This document defines and describes different types of human settlements from small hamlets to large cities. It discusses the historical shift from rural villages to urbanization and growth of cities due to industrialization. It also describes the expansion of cities through suburbanization and formation of metropolitan areas and exurbs. Finally, it notes current trends towards more people living in large cities of over 1 million compared to smaller towns and cities.

1. II: Changing Forms of Urbanization
Institute of Social & Cultural Studies
University of the Punjab - Lahore

2. Types of Human Settlements

3. Hamlet
is a rural community — that is, a small settlement
— which is too small to be considered a village.
With around 10-200 people living there
A hamlet could be described as an equivalent of a
neighborhood in a city or village.
Residents of a hamlet often identify themselves
more closely with the hamlet than with the town

4. Village
is a clustered human settlement or community,
larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town or
city.
With 200-1000 people living there; can go up to
10,000.
Villages are normally permanent, with fixed
dwellings.
Further, the dwellings of a village are fairly close
to one another, not scattered broadly over the
landscape.

5. The Industrial Revolution caused many villages to
grow into towns and cities;
this trend of urbanisation has continued, though not
always in connection with industrialization.
The importance of village as human settlement has
reduced.

6. Town
A type of settlement ranging from a few to several
thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands)
inhabitants,
Usually 1000-10,000 population; can go upto 100,000

7. Where rural-urban converge
Usually, a "town" is thought of as larger than a village
but smaller than a "city“
Too large for all inhabitants to be acquainted yet
small enough for informal relations to predominate
Social Behaviour more like rural area and
infrastructure more like urban

8. City
is an urban area with a large population and a
particular administrative and legal status.
With population >10,000 – 100,000
cities generally have systems for sanitation,
utilities, land usage, housing, and transportation
and more.
A big city may have suburbs. Such cities are
usually associated with metropolitan areas,
creating large amounts of business commuters.

9. Types of Cities/Towns
1. Temple Town/City
2. Garrison Town/City
3. Political Capitals Town/City
4. Industrial Town/City
5. Resort Town/City
6. Seaport Town/City
7. Mining Town/City
8. Educational Town/City
9. Company Town/City
Modern cities/towns have a wide range of diverse activities

10. Types of cities based on Population Size
1. MEGA CITY
is usually defined as a recognized metropolitan area with a
total population in excess of 10 million people
Some definitions also set a minimum level for population
density (at least 2,000 persons/square km).
A megacity can be a single metropolitan area or two or
more metropolitan areas that converge upon one another
The terms megapolis and megalopolis are sometimes used
synonymously with megacity.

11. In 1970, there were only two mega cities:
Tokyo (23.3 mil) and New York (16.2)
In 1990, increased to 10:
Tokyo (32.5), New York (16.1), Mexico City (15.3), Sao
Paulo, Brazil (14.8), Osaka-Kobe, Japan (11), Kolkata
(10.9), Los Angeles, USA (10.9), Seoul, Korea (10.5)
and Buenos Aires, Argentina (10.5)

12. In 2011, there are 23 mega cities, within which 13
are in Asia alone.
(Complete list attached)
One Pakistani city makes the list: Karachi with 13.9 mil
By 2025, it is expected that there will be 37 cities
crossing the 10 mil mark.
(Complete list attached)
Two Pakistani cities make the list with Karachi with
20.2 Mil and Lahore with 11.2 mil

13. 2. META CITY
The term metacity is also sometimes used to describe
cities with more than 20 million people. e.g. Greater
Tokyo has 37 million population.
In 2011, there are five meta cities including:
Tokyo (37.2 mill), Dehli (22.7), Mexico City (20.4), New
York (20.4) and Shanghai (20.2).
In addition two borderline cities Sao Paulo, Brazil (19.9)
and Mumbai (19.7)
By 2025 first Pakistani city makes the list, Karachi with
20.2 mil

14. Development/Expansion of Cities
Classically (till 19th
century) city consisted of a
central area with relatively high population
density surrounded by supportive space of
agricultural production.
After industrial revolution:
Creation of two distinct classes
 Affluent families moved away from city while retaining place
there
 Using transportation like carriages later crude steam powered
trains finally automobiles

15. Suburbanization/Suburbs:
Collectively, the suburbs are all of the continuous
urbanization that extends beyond the core city (all
of the urban area except the historical core
municipality and other adjacent historical
municipalities).
A specific suburb can be an individual municipality or
community in the suburbs.

16. Post World War II
Economic prosperity
Govt programmes
Led to transformation of ordinary worker into a middle-
class with more buying power; in addition
mass production of automobiles
better roads (US 1950s highways for military
transportation)
investment in real estate led to MASS Suburbanization

17. At each stage of urban development and population
increase the city boundary were pushed outward from
city center
The phenomena of SUBURBANIZATION
However the outside area was always economically
dependent on city center

18. Metropolitan area
Surrounding area under direct influence of the
city through road linkages, frequent transport and
commuting facilities.
means a labor market, or the area from which the
urban area draws its employees. For example, the
Chicago metropolitan area (population nearly 10
million) includes the city of Chicago, the Chicago
urban area, and adjacent rural areas from which
many people travel to work in the urban area.

19. A metropolitan area will nearly always be larger than the
urban area, because urban areas routinely draw a large
number of workers from surrounding suburbs, exurbs and
rural territory.
A metropolitan area may include more than one urban
area.

20. Exurbia:
Exurban refers to non-rural development that is
within a metropolitan area, but outside the urban
area.
Exurb: An exurb is a municipality (or a
community) or urban area in a metropolitan area
that is separated by rural territory from the
principal urban area.
Low density exurban development is generally
large lot residential development that is not of
sufficient density to be considered urban and is
not agricultural.

21. The demand for this type of housing is on the increase. As
the cities become more crowded, more and more people
begin to yearn for space.
Many of them settle into a nice lot somewhere between
the small towns and the city where they can still keep the
comforts of an urban lifestyle, but have the pleasures of a
rural setting.
This type of behavior not only affects the land, but also
the current rural population.
These so-called 'city-folks' have different ideas and
expectations for their land than the long-time dwellers on
that land. Thus, many social and political conflicts arise in
these suburban areas.

22. Multi-centered Metropolitan Region (MMR)
Once a city expands far enough to reach another city.
It could be set of neighboring but spatially separate
regions but linked because of good roads and
transportation system.

23. Central City:
The central city or core city is the municipality in
an urban area or
metropolitan area that emerged historically as the
most prominent in the urban area.
Almost without exception, the name of the core
city is also shared with the urban area and the
metropolitan area e.g. Toronto, NY, Paris

24. Urban agglomeration.
An urban area is also an agglomeration with out the
distinction of individual cities.
An urban area that forms when two or more urban areas
grow together, which are converging into a single urban
area. e.g. Rawalpindi-Islamabad
Refers to population contained within a contiguous
territory inhabited at urban density levels without regard
to administrative boundaries.
It usually incorporates the population in a city or town
plus that in the sub-urban areas lying outside of but being
adjacent to the city boundaries.

25. City by sizes
The world urban population is not distributed
evenly among cities of different sizes.
Total World urban population 3.6 billion
50.9 per cent (1.85 billion ) of 3.6 billion lived in cities
or towns with less than half a million inhabitants.
Such small cities (less than 50,000) account for:
55 % of the urban population in the more developed
regions
50.2 % in the less developed regions.

26. Cities with populations ranging between 500,000
and 1 million were home to:
365 million people (10.1%) of the world urban
population.
Taken together, cities with fewer than 1 million
inhabitants account for 61 % of the urban
population (3 in every 5 people)

27. this proportion is expected to decline in the
future. By 2025, only 1 out of 2 will live in cities of
this size.
In contrast, cities of 1 million and more
inhabitants,
2011 accounting for about 40 % of the world urban
population
By 2025, expected to account for 47 % of the world
urban population

28. Indeed, the future urban population will be
increasingly concentrated in large cities of one
million or more inhabitants.
In fact, among the million plus cities, the
megacities of at least 10 million inhabitants will
experience the largest percentage increase.
This increasing urban concentration in very large
cities is a new trend which contradicts previous
observations.