Settlement & Services Hierarchy (Cambridge (CIE) O Level Geography)

Settlement & Services Hierarchy

Settlement hierarchy 

• A hierarchy is when settlements are ordered and classified based on three principles:

  • Population size 

  • Number of services provided

  • Number of settlements

• Move up the hierarchy, and fewer settlements are found 

• However, the population, number and types of services provided do increase 

• The hierarchy follows a path: 

  • Dispersed ⇒ Hamlets ⇒ Villages ⇒ Market towns ⇒ Large towns ⇒ Cities ⇒ Conurbations ⇒ Megacities

• The result is a pyramid-shaped model, where there are more cities than megacities and more villages than towns

Services hierarchy

• All settlements offer certain functions and services - the basics of life such as bread, milk, eggs etc.

• The number of services provided by a settlement will be dictated by its size, both physical and population

• The minimum number of people necessary before a particular good or service will be provided in the area is called the threshold population

• A small village or hamlet with a small populous will only provide low-order services such as a post office, general store, pub and possibly a doctor 

• Towns will provide low and high-order services such as a church, medical centre, garages, schools and restaurants 

• Cities and conurbations will focus on high-order services such as leisure centres, schools, churches, chain stores and hospitals

• There are exceptions to this:

  • Some places may have more services than average, such as a small seaside resort 

  • Others can have less, such as a commuter or dormitory town

Sphere of influence

• This is the area that a settlement serves, also known as a catchment area

• It is the range (distance) that people will travel to obtain a particular service or product 

• The larger the settlement, the greater the influence (usually)

  • A hamlet or village would normally have a low sphere of influence and therefore, a small field of services

  • However, if that village is a tourist spot, then its sphere of influence could be greater than a town

• Low-order goods – things that are bought regularly, such as milk or bread. People are not prepared to travel far to buy a convenience good and there is no real saving in shopping around, the extra cost of ‘shopping around’ outweighs any savings that may be made

• High-order goods – comparison goods such as electrical goods and furniture that the shopper will buy only after making a comparison between various models and different shops. A high threshold population is needed to sustain a shop selling comparison goods, and people are prepared to travel some distance to obtain the goods 

Case Study: Lozere, France

Case Study - Lozère, France

• Lozère is a landlocked department in southeast France

• Cattle rearing and tourism make up most of its economy, due to its poor soil quality and mountainous relief

• Unemployment is low due to the out-migration of young people, which has left an ageing population behind

• However, due to improved communications, easier travel and tourism, the population has increased slightly and with it, some services

• Whilst tourism offers some form of employment it is limited:

  • Seasonal work

  • Low skilled

  • Low paid

  • Part-time

• These factors affect the services available and the town's sphere of influence:

  • St-Andrè-Capcèze and Mende have a population of 176 (2015) and 12, 370 respectively, with services ranging from railways to dentists to hotels to a cinema to horse riding, but people have to travel 14-25 miles to go skiing, as they are not high enough in the mountains to ski, but their sphere of influence is greater than Badaroux, which situated by a lake mostly attracts fishing and swimming and relaxation

  • Villefort with a population of 639 is positioned in the right place to enable all services to be available to them

  • Yet Cubières and Altier are too remote to provide many services, despite their population being greater than St-Andrè-Capcèze