Settlement hierarchy

A settlement hierarchy is a way of arranging settlements into a hierarchy based upon their population or some other criteria. The term is used by landscape historians and in the National Curriculum for [[England]. The term is also used in the [[Town and country planning in the United Kingdom|planning system for the UK]] and for some other countries such as Ireland, India and Switzerland. The term was used without comment by the geographer Brian Roberts in 1972.
Overview.
In Europe, centuries-old settlements were surrounded by farmland and tended not to be wider than 30 minutes' walk from one end to the other, with wealthier people monopolizing the "town center", while poorer people lived on the town's outskirts or nearby countryside (the "sphere of influence"). With the advent of decentralization technologies (i.e., bicycles, trains, cars, etc.), American settlements reversed this trend before reaching their saturation point, with vast farmlands managed by [[Homestead (buildings)|homesteads]] located dozens of miles away from the nearest settlement; lower-income communities occupied the "center" as the middle-income and upper-income migrated into suburbia, and this created a phenomenon known as [[urban decay]].
A settlement's population size, its geographic area, its status and the availability of services can all affect this hierarchy. Position in a settlement hierarchy can also depend on the sphere of influence. This is how far people will travel to use the services in the settlement: if people travel further the town becomes more important and ranks higher in the settlement hierarchy.
Problems with concept of a settlement hierarchy.
Using size of a settlement can be misleading in some cases as not all population boundaries fit. Some cities (e.g., [[Norwich]], England) have a smaller population than some towns (e.g., [[Luton]], [[England]]). In addition, there is no agreement as to the number of levels in the hierarchy or what they should be called. Many terms used to describe settlements (e.g., village) have no legal definition, or may have contradictory legal definitions in different jurisdictions.
Hierarchy and status.
Position in an accepted settlement hierarchy can imply status which in turn reinforces the position of the settlement in the hierarchy. Status can derive from being the residence of a King or high-ranking member of the nobility or from being the location of a major religious establishment. A formal hierarchy of settlements, known as a [[Anglo-Saxon multiple estate|multiple estate]] appears to have been common in 10th century England. The centre of an estate (often called a "caput") could be supported by subsidiary settlements sometimes given specialised roles. For example, a Saxon royal estate might be supported by settlements specialising in production of cheese or barley or maintaining flocks of sheep.
Example of a settlement hierarchy.
In this example, a [[roadhouse (facility)|roadhouse]] is at the lowest level while the [[ecumenopolis]] is at the top with the greatest number of residents:
This is only an example, and in other contexts, the population criteria for each category of settlement might be different.
Note: This settlement hierarchy is adapted from the work of [[Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis|Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis]] for the actual current world situation as of 2010 as opposed to Doxiadis' [[Ekistics#Ekistic units|idealized settlement hierarchy for the year 2100]] that he outlined in his 1968 book "[[Ekistics]]".
Extreme density.
More than one billion residents.
High density.
More than one million residents. At this density, the settlement's population and [[gross domestic product|GDP]] tends to exceed that of most countries with lesser density. The need for [[administrative division]]s, [[public transport]]ation, [[public infrastructure]] and other government [[public service]]s is critically essential for the sustainable growth and continued prosperity of its citizens. The first city in recorded history to reach a population of one million residents was [[Ancient Rome]] in 133 B.C. During the [[Second Industrial Revolution]], London, England reached the mark in 1810 and New York City, United States made it in 1875.
Medium density.
Less than one million residents. At this density, viable access to [[service economy|advanced services]] due to [[economies of scale]] being abundant.
Low density.
Less than one hundred thousand residents. Common "city features" and services such as clinics, police, [[fire station]], schools, residential neighborhoods, etc. become more prominent. Density is sufficient to support local [[commercial area]]s which may include a "Main Street" or a [[shopping mall]].
Minuscule density.
Less than one thousand residents. At this number, settlements are too small or scattered to be considered "urban", and services within these settlements (if any) are generally limited to bare essentials: i.e., [[church (building)|church]], [[grocery store]], [[post office]], etc. Throughout most of human history, very few settlements could support a population greater than 150 people.
Settlement hierarchy by country.
Settlement hierarchy in the English planning system.
The position of a settlement in the hierarchy is intended to inform decisions about new developments such as housing. Rather than define the hierarchy by population, an alternative way to construct the hierarchy is based on the services that are available within each settlement. Settlements are described as "level 1", "level 2", etc. rather than using terms such as village or town. The Government planning statement ([[PPS 3|PPS3]]) does not specifically mention "settlement hierarchies", but talks about the availability of services to small rural settlements. The term is used a number of times in the guidance for preparing evidence for planning decisions; a settlement hierarchy starts with an isolated dwelling, then hamlet, then village, town, city then a conurbation.
Settlement hierarchy in the German planning system.
The German planning system is based on the [[Central Place Theory]] developed by [[Walter Christaller]] in the 1930s and first applied in the Nazi Era, especially in Poland. Every settlement is categorized by function: highly central cities (e.g. [[Hamburg]], with speciality clinics for tropical diseases), middle central cities (for periodic functions e.g. [[Homburg (Saar)]] with major schools (starting at 5th grade)) and basic central towns /Unterzentrum (e.g. Illingen with basic doctors and Supermarket). The number of inhabitants is less important: thus a city such as [[Kaiserslautern]] (100,000 people) can be a highly specialized city, because it is a centre for the surrounding rural area.
It is used at the federal level for the regional planning system of states and planning regions for the "State Development Programmes" ([[Landesentwicklungsprogramm]] [[:de:Landesentwicklungsprogramm|[de]]]) and the "Regional Spatial Structure Plans" ([[Regionaler Raumordnungsplamn]] [[:de:Regionalplanung|[de]]]). These are political plans to achieve goals such as equivalent [[living standard]]s ([[Gleichwertige Lebensverhältnisse]] [[:de:Gleichwertige Lebensverhältnisse|[de]]]) in rural and urban areas in all of Germany, east and west.
External links.
[[Category:Town and country planning in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Hierarchy]]
[[Category:Populated places by type| ]]