Question

Describe the patterns of rural settlement with neat diagrams.

Answer 1

Rectangular pattern: Rectangular patterns of settlements are found in plain areas or valleys. The roads are rectangular and cut each other at right angles.
Linear pattern: In a linear pattern, the houses are located along a road, railway line, and along the edge of the river valley or along a levee.
Circular or semicircular pattern: The pattern of settlement that is found around the lakes, ponds, and sea coasts are called circular or semi-circular pattern.
Star-like pattern: Star-shaped settlements develop in places where metalled and unmetalled roads converged. In the star-shaped settlements, houses are spread out along the sides of roads in all directions.
Triangular pattern: Triangular patterns of rural settlement generally develop at the confluence of rivers
T-Shaped, Y-Shaped, Cross-Shaped or Cruciform settlements: T-shaped settlements develop at trijunctions of the roads (T), while Y-shaped settlements emerge as the places where two roads converge with the third one. Cruciform settlements develop on the cross-roads which extend in all four directions.
Nebular pattern: The arrangement of roads is almost circular which ends at the central location or nucleus of the settlement around the house of the main landlord of the village or around a mosque, temple, or church.