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Chapter 4: Human Settlements - Questions/Answers | NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography(India People and Economy)
Class 12 Geography(India People and Economy) Chapter 4: 'Human Settlements' - Questions and Answers of NCERT Book Solutions.
1. Choose the right answers of the followings from the given options:
(i) Which one of the following towns is NOT located on a river bank?
(a) Agra
(b) Bhopal
(c) Patna
(d) Kolkata
Answer: (b) Bhopal
(ii) Which one of the following is NOT the part of the definition of a town as per the census of India?
(a) Population density of 400 persons per sq km.
(b) Presence of municipality, corporation, etc.
(c) More than 75% of the population engaged in primary sector.
(d) Population size of more than 5,000 persons.
Answer: (c) More than 75% of the population engaged in primary sector.
(iii) In which one of the following environments does one expect the presence of dispersed rural settlements?
(a) Alluvial plains of Ganga
(b) Arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan
(c) Lower valleys of Himalayas
(d) Forests and hills in north-east
Answer: (d) Forests and hills in north-east
(iv) Which one of the following group of cities have been arranged in the sequence of their ranks i.e. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in size?
(a) Greater Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai
(b) Delhi, Greater Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata
(c) Kolkata, Greater Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata
(d) Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai
Answer: (d) Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words:
(i) What are garrisson towns? What is their function?
Answer: Garrison towns are the towns whose formation is a result of the setting up of a military base. They are also referred to as cantonment towns. Ambala, Mhow, etc can be referred to as garrison towns. The main function of the garrison towns is to cater to the needs of defence and people employed in defence services of the nation. These are specially designed for the purpose of military, navy or airforce activities.
(ii) How can one identify an urban agglomeration?
Answer: An urban agglomeration consists of any one of the following three combinations:
• a town and its adjoining urban outgrowths,
• two or more contiguous towns with or without their outgrowths, and
• a city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths together forming a contiguous spread.
Examples of urban outgrowth are railway colonies, university campus, port area, military cantonment, etc. located within the revenue limits of a village or villages contiguous to the town or city.
(iii) What are the main factors for the location of villages in desert regions?
Answer: Desert regions are characterized by aridity that is lack of water, hence scanty vegetation which is xerophytic in nature. Main factor in the desert for settlement patterns is supply of water. In Rajasthan in India there tend to be clustered settlements around oasis and other regions of water availability. Since these are the only few regions where water is available, therefore settlement around the water source become clustered and is the main driving force for habitation.
(iv) What are metropolitan cities? How are they different from urban agglomerations?
Answer: According to census of India the cities with population between 1 to 5 million are termed as metropolitan cities. An urban agglomeration is a stretch of urban area which may comprise two or more cities. Many of the metropolitan cities of India are basically urban agglomeration.
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words:
(i) Discuss the features of different types of rural settlements. What are the factors responsible for the settlement patterns in different physical environments?
Answer: In India compact or clustered village of a few hundred houses is common, particularly in the northern plains. But, there are areas, with other forms of rural settlements. There are various factors and conditions responsible for having different types of rural settlements in India. These include:
• physical features – nature of terrain, altitude, climate and availability of water
• cultural and ethnic factors – social structure, caste and religion
• security factors – defense against thefts and robberies. Guided by these factors rural settlements in India can broadly
be put into four types:
• Clustered, agglomerated or nucleated,
• Semi-clustered or fragmented,
• Hamleted, and
• Dispersed or isolated.
Clustered Settlements: The clustered rural settlement is a compact or closely built . up area of houses. Here the general living area is distinct and separated from the surrounding farms, barns and pastures. The closely built-up area and its intervening streets give rise to pattern or geometric shape, such as rectangular, radial, linear, etc. These are generally found in fertile alluvial plains and in the northeastern states. People live in compact village for security or defence reasons, such as in the Bundelkhand region of central India and in Nagaland. In Rajasthan, scarcity of water has necessitated compact settlement for maximum utilisation of available water resources.
Semi-Clustered Settlements: Semi-clustered or fragmented settlements may result from tendency of clustering in a restricted area of dispersed settlement. In this case, one or more sections of the village society choose or is forced to live a little away from the main cluster or village. Generally, the land-owning and dominant community occupies the central part of the main village, whereas people of lower strata of society and menial workers settle on the outer flanks of the village.
Hamleted Settlements: This settlement is fragmented into several units physically separated from each other bearing a common name. These units are locally • called panna, para, palli, nagla, dhani, etc. in various parts of the country. This segmentation of a large village is often due to social and ethnic factors.
Dispersed Settlements: Dispersed or isolated settlement pattern in India appears in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of few huts in remote jungles, or on small hills with farms or pasture on the slopes. Extreme dispersion of settlement is often caused by extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and land resource base of habitable areas.
Question 3.(ii) Can one imagine the presence of only one-function town? Why do the cities become multi-functional?
Answer: Towns and cities are generally classified on the basis of the functions they perform. No town performs a single function, rather they are classified on the basis of the dominant function they perform. Even specialised cities, as they grow into metropolises become multifunctional wherein industry, business, administration, transport, etc. become important. The functions get so intertwined that the city can not be categorised in a particular functional class. Due to varying needs of human beings all the people of a town cannot be engaged in a single activity. Even if a town is a garrison town, basic trade activities must be carried out to provide the residents with the articles of day to day need, food items etc. To support the dominant activity of the town, the ancillary activities start emerging.
Mumbai is a transport town due to presence of port in Mumbai but it is also hub of international trade in India, hence is a trade town, Also it is the commercial capital of the country due to varying commercial activities, which are a result of the presence of large capital in the city because of it being a trading town and a port city. Therefore the presence of a dominant of a single function also attracts people to the town, which in turn create conditions conducive for development of other functions hence, towns become multifunctional. The functions performed in a town are extremely dynamic, new functions keep’ on adding and old functions getting linked with each other. Therefore, in modern economies no town can be a single functioned town.
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Define human settlements.
Answer: Human settlement means cluster of dwellings of any type or size where human beings live. It involves grouping of people and apportioning of territory as a resource base.
Question 2 . Which factors help in determining types of settlement?
Answer: Types of settlement are determined by the extent of the built up area and inter house distance.
Question 3. Define and name an ancient town.
Answer: Ancient towns are over 2000 years old with a historical background and developed as religious and cultural centres. Varanasi, Prayag, Pataliputra, Madurai are examples of ancient towns.
Question 4. Which are the medieval towns of India?
Answer: Some medieval towns of India are Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Agra, Lucknow, Nagpur, etc.
Question 5. Why did the foreigners first establish the modern towns in India?
Answer: Foreigners first developed trading ports to get their foothold like Surat, Daman, Puducherry, Goa.
Question 6. What percentage of people in India live in urban centers?
Answer: 31.16% people live in urban centers in India.
Question 7. How is level of urbanization measured?
Answer: Level of urbanization is measured in terms of percentage of urban population to total population.
Question 8. How many million plus cities are there in India? Name the largest and the smallest one.
Answer: As per 2011 census, there are 53 million plus cities/ urban agglomerations in India. The largest million plus city in India is Mumbai and the smallest is Kota.
Question 9. What can be the size of human settlement?
Answer: The size of settlement ranges from a hamlet in rural areas to metropolitan cities.
Question 10. Classify the human settlements on the basis of economic activities.
Answer: On the basis of economic activities, human settlements are of two types:
• Rural Settlement
• Urban Settlement
Question 11. Define urban settlements.
Answer: Settlements are generally compact and longer in size with the main population engaged in non-agricultural, economic and administrative functions.
Question 12. Name different types of rural settlements.
Answer: Types of rural settlements:
• Clustered, agglomerated or nucleated,
• Semi-clustered or fragmented,
• Hamleted, and
• Dispersed or isolated.
Question 13. What are different categories of Indian towns on the basis of history?
Answer: On the basis of history, Indian towns have been categorized into:
• Ancient Towns
• Medieval Towns
• Modern Towns
Question 14. Which towns have developed in India after independence?
Answer: Modern towns have developed in India after independence. The British and other Europeans have developed a number of towns in India. They first developed some trading ports such as Surat, Daman, Goa, Puducherry, Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), and Kolkata (Calcutta).
Question 15. Name the ancient towns of India.
Answer: Prayag (Allahabad), Pataliputra (Patna), Madurai, etc. are some of the examples of the ancient towns of India.
Question 16. Name those towns which have become mega cities.
Answer: Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad are mega cities in the country.
Question 17. Name the biggest urban agglomeration of India.
Answer: Greater Mumbai is the largest urban agglomeration with 16.4 million people.
Question 18. On the basis of census, in how many categories have towns of India been divided?
Answer: On the basis of census, towns have been classified into six categories.
Question 19. What is a metropolitan city?
Answer: It is a city with population of 1 million to 5 million.
Question 20. Are towns static in their functions?
Answer: Cities are not static in their functions and functions change due to their dynamic nature. Even specialized cities, as they grow in metros become multi functional where industries business, administration, transport become important.
Question 21. Name a few religious and cultural towns of India.
Answer: Varanasi, Mathura, Amritsar, Madurai, Puri, Ajmer, Pushkar, Tirupati, Kurukshetra, Haridwar, Ujjain, etc. are some of the religious and cultural towns.
Question 22. Name some of the tourist towns of India.
Answer: Nainital, Mussoorie, Shimla, Pachmarhi, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udagamandalam (Ooty), Mount Abu are some of the tourist towns.
Question 23. What are garrisson cantonment towns?
Answer: The towns which emerge by defence functions of the government are called garrisson cantonment towns. For example, Ambala, Jalandhar, Mhow, Babina, Udhampur, etc.
Last Updated on: February 16, 2024
