

Man-made Determinants
Primary motivating forces are trade, political, social power and religion;
Economic base in the form of the emergence of a sufficient surplus is the fundamental prerequisite;
Above all religion was a primary
changes and focused on social life.
The wall of Siena
divides the well
governed city from its
countryside.
Ambrogio Lorenzettis
fresco in the Palazzio
Pubblico, painted
c.1340

causative factor,

it permeated all activities, institutional

Economic
Economy shaped the role of the city as market-place, which required buildings, spaces for making and
sale of goods;
In European towns urban spaces have accommodated communal trading activities later transformed to
major markets and covered market halls
In Medieval towns the entire city was a market.
In Islamic cities a clear distinction between home and workshop and trading used take place in
wide market street with temporary stalls.

Political
The city as a military and latterly Ballot-box power base embodied the citadels, castles,
and places of past ruling elites.

Religious
The city as a devotional centre
Characters- Tallest, visually most assertive spire, towers
and domes as skyline elements
Promoted extensive building activities across the world

The German Town of

Heidelberg, the church
is the tallest building
with a visually
dominant spire.

Man-made Determinants
The pre-urban Cadastre It is the most
useful term refers to the pattern of pre existing
man-made rural property boundaries, regional
routes, drainage ditches, etc.

Man-made Determinants
Defence
Need for defence against external attack
became primary in medieval cities.

Turin(Italy) from the Northeast, 1750. The city rises above a broad band bastioned walls, moat
and earthworks.

Man-made Determinants
Aggrandizement
From earliest times, religious,
monarchical, political and other
vested interests have been glorified
in cities.
A- A typical Sumerian city with its Ziggurat ;
B- Harappan city with its western citadel;
C- An ancient Greek with temple on its
acropolis;
D- A Norman castle 11th century , England;
E- A church in Medieval European Village;
F- A church in Latin American City;
G- A royal Statue square in Paris;
H- Royal Aggrandizement at Versailles;
J- Democratic aggrandizement at Washington

A typical Sumerian city with its Ziggurat

Norman castle 11th century , England

A Church in Ettlingen, Karlsruhe, Germany

Acropolis

The Grid-iron
It was rectilinear grid-iron pattern of land
subdivision formed the basis of planned
settlements.
A Grid-iron plan ordinarily comprises an
orthogonal network of streets diving the
planned area into primary building blocks
which are further divided into rectilinear
individual plots as a basis of urban land
distribution.
Attempts made in the history
1) Harappan Cities,
2) Greek
Planned Cities,
3) Romans with their imperial urban
planning
policies,
4) Numerous medieval monarchs and land
owners and
5) European city planners in the USA

URBAN MOBILITY
Measures taken to increase
capacity of an existing system,
without affecting urban form;
Planning of extensions and
alteration of the existing systemcan have radical effect.

Once, Delhis Chandni Chowk area had 24 trams running. Kolkata is the only Indian city to
have retained trams to this date.

Balance and Symmetry about an axis in Vatican City.

In a classic example of Baroque planning, the encircling arms of the colonnade of Berninis St
Peters basilica, crowned with sculptures by the same artist, reach out into the wider vista
towards the Tiber river. (Thomas Mawson, Civic Art, 1911, p107)

Balance and Symmetry about an axis in Karlsruhe Schloss

Piazza Di Campidoglio,Rome

il Campidoglio or Monte Capitolino

Approach from the central vista to Rashtrapati Bhavan

SERIAL VISION
The Rashtrapati Bhavan is gradually revealed and the mystery culminates
Role of levels & screening
Each view enlarging the centre of the previous view & bringing us near to the terminal building

Example of Class segregation

and improvement of urban
infrastructure in Vienna, the
old city wall gradually gave way
to a ring road.

The Circus and the Royal Crescent, Bath, Somerset, England.

THANK YOU

Abhishek K. Venkitaraman Iyer

Assistant Professor
Faculty of Architecture, MIT