Geography - Earth, Environment & Resources • Topic 3 of 4

Human Environment & Settlement

The environment is everything that surrounds and affects us. It has two parts. The natural environment consists of all things that come from nature and were not made by humans - land, water, air, plants and animals (the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere). The human-made environment includes everything people have built or created - buildings, roads, bridges, parks, monuments and industries. There is also the human environment, which refers to people themselves and their interactions, ideas and activities. Human beings modify the natural environment to meet their needs, and a healthy balance between the two is essential. Settlements are places where people build their homes and live. They began near river valleys where fertile land and water were available. Settlements are of two broad types. Rural settlements are villages where most people depend on farming, fishing, forestry or other primary activities; they are usually less densely populated. Urban settlements are towns and cities where most people work in secondary and tertiary activities such as manufacturing, trade and services; they are densely populated. Settlements may also be permanent (people live there for long periods) or temporary (occupied for a short time, like the homes of nomadic herders). Transport is the means by which people and goods move from one place to another, and its four major modes are roadways, railways, waterways and airways. Communication is the passing of information; it ranges from older forms like letters to modern mass communication through the internet, telephone, radio and television, and satellites have made instant global communication possible.

✅ Solved examples

1. Roads, buildings, bridges, parks and monuments together form which type of environment?
The human-made (man-made) environment - everything created or built by human beings, as opposed to the natural environment of land, water, air, plants and animals.
2. A settlement where most people are engaged in farming, fishing and forestry, and which is usually sparsely populated, is a:
Rural settlement (a village). In contrast, urban settlements (towns and cities) are densely populated and dominated by manufacturing, trade and services.
3. Name the four major modes of transport.
Roadways, railways, waterways and airways. Airways are the fastest but most expensive; waterways are the cheapest for carrying heavy goods over long distances.
4. Why did early human settlements usually develop along river valleys?
River valleys provided fertile land for agriculture and a steady supply of water for drinking, farming and transport, making them ideal places to settle permanently.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. Land, water, air, plants and animals together make up the:
Not built by humans.
Comes from nature.
Natural environment
2. The temporary homes built by nomadic herders who move from place to place are an example of which kind of settlement?
Opposite of permanent.
Occupied only for a short period.
Temporary settlement
3. Densely populated places where people are mainly engaged in manufacturing, trade and services are called:
Towns and cities.
Opposite of rural.
Urban settlements
4. The means by which messages and information are passed from one place to another is called:
Includes the internet, radio, television.
Not the movement of goods.
Communication

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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