Junior Certificate Geography Notes on Settlement for the Irish Second Level Education Curriculum. Prior knowledge of OS Maps is helpful for this section.

1. Settlement
URBAN SETTLEMENT
This is towns and cities. There are many reasons why towns and cities develop at
their locations.
1. Flat land It is easy to build on flat land. It may be good farming land and
people may have settled there in order to buy/sell vegetables etc.
2. Where roads meet Towns develop where many roads meet. This is
where a lot of people would gather to buy/sell and meet up with each other.
3. On a River Most towns are built on rivers. Rivers would have been useful
for water, food and transport. Towns are normally located at a low point of the river
where it is easy tocross.
4. At the coast Some towns develop near the sea because of fishing
(Killybegs) or Tourism (Bundoran)
Rural Settlement
Rural means Countryside. (The opposite is Urban, which means towns/cities)
Settlement means where people live.
There are FOUR factors that affect where people build houses in the country.

2. 1. Height. People rarely build up in the mountains. Too windy, no shelter, poor
roads, feel cut off.
2. Slope. If the land is too steep it is difficult to build on.
3. Aspect. This is the direction that the sun shines. People will build where their
house gets most sun.
4. Drainage. People will not build where it is too wet. Eg. Too close to a river, the sea
or at the bottom of a steep slope.
Settlement Patterns
There are three types of settlement patterns.
1. DISPERSED (SCATTERED)This is when the houses are very far apart. Eg. Out in
the country (farms), on high ground.
2. NUCLEATED (CLUSTERED) This pattern is when there are many houses
bunched together. Eg. at a cross roads.

3. 3. RIBBONED (LINEAR) This is when there are a row of houses built in a line
along a road.
Choosing a location for a large building
1. Beside a main road. (For Lorries coming in and out)
2. Beside a large town (for workers, and a market tosell your product)
3. On Flat land (easy to build on)
4. Beside an Airport, Port or railway station (to transport your product)