Big picture
A settlement is a cluster of dwellings where people live. Settlements range from a few huts in a forest to megacities of crores of people. In India, settlements are broadly rural (where most people depend on primary activities like farming) and urban (where people mainly work in secondary and tertiary activities).
This chapter explains the types of rural settlements and why they form, how Indian towns evolved, how towns are classified, and the growth of cities.
Learning goals
Distinguish rural and urban settlements.
Describe the types of rural settlements and the factors that shape them.
Explain the Census definition of an urban area.
Describe the evolution of towns in India.
Explain urbanisation and the classification of towns by population and function.
Explain million-plus cities, mega cities and the Smart Cities Mission.
Core ideas
1. Rural and urban settlements
Rural settlements | Urban settlements |
|---|---|
Most people depend on primary activities (agriculture, fishing, forestry) | Most people work in secondary and tertiary activities |
Smaller, less densely populated | Larger, densely populated |
Social relations are close and personal | Relations are more formal and impersonal |
Fewer services and facilities | More services, markets and amenities |
2. Types of rural settlements
Type | Features | Where found |
|---|---|---|
Clustered (agglomerated or nucleated) | Compact, closely built houses; the living area is distinct from surrounding farmland; may be rectangular, radial or linear | Northern plains (fertile alluvial plains), north-eastern states; also in Bundelkhand (for defence) and Rajasthan (to share scarce water) |
Semi-clustered (fragmented) | A clustered core with some houses spread out, often because of segregation of a section of society or fragmentation of a large village | Gujarat plains and parts of Rajasthan |
Hamleted | The settlement is fragmented into several units physically separated from each other but sharing a common name; locally called panna, para, palli, nagla, dhani | Middle and lower Ganga plain, Chhattisgarh and lower Himalayan valleys |
Dispersed (isolated) | Isolated huts or hamlets in remote forests, hills or extremely difficult terrain | Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala; tribal areas |
Factors affecting rural settlement types:
Physical features: nature of terrain, altitude, climate and availability of water. Water scarcity may cause clustering around a source; plenty of water and fertile land may allow dispersal.
Cultural and ethnic factors: caste, ethnicity and religion; groups may live in separate sections.
Security factors: defence against thefts and robberies, as in Bundelkhand, where people clustered on hilltops.
3. Urban settlements: the Census definition
According to the Census of India, a place is urban if it is:
a statutory town (with a municipal corporation, municipality, cantonment board or notified town area committee), or
a census town meeting all three conditions below.
Conditions for a census town:
a minimum population of 5,000;
at least 75% of the male main workers engaged in non-agricultural work;
a population density of at least 400 persons per sq km.
4. Evolution of towns in India
Period | Examples | Features |
|---|---|---|
Ancient towns | Varanasi, Prayagraj (Allahabad), Pataliputra (Patna), Madurai | Developed as religious and cultural centres; some over 2,000 years old |
Medieval towns | Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra, Nagpur | Developed as headquarters of principalities and kingdoms; fort towns |
Modern towns | Surat, Daman, Goa, Puducherry (trading ports); Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata (British trading centres); hill stations (Shimla, Darjeeling); cantonment towns | Developed by the British and other Europeans as trading ports, administrative centres and hill resorts |
Post-independence planned towns | Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Dispur (administrative headquarters); Durgapur, Bhilai, Sindri, Barauni (industrial towns) | Built for administration or industry; satellite towns around metropolises (Ghaziabad, Gurugram) |
5. Urbanisation in India
Urbanisation is the increase in the share of population living in urban areas.
In 2011, about 31.2% of India's population was urban, lower than in developed countries.
Urbanisation accelerated after independence, especially in large cities, because of rural-to-urban migration and natural growth.
6. Classification of towns by population size
Class | Population |
|---|---|
Class I towns (cities) | 1,00,000 or more |
Million-plus cities (metropolitan cities) | 10 lakh (1 million) or more; there were 53 urban agglomerations with a million or more people in 2011 |
Mega cities | More than 50 lakh (5 million); in 2011, Greater Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad |
An urban agglomeration is a continuous urban spread of a town and its adjoining outgrowths, or two or more physically contiguous towns.
7. Functional classification of towns
Function | Examples |
|---|---|
Administrative | New Delhi, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Shillong, state capitals |
Industrial | Mumbai, Salem, Coimbatore, Modinagar, Jamshedpur, Bhilai |
Transport (ports, railway junctions) | Kandla, Kochi, Kozhikode, Visakhapatnam (ports); Agra, Mughalsarai, Itarsi, Katni (junctions) |
Commercial | Kolkata, Saharanpur, Satna |
Mining | Raniganj, Jharia, Digboi, Ankaleshwar, Singrauli |
Garrison (cantonment) | Ambala, Jalandhar, Mhow, Babina, Udhampur |
Educational | Roorkee, Varanasi, Aligarh, Pilani, Prayagraj |
Religious and cultural | Varanasi, Mathura, Amritsar, Madurai, Puri, Ajmer, Pushkar, Tirupati |
Tourist | Nainital, Mussoorie, Shimla, Ooty, Mount Abu |
Many large cities are multifunctional.
8. Smart Cities Mission
The Smart Cities Mission, launched in 2015, aims to develop cities with core infrastructure, a clean and sustainable environment, and a good quality of life, using smart solutions such as digital governance, efficient public transport, water and waste management, and affordable housing.
A reliable approach to questions
For rural settlements, describe each type with its region and the factors that cause it.
State the Census definition of urban accurately (5,000; 75%; 400 per sq km).
Match towns to their period of evolution.
Classify towns by population and by function with examples.
Connections that matter
India: population explains rural and urban composition and migration.
Selected geographical issues and problems discusses slums and urban problems.
Tertiary activities explains the services concentrated in cities.
Common mistakes
Saying a census town needs 75% of all workers in non-agriculture. It is 75% of male main workers.
Placing hamleted settlements in Meghalaya. Hamleted settlements are typical of the middle and lower Ganga plain; dispersed settlements are common in Meghalaya.
Calling Chandigarh a medieval town. It was planned after independence.
Confusing million-plus cities (1 million) with mega cities (over 5 million).
Revision checklist
I can distinguish rural and urban settlements.
I can describe four types of rural settlements with regions and factors.
I can state the Census definition of an urban area.
I can describe the evolution of towns in India.
I can classify towns by population and function.