Dwelling TypesExamples of Dwellings

Rural SettlementsSettlement Patterns

Shelter ranks high on list of human needs• Dwellings serve several functions• Houses reveal characteristics of region and

culture• Layout and function of houses provides a

glimpse of social values and economic needs

• Materials used reflect local availability & purpose

Dispersed Settlement•Houses lie far apart

Nucleated Settlement•Houses are grouped together in tiny

clusters (hamlets)•Larger clusters (villages)

Arrangement of houses in villages takes on different forms

Early ancestors- lived in bands of dozen to 50 to 60 people

Early humans lived in holes covered w/ branches and leaves in temporary campsites

deBlij- unlikely first humans lived in caves because many humans lived where no shelter was available

Functional Differentiation:• As society developed, communal dwelling gave way to

individual dwelling• Communities became larger & more organized• Buildings for food storage and livestock became necessary• Functional differentiation began in buildings

Human communities existed as far back as 100,000 years ago

Migrating people protected selves against elements

Buildings reflect adaptations required of environmental changes

Nomadic people had light-weight, tent-like shelters- Igloos for Inuit people

Unchanged-TraditionalTraditional

Modified-TraditionalModern

Unchanged-Traditional – layout, construction, appearance have not been significantly altered by external influences

Modified-Traditional – new building materials used, no change to original structure or layout

Modernized-Traditional – materials and layout have been changed (floor plan, multiple bathrooms, two-car garage, …)

Modern – reflects advanced technology, practicality, comfort, affluence, technology makes up for lack of style, suburbanization (most common in US)

Building Materials • Typically reflect what is locally available • Wood, brick, stone, wattle (tightly woven sticks &

poles plastered w/ mud), grass and brush

Uygur yurt in Xinjiang Province, China

Masai manyatta, Kenya

Stone house, Nepal

Sod farm house, Iceland

Uros reed dwelling, Lake Titicaca, Peru

Traditional housing, Nias Island, off the west coast of Sumatera, Indonesia

Stone and cement house, Armenia

Adobe-style construction, Santa Fe, NM

Solar-powered T.V. hut, Niger

Fred Kniffen studied three principal housing types (New England, Middle Atlantic & “Tidewater South” of the Lower Chesapeake); diffused South & West

Ranch house – evolved in California in 1920s; diffused eastward (first through Sunbelt, then to other regions); designed for balmy climate & outdoor living (cultural symbol)

Maladaptive diffusion – negative • Ranch house diffused to areas with greater

extremes in temperature (north); image over practicality

• New England style diffused into Hawaii

Ranch House

Buildings of the Lower St. Lawrence

Hearth of North America

Norman Cottage

Quebec cottage

Montreal house

Buildings ofNew England

Saltbox house

Upright-and-wing house

Georgian-style NE large house

Buildings of theMiddle Atlantic

States

Four-over four house

Traditional or classic “I” house, w/ 2 rooms per floor separated by central hallways

Buildings of the“Tidewater South”

Charleston single house

Hamlet = smallest What constitutes a village?

• Canada – up to 1,000 residents; US – 2,500; Japan – up to 30,000 (pop. numbers are not standard)

• Functional differentiation: hamlet – offers very few services (gas station, store,…); village – may offer several dozen services

Traditionally- villagers either farmed surrounding land or provided services to those who did

Japan- houses tightly packed, only narrow passageway remains

W. Europeans built on dikes- look more linear Over ½ of world’s population live in villages and rural

areas

Linear: e.g. low-lying areas in W. Eur. located on levees (Strassendorfs- ‘street villages’)

Clustered: Japan – need to allocate every available foot of land for farming

Round: Africa & parts of Europe – central cattle corral

Grid: US – township-and-range system adopted after Amer. Rev.- Rectangular Survey System• Basic unit is one square mile• Similar system used in Canada

Size and structure of rural regions depend on space, environment, and social norms (and laws) • Primogeniture – larger plots of land (N. Eur, Americas,

S. Afr, Aus & N.Z.) – all land passes to eldest son• Land divided among heirs – smaller (S. Eur, Asia,

Africa) • Township-and-Range system – U.S.; Northwest

Ordinance (1787) – rectangular survey system (dispersed settlers more evenly)

Functional differentiation of buildings is greater in Western cultures – rural areas in core regions vary greatly w/ more isolated, poverty-stricken areas along the periphery