A settlement hierarchy refers to the ranking or ordering of human settlements based on factors like population size, number and type of services, and sphere of influence. Larger settlements like cities and towns are higher in the hierarchy and have more services than smaller settlements like villages and hamlets. A settlement's sphere of influence is the area around it where it provides services and attracts people. Central place theory also describes how settlements are spaced based on the services they provide to their surrounding areas.

1. What is a Settlement Hierarchy? Learning objectives: To understand what a settlement hierarchy is. To know the central place theory To understand that settlements have a sphere of influence

2. What is a Settlement Hierarchy ? Tasks: Arrange yourselves in height order. Arrange yourselves in order of age. You have just arranged yourselves in an order. This is called a HIERARCHY.

3. What is a Settlement Hierarchy ? A settlement hierarchy is when settlements are ranked in order of size or importance. (copy this down) Put the following photos into an order of size Village City Town Hamlet

4. Geog.1 by Gallagher et al

5. This refers to the arrangement of settlements in an ‘order of importance’, usually from many isolated dwellings or hamlets at the base of the hierarchy to one major city, (usually the capital) at the top. The order of importance is usually based on one of the following: the area and population of the settlement ( size ) the range and number of services /functions within each settlement the relative sphere of influence of each settlement. Settlement hierarchy

6. Settlement hierarchy Isolated dwelling Hamlet Village Town City Conurbation Population 1-10 11-100 101 – 2,000 2,001 – 100,000 100,001 – 1,000,000 1,000,001 + population and size of settlement increases

7. Identify this type of settlement

8. Can we prove this? Using your Cambridge OS maps, count the number of settlements that you can see within a 10km ² area. Is the settlement hierarchy theory correct?

9. Hamlet Village Town City The services may apply to more than one size of settlement. Match the service to the settlement Church Cathedral Railway station Post Office Secondary School Corner Shop Public House Junior School Theatre

10. This is defined as the area served by a particular settlement. It is the area around a central place in which it distributes services, recruits labour and takes in school children. Sphere of influence

11. Where would you go to buy the things from these shopping lists…? List A Newspaper Cadburys chocolate Milk Stamps List B New shoes CDs/DVDs Sports top Christmas present for your friend List C Presents for your family Clothes for you Visit the cinema/go out for dinner whilst you’re there

12. Threshold Population – the minimum number of people needed to support a settlement or service. Range – the maximum distance that people are prepared to travel to obtain a particular service. Sphere of Influence is based upon two main principles: Put the following in order, with the one with the largest range first: Sphere of influence corner shop regional shopping centre department store small supermarket

13. The Central Place Theory Settlements are places to which people travel to buy things. People travel from a market area Each type of settlement is a central place, but they will be offering different types of services. Christaller came up with the Central Place Theory- this is used to describe the sizing and spacing of settlements according to the services they offer.

14. High or low order goods?

15. High order goods… These are comparison goods Before people buy them, they compare prices and quality. People do not buy these goods very often Therefore the shops have a higher threshold population, and will need to locate in a larger settlement to make a profit.

16. Low order goods These are convenience goods People use them regularly and do not need to compare prices Shops selling these need a smaller threshold population to make money as people buy them more frequently The shops therefore locate in smaller settlements.

17. Which grocers has the largest sphere of influence? Describe the shape of the sphere of influence of ‘grocer 3’. Why don’t people travel to ‘grocer 3’ from the east? Give some possible reasons why ‘grocer 1’ has the smallest sphere of influence. sphere of influence river bridge settlement grocer 1 grocer 2 grocer 3 0 2km N

18. What is a Settlement Hierarchy? ODD ONE OUT 1.Village, department store, post office, pub 2. University, theatre, small population, restaurants. 3. Bottisham, Newmarket, Lode, Burwell

19. Quick quiz: 1. Which would have the bigger sphere of influence: HMV or the Co-op local supermarket?

20. 2. High or low?

21. 3. Would this be sold in a shop that sells convenient or comparison goods?

22. 4. The threshold population of this good is… large or small?

23. 5. The range of this good is large or small?

24. 6. True or false? A conurbation is at the top of the settlement hierarchy?

25. 7. High or low?

26. 8. High or low?