NCERT Solutions Class 12 Geography Chapter 2 Human Settlements

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.

(i) Which one of the following towns is NOT located on a river bank?
(a) Agra
(b) Bhopal 
(c) Patna
(d) Kolkata

Answer : B

(ii) Which one of the following is NOT the part of the definition of a town as per the census of India?
(a) Population density of 400 persons per sq km.
(b) Presence of municipality, corporation, etc. 
(c) More than 75% of the population engaged in primary sector.
(d) Population size of more than 5,000 persons.

Answer : C

(iii) In which one of the following environments does one expect the presence of dispersed rural settlements? 
(a) Alluvial plains of Ganga 
(b) Arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan 
(c) Lower valleys of Himalayas 
(d) Forests and hills in north-east

Answer : A

(iv) Which one of the following group of cities have been arranged in the sequence of their ranks i.e. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in size? 
(a) Greater Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai 
(b) Delhi, Greater Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata 
(c) Kolkata, Greater Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata 
(d) Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai

Answer : D

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.

(i) What are garrisson towns? What is their function?
Answer : Garrison towns are settlements formed due to the establishment of a military facility. They are also referred to as cantonment towns. Ambala, Mhow, etc can be referred to as garrison towns. The central purpose of garrison towns is to provide for the requirements of the nation’s defence forces and people employed in the country’s defence services. These are specifically built for military, naval, or airforce operations.

(ii) How can one identify an urban agglomeration?
Answer : An urban agglomeration consists of any one of the following three combinations:
1. A town and its adjoining urban outgrowths.
2. Two or more contiguous towns with or without their expansion.
3. A continuous spread is formed by a city and one or more adjacent towns, as well as their outgrowths.

(iii) What are the main factors for the location of villages in desert regions?
Answer : Aridity, or a lack of water, defines desert regions, resulting in scant vegetation that is called xerophytic vegetation in nature. Water availability is the most important element in determining settlement patterns in the desert. In Rajasthan, India, clustered settlements are located around the oasis and other water-rich areas. Because these are the only places where water is accessible, therefore settlement around the water source becomes clustered and is the main driving force for habitation.

(iv) What are metropolitan cities? How are they different from urban agglomerations?
Ans. Metropolitan cities are defined as cities with a population of 1 to 5 million people, according to the Indian census. An urban agglomeration is a large land region that includes two or more cities. Many of India’s major cities are basically urban agglomerations. 

(iv) ‘The agricultural sector has the largest share of Indian workers.’ Explain.
Answer : The agricultural sector has the largest share of Indian workers:
1. About 58.2% of the total working population are cultivators and agricultural labourers.
2. Hence, it show that large population engaged in agricultural sector rather than secondary sector and tertiary sector.
3. Primary sector has potential to absorbed maximum number of the working population.

3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words. 

(i) Discuss the features of different types of rural settlements. What are the factors responsible for the settlement patterns in different physical environments?
Answer : There are four types of rural settlements:
• Clustered: It is a compact or closely built up area of houses. The general living area is distinct and separated from the surrounding farms, barns and pastures. These settlements are generally found in fertile alluvial plains and in the north-eastern states.
• Semi-clustered: These settlements may result from tendency of clustering in a restricted area of dispersed settlement. These pattern may also result from segregation or fragmentation of a large compact village. In this case, one or more sections of the village society choose or is forced to live a little away from the main cluster or village.
• Hamleted: Sometimes settlement is fragmented into several units physically separated from each other bearing a common name. This segmentation of a large village is often motivated by social and ethnic factors.
• Dispersed: These settlements pattern appears in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of few huts in remote jungles, or on small hills with farms or pasture on the slopes. Extreme dispersion of settlement is often caused by extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and land resource base of habitable areas.
The factors responsible for the settlement patterns in different physical environments are:
• Physical features include nature of terrain, altitude, climate and availability of water
• Cultural and ethenic factors include social structure, caste and religion
• Security factors include defence against thefts and robberies.

(ii) Can one imagine the presence of only one-function town? Why do the cities become multi-functional?
Answer : No, one cannot imagine the presence of only one-function town. A town cannot grow on one function.
Certain towns and cities perform specialised services and functions and they are known for some specific activities, products or services such as Ambala and Jalandhar are cantonment towns. But this does not mean they does not perform other function. These towns have universities, offices and many other institutions which have another functions. Thus, these town are multi-functional towns.
The cities are not static in their function. The functions change due to their dynamic nature. Even specialised cities, as they grow into metropolises become multifunctional wherein industry, business, administration, transport, etc. become important. The functions get so intertwined that the city cannot be categorised in a particular functional class.