© Boardworks Ltd 2005 1 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005 Settlement Hierarchy and Sphere of Influence

© Boardworks Ltd 20051 of 251 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Settlement Hierarchy and Sphere of Influence

© Boardworks Ltd 20052 of 25

By the end of this cycle you will be able to:

Describe a settlement hierarchy

Explain what the settlement hierarchy is based upon

Explain what a shopping hierarchy is

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A settlement hierarchy is the arrangement of settlements in an order of importance.

What is a settlement hierarchy?


Identify this type of settlement


The order of settlements within the settlement hierarchy is usually based on one of the following:

the size of the settlement in terms of its area and population

the range and number of services/functions within each settlement

the relative sphere of influence of each settlement

What is the settlement hierarchy based upon?


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


Organising a hierarchy by population size

BUT it is true that the larger the settlement, the fewer of them there are – look again at the pyramid! There are many isolated buildings but very few conurbations.

Is it easy to organise a hierarchy by population size?

NO!

The population figures for each type of settlement are really just a guide, as it is difficult to give a cut-off figure for when a hamlet becomes a village, or a village becomes a town.




the size of the settlement in terms of its area and population.

the range and number of services/functions within each settlement.

the relative sphere of influence of each settlement.


What shops/services do you find in a …?


More shops and services in larger settlements

The number of shops and services in a settlement depends upon the threshold population, which is the minimum number of people required by a shop/service to make a profit. Shops and services are classified according to their threshold population:

department store – 350 000 people

can be quite far

not oftenspecialist (high order)

bank – 15 000 people

reasonable – even the next town

fairly oftencomparison (middle order)

general store –200 people.

shortvery oftenconvenience (low order)

example and estimate of threshold population

maximum distance customer prepared to travel

frequency of use

classification


Convenience, comparison or specialist?


Types of shops and services

Choose which column to put each type of shop or service into.


Settlement size and services: their relation

Plot a scattergraph using the following data to work out the relationship between settlement size and services:


Basing a hierarchy upon shops and services

Is it easy to base a hierarchy on the number of shops and services?

Yes – but there are some types of settlement that do not conform to the general pattern…

Liss is a large village in Hampshire, approaching the size of a small town as its population exceeds 6,000. It is on the main railway line to Waterloo. The village has been badly hit by the closure of local services. Three banks and the bakery have closed down. Why?

Tourist resorts like Swanage in Dorset have more services than their population can support to cater for tourists. Its population doubles to 20,000 in the summer.




the size of the settlement in terms of its area and population.

the range and number of services/functions within each settlement.

the relative sphere of influence of each settlement.


Sphere of influence is the area served by a particular settlement.

Sphere of influence

What factors give Guildford its sphere of influence?



Range is the maximum distance that a customer is prepared to travel.

Sphere of influence

Size of sphere of influence

Functions of the settlement

Functions of nearby settlements

Transport facilities

Population size of the settlement and its surrounding area

Competition from nearby settlements


As well as a settlement hierarchy, there is a shopping hierarchy!

Shopping hierarchies


Sphere of influence


Sphere of influence of shops and services

Explain why the sphere of influence of the corner shop is much smaller than the department store.


Which grocer 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.

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Sphere of influence of shops and services

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How good is your hierarchy knowledge?


Key ideas!

Settlement hierarchy refers to the arrangement of settlements in an order of importance based on size, services and sphere of influence.

Services can be classified as convenience, comparison or specialist.


Threshold population is the minimum number of people needed to support a settlement or service.

Range is the maximum distance that people are prepared to travel to obtain a particular service.

Shops and services can also be organised into a hierarchy.

Documents

© Boardworks Ltd 2005 1 of 25 © Boardworks Ltd 2005 Settlement Hierarchy and Sphere of Influence