Introduction:
As time progressed, human beings became less dependent on nature directly for food, shelter and clothing.
The people in the ancient times were nomads. They used to move from one place to another in search of food. They never stayed at one place.
They covered themselves with leaves.
But with time, man started modifying the environment to fulfil his needs.
They started growing food, building homes and developing better means of transport and communication.
Settlement – The places where people build houses to live is called settlement.
These are places where people build their homes.
The early man lived in trees and caves.
When the early human beings started agriculture, they had to stay in a permanent home.
This is how civilizations developed.
The settlements developed near river valleys because of water availability and fertility of land.
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Temporary Settlement – Settlements that are occupied for a short period of time are called temporary settlements.
People living in such temporary settlements practice hunting, gathering, shifting cultivation etc.
Examples – Deep forests, hot and cold deserts, mountains.
Permanent Settlement – In which settlement people build home to live in and occupy them for a long period of time, is called permanent settlement.
In these settlements people build homes to live in.
Most of the settlements these days are permanent settlements.
Rural Settlement – The houses built to live in the village is called rural settlement.
These comprise of the villages where the people are engaged in agriculture and allied activities.
These are of the following types:
Compact Settlements – A closely built area of dwelling wherever flat land is available is called compact settlements.
Scattered Settlements – An area where building are scattered out over a wide area is called scattered settlements.
These are spaced over an extensive area.
This type of settlement is mostly found in hilly areas, thick forests and areas of extreme climate.
The houses are built in rural areas depending on the environment.
In regions of heavy rainfall, the houses have slanting roofs.
Houses are constructed on a raised platform or on stilts where water logging/accumulation takes place during rains.
Areas of hot climate have houses having thick mud walled houses with thatched roofs.
Materials available locally like stones, mud, etc. are used to construct houses.
Urban Settlements – The houses built to live in the cities or towns are called urban settlement.
These include towns and cities.
Towns are small whereas cities are big.
The people in the urban areas are engaged in manufacturing, trading and services.
These are of the following types:
Cities – An inhabited place of greater size, population or importance than a town or village is called cities.
Towns – An area that is a larger than a village and smaller than cities is called towns.
Transport – Take or carry (people or goods) from one place to another by means of a vehicle, aircraft, or ship is called transport.
It is the means by which people and goods move.
In the earlier days people used to walk or use animals as a means of transportation.
These were very time consuming.
The invention of the wheel made transportation easier and faster.
Even today some people use animals for transport though many advanced means of transportation have developed.
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Land Transport
Roadways – A type of transport in which transportation of goods and personnel from one place to the other by roads is called roadways transport.
These are the most commonly used means of transport especially for short distance travel.
Roads may be metalled or unmetalled.
There is a dense network of roads in the plains.
Roads can be built in deserts, high mountains and forests too.
Roads built underground are called subways or under paths.
Flyovers are built over raised structures.
Railways – A means of transferring passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are located on tracks is called railways transport.
The invention of the steam engine and the Industrial Revolution helped in the quick development of rail transport.
They are economical and faster.
Steam engines have been replaced by diesel and electrical engines.
At some places super fast trains have been developed to make the journey faster.
Railway network is well developed in plain areas.
It is present in hilly terrain too, but not as much as in the plain areas.
Waterways – A river, canal, or other body of water serving as a route or way of travel or transport is called a waterways transport.
Since early days waterways were used as a means of transportation.
These are the cheapest means for carrying heavy and bulky goods over long distances.
These are of two types:
Inland waterways – The routes which are used for transporting goods from one place to another in same country by river and lakes is called inland waterways.
Navigable rivers and lakes are used as inland waterways.
The Great Lakes in North America, the Ganga – Brahmaputra river system and the river Nile in Africa are some of the important inland waterways.
Sea routes – The oceanic routes which are and used for transporting goods from one country to another is called sea routes.
These routes are connected with the ports.
Since these are used for international transport, the safety from the attacks from other countries using sea routes is very crucial.
Some of the important ports in Asia are Mumbai and Singapore, New York, Los Angeles in North America, Rio de Jenario in South America and Sydney in Australia.
Airways – The movement of passengers and cargo by aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters is called airways transport.
This is the fastest means of transport developed in the early twentieth century.
Before this was developed, trade was carried on using the land or the sea route.
It used to take several months to reach India, for the early traders from other countries.
Now it takes only 6-8 hours to travel from India to Europe!
It is the most expensive mode due to the high cost of fuels.
It is vulnerable to bad weather like fog and storms.
It is the only mode to reach even the most distant and remote locations which do not have a road/rail network.
Helicopters are extremely useful for reaching the most inaccessible areas and also for rescue operations and delivering supplies like food, water clothes and other essential items; to areas that are hit by calamities.
Delhi, Mumbai, Frankfurt, Paris, London, New York and Cairo are some of the important airports.
Communication – The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium is called communication.
This advancement has brought about information revolution in the world.
Communication serves the twin purposes of educating and entertaining.
Newspapers, radio and televisions are used to communicate to a large number of people. Hence these are called mass media.
Satellites have expedited communication.
Now we can send electronic mails through the internet.
We have gone beyond the wired means of communication to wireless means such as cellular phones. These can be used to talk, send messages, share pictures and a lot more!
Internet has made our life very comfortable.
All our requirements: right from essential things like ordering groceries, paying bills, to recreational needs like booking movie, rail/air tickets, hotel reservations etc. can be done with the click of the mouse! Standing in long queues is a thing of the past.
We are able to save a lot of time due to this.
Mass communication – The means of communication through which we can communicate with a large number of people are called mass communication.
Satellites – An artificial body placed in orbit round the earth or moon or another planet in order to collect information or for communication are called satellites.
