Notes-Class 10-Geography-Chapter-7-Human Settlements-Maharashtra Board

Nucleated settlements : In India, nucleated settlements are found in plains, coastal areas and the regions where farming is well developed.

• Areas of nucleated settlements : Northern Indian Plains, Eastern coastal region, Plateau region of Narmada valley, Paddy lands in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Vindhyan Plateau and many other cultivated regions of India.

Dispersed settlements : In India, dispersed settlements are found in mountainous hilly regions, desert regions and forest covered regions.

• Areas of dispersed settlements : Central part of India, Western and southern Rajasthan, Himalayan slopes, many other regions with dissected and uneven topography.

Nucleated settlements :

• In Brazil, nucleated settlements are found in coastal regions due to favourable factors like availability of water, availability of variety of natural resources, deposits of minerals, fertile land, speedy transport facilities, etc.
• Due to above favourable factors, nucleated settlements are well developed in the state of Sao Paulo.
• Areas of nucleated settlements : Eastern and southeastern coastal regions.

Dispersed settlements :

• In Brazil, dispersed settlements are found in northeastern region of Brazilian Highlands due to extreme droughts and lack of progress of agriculture.
• Dispersed settlements are also found in the Amazon river basin due to thick dense forests, unhealthy climate, limitation on use and exploitation of natural resources and poor transport facilities.

Human settlements in Sao Paulo in Brazil :

• Sao Paulo is located in the southeastern part of Brazil. The southeastern coastal region of Sao Paulo has mild and humid climate.
• Sao Paulo state is blessed with plenty of water, deposits of natural minerals, fertile land, steady energy supply and good transport systems.
• In the fertile land of Sao Paulo, coffee is cultivated on a large scale.
• Due to progress in agriculture and other industries human settlements have grown on a large scale in Sao Paulo. All these favourable factors have led to growth of nucleated human settlements in Sao Paulo in Brazil.

The level of urbanization :

• Low level of urbanization is found in the northern states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, etc.
• High level of urbanization is found in southern states of Goa, Tamil Nadu,
• Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala.
• Goa is the most urbanized state in India. (Nearly 62% of people live in urban settlements.)
• The level of urbanization is more than 80% in the union territory of Delhi.

Settlements of earlier times in India :

The Indian sub-continent has a long history since ancient times. Since ages, of the population of this country is living in river basins, on plateaus and mountains. Indraprastha (Delhi), Mithila, Varanasi, Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Ujjain and Pratishthan (Paithan) were the urban settlements of earlier times. This shows that India has a great tradition of urbanisation.

The level of urbanization :

• Low level of urbanization is found in Amazon river basin and northeastern region of Brazilian Highlands. Manous port located on the confluence of the Negro river and Amazon river has comparatively more level of urbanization.
• Compared to interior states of the country, urbanization is more in the states near coastal areas.
• Compared to states in the north, the states like Sao Paulo, Goias, Minas Gerais located in the southeastern part of Brazil have more urban population.
• Sao Paulo has emerged as a major metropolitan and industrial area.
• Due to rapid urbanization, people from various states of Brazil are migrating to Rio de Janeiro on a large scale.
• In Brazil, the problems like poverty, unemployment, crimes, social inequality, formation of favelas are increasing due to rapid urbanization.

“Go West” policy in Brazil :

• In Brazil, rapid urbanization has taken place in the south and southeastern parts especially in the state of Sao Paulo and many other major metropolitan industrial areas.
• The rate of urbanization is found to be low in western and northern parts of Brazil.
• To avoid concentration of human settlements only in specific regions, the government of Brazil has promoted the “Go West” policy.
• This policy will help in reducing the pressure of population on few (southeastern) areas. This policy will also help in reducing regional imbalance in the country.

Comparison - India & Brazil :