Maharashtra Board Class 8 Geography Chapter 6 Land Use PDF Download

Land Use

Activity: Try This

Draw a sketch of your house. On this sketch show the following with proper directions.

Kitchen, bathroom, courtyard, living room, bedroom etc.

After the sketch is ready have a discussion on the following points.

(A) Why do we need to fix a place for everything in the house?

(B) What would happen if there were no fixed places?

Geographical Explanation

You may have realised that there is a fixed place for everything. If this is not done the house appears disorganised. There will be difficulties while moving around the house.

Even if these arrangements are changed there will be confusion for a few days. The land available in your house is used for different purposes.

Teacher's Note

Just like your house has different rooms for different work, a country also uses land for different purposes. For example, in India we have farms for growing rice, factories for making clothes, and parks for playing.

Exam Trick

Remember: Land use = what we do with land. Like your kitchen is for cooking, farms are for growing crops, and factories are for making things.

Points to Remember

Land needs a fixed place for different uses.
Houses need planning so we can move easily.
Land is used for different purposes like farming and building.
Changing land use causes confusion at first.
Every place in a house or city has a special use.

Activity: Try This

This activity has to be performed by all the students together.

Prepare boards with these names. Let the students stand in a circle holding these boards.

Commercial, Industry, Residential, Open ground, Entertainment, Transport, Agriculture, Institute, Mixed Land Use

Now prepare chits with the following names and put them in a box.

Shop, garden, bank, utensil factory, school, bungalow, residential building, mall, hockey field, cinema house, hospital, bus stop, port, airport, swimming pool, badminton court, reserved forest.

Each student will pick up one chit and as per the land use category will stand close to the person holding the respective board. Once the activity is completed, have a discussion based on the following points.

Why did you select the particular board?

Explain how you will use this chosen land.

Correlate our needs with land use.

Land Use

Geographical Explanation

Land use is the way or purpose for which land in a region is used. The interaction between geographical factors and man have resulted in land use. Land use undergoes changes with time. As man's needs have increased the use of land for different purposes has also increased. Mineral rich land is used for mining. Fertile plains are used for agriculture.

Teacher's Note

Land use means how we use the land. In India, farmers use flat land for crops, and hilly areas have forests.

Exam Trick

Remember: Land use changes with time. Like how your village gets a new school or hospital, land use keeps changing.

Points to Remember

Land use is the purpose for which we use land.
Different regions use land in different ways.
Land use changes as our needs change.
Good land is used for farming.
Land use depends on geography and people's needs.

Types of Land Use

Rural Land Use

In rural areas, agriculture is the main occupation. Agro based activities are also common in rural areas. This influences the location for the rural settlements. Hence these settlements are located close to the agricultural fields and forest areas. The settlements of miners are close to the mining areas while fishermen's settlements are near the seashore. In rural areas the availability of land is more and the population is less, hence population is sparse. In rural areas the extent of residential areas is less. Land use in the rural areas can be classified in the following manner.

Arable Land

This is the land under cultivation. Normally this land is under individual ownership. This land can be classified as per the ownership of the land and types of agriculture.

Fallow Land

This is agricultural land which is temporarily not in use. In order to improve the fertility of the soil, the farmer does not use a part of his agricultural land for one or two seasons.

Teacher's Note

In villages near your town, you will see farmers leaving some land empty. They do this to make the soil healthy again for the next year.

Exam Trick

Remember: Arable = farming land (people grow crops). Fallow = rest land (farmers let land sleep to get strong again).

Points to Remember

Rural land is mainly used for farming.
Arable land is land where crops grow.
Fallow land is left empty to rest.
Villages are near farms and forests.
More land, fewer people in villages.

Forest Land

A demarcated forest area is also a type of rural land use. From this area forest products like firewood, gum and grass are obtained. Forests comprise of large trees, bushes, creepers and grass.

Grassland/Pastureland

This land is under the ownership of the village Panchayat or the government and is used for grazing purpose. This land belongs to the entire village. Very little grassland is under individual ownership.

Urban Land Use

There has been an increase in urban settlements in the twentieth century. In urban areas land is used for different purposes. It is necessary to make maximum use of the land. In urban areas with reference to population the land is limited. Therefore the distribution of population is dense. Urban land use can be classified in the following manner.

Commercial Land Use

Some parts of cities are only used for commercial purposes. In these areas there are many shops, banks and offices. This has given rise to the concept of the Central Business District. (CBD) For example, in Mumbai, the Fort Area or the BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex).

Residential Land Use

Here the main land use is for residential purposes. In this area houses and residential buildings are included. Since population is more in the urban areas, residential land use has increased.

Transport Land Use

In urban areas, transportation facilities are important for the movement of goods and people. For this purpose different types of transportation facilities are found in cities like public bus stops, railway lines, metro, monorail, commercial vehicles etc. In addition to this, the number of private vehicles is also large. Hence in cities roads, railway lines, station, petrol pumps, transport depots and vehicle repair centres occupy large areas. These are included in the transport land use.

Teacher's Note

In cities like Mumbai or Delhi, you see shops in one area, houses in another, and roads everywhere. This is urban land use.

Exam Trick

Remember: Urban = city land. Cities have shops, homes, roads, and hospitals all close together in small space.

Points to Remember

Urban land is used for many different things.
Cities have shops, homes, and roads.
Land is limited in cities so it is crowded.
Commercial areas have shops and offices.
Residential areas have homes and buildings.

Activity: Give It A Try

Take a map of your surrounding area and using different colours, show the land use of your area.

Public Utility Area

For the various needs of the population some services are provided by the local governing bodies, state government or central government. The area under these services comes under this category eg. hospitals, post offices, police stations, police grounds, schools, colleges, universities etc. The land use under the category is important. These services diffuse the tensions caused due to burgeoning population.

Recreational Land Use

In cities some areas have to be specially reserved for the entertainment of the population. The use of such spaces is mainly for fields, gardens, swimming pools, theatres etc.

Mixed Land Use

In some areas we find all these uses together. Such areas are said to have mixed land uses. Eg. residential areas and entertainment areas.

On maps special colours are used to indicate such areas. Red-residential, Blue-Commercial, Yellow-agricultural and Green-Forest areas.

Transitional Areas and Suburbs

Rural settlements start outside the boundary areas of urban settlements. But the intermediate area in between is called the transitional area. In this area there is a blend of rural and urban land use. In these areas land use is of a mixed nature. In this zone cultural activities are also of a mixed type. Over time this area is converted to an urban area and these regions become suburbs eg. Bandra, Bhandup etc. are suburbs of Mumbai city.

Planned Cities

After the industrial revolution, urbanisation occurred on a large scale throughout the world. Since this urbanisation was not well-planned, cities began to grow in a haphazard manner. Because of employment opportunities there, a large scale migration to cities occurred. As a result, the availability of land is always a serious problem in cities. A lot of diversity is visible in the landuse of cities. Limited land, varied landuses and burgeoning cities resulted in the thought of having planned cities for the future. Even before a city grows, its land use is pre-determined and a planned layout is prepared. Accordingly, the cities are developed. Singapore, Seoul (South Korea), Zurich (Switzerland), Washington D.C. (USA), Brasilia (Brazil), Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar (India), etc. are all examples of planned cities.

Teacher's Note

Chandigarh is a planned city in India. It was built with planning so all roads are straight and shops, homes, and parks are in set places.

Exam Trick

Remember: Planned cities = cities made with a plan before building. Like Chandigarh is organized with shops in one area and homes in another area.

Points to Remember

Planned cities are built with a plan first.
Old cities grew without planning and became messy.
In planned cities, shops, homes, and roads are organized.
Chandigarh and Brasilia are planned cities.
Planning makes cities neat and easy to live in.

Activity: Can You Tell?

Examine the pie charts showing land use in figure 6.1 and answer the following questions:

In which country is the land under forests more?

In which country is the land under agriculture more?

Considering the two questions above, how will you relate the physiography and climate of India and Japan with their respective land uses?

Correlate their land use and development.

Which land use is found in Japan?

Considering the land use in both the countries, make a list of factors affecting the land use.

Geographical Explanation

You may have realised that in different countries, the percentage under various land uses differ. Based on the availability of land the population of a country, its quality and needs, land use types vary. In Japan for example the percentage of land under forests is more and the percentage of land under permanent agriculture is very low. As compared to that in India the percentage of land under forest is low while the percentage of land under permanent agriculture is high.

Ownership of Land and Ownership Rights

Activity: Can You Tell?

What kind of land use is shown in Fig 6.2 and Fig 6.3?

Can you tell in which area the property is located?

Geographical Explanation

7/12 Extract

Under land utilisation we have seen how land is put to different uses. The ownership of land could be private or public. Land registration in this context is done under the revenue department of the government. All the information about the registered land can be obtained from the revenue department in the 7/12 extract. Let us get some information about this.

One can get to know under whose ownership the land is from the 7/12 extract. The extract is a record kept by the public revenue department. Serial Number 7 and 12 are distinctive sections of the law pertaining to the ownership of land.

The seven by twelve extract is a kind of mirror about the land. This is because just by reading the extract sitting in one place one can get complete information about that piece of land without actually going there. The register of the revenue department records the details of the ownership rights of the family, status of debts and loans, transfer of ownership and the area under different crops. 'Village Form' No.7 and 'Village Form' No.12 are combined to prepare as 7/12 extract, hence it is termed as 7/12 extract. These village forms are available with the talathi of every village for land and revenue collection purposes.

Teacher's Note

The 7/12 extract is like a property document in India that shows who owns the land. You can get this from the village office.

Exam Trick

Remember: 7/12 Extract = land ownership document. Like Aadhaar card shows who you are, 7/12 shows who owns the land.

Points to Remember

7/12 extract is a land ownership record.
It is kept by the government revenue department.
It shows details about land and who owns it.
You can get it from the village office.
It is made from two village forms called Form 7 and Form 12.

This is a preview of the first 3 pages. To get the complete book, click below.