This document discusses settlement hierarchies and different types of shopping areas. It explains that there is a hierarchy of shopping areas from bottom to top based on the goods sold. At the bottom are corner shops that sell convenience goods to a small local catchment area. At the top are shops in large centers or Central Business Districts that sell specialist goods to a wide catchment area. The document provides examples of different types of shopping areas in the hierarchy from corner shops up to out-of-town shopping centers.

1. Settlement
hierarchies and
shopping

2. Spot the difference…
Hint: try to co m e up with at le ast 1 0
diffe re nce s be twe e n the se se ttle m e nts!

3. Learning objectives
 To know what a settlement hierarchy is
 To understand the main characteristics of
different types of settlements

4. Match up the settlement key terms…

5. Settlement Hierachy

6. Types of shopping areas can be put into a hierarchy.
At the bottom are shops that sell low order goods (also known as convenience
goods) such as food and newspapers. These are usually found in housing
estates.
At the top of the hierarchy are shops that sell high order goods (also known as
specialist goods) such as furniture or jewellery. These shops are usually found
in large centres or in the CBD.
The catchment area describes the area from which people are likely to come to
buy goods. Shopping centres have a wide catchment area, whereas corner
shops have a small catchment area.

7. Activity:
Draw a large pyramid diagram with 5 layers, then fill
in the shops in the correct places. Then draw the
table underneath.
Corner shops Usually found in inner city housing estates and sell
low order goods to people living nearby
Shopping streets Either in the suburbs or near large areas of
housing, have some small shops and services e.g.
hairdressers
Small shopping centres Small undercover centres found near the city
centre and stock low and high order goods
Central Business District (CBD) The town centre is busy and has specialist shops
that attracts people from all around
Out-of-town shopping centres Large and purpose-built centres just for shopping
and sell high order goods to people from the wider
area e.g. Trafford Centre