ARC481.

3
SETTLEMENT PLANNING
B.ARCH IV/I

Prepared by : Ar. Nirjana Shrestha

■ MORPHOLOGY OF CITY
■ GROWTH O SETTLLEMENTS
 Settlement Studies/ Planning
 Morphology of cities (elements/ forms)
 Growth of settlement, factors
 Centre place theory
 History of settlement studies (Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, Industrial)
 Studies on historic settlements in Nepal with some examples
 Modern practices of settlement planning
 Squatter settlements
 Morphology
 Study of forms, structure, their relations and metamorphosis + functions

FORM STRUCTURE
 Physical aspects  Abstract/ conceptual
 Give SHAPE- compilation of  Give STABILITY
positivity and negative space  Kind, location and density of
 [P]> built tissue activities
 Elements that constitute object
 [N]> streets, roads, parks,
etc.
 Determined by: size, density,
shape, use and condition
 Morphology of Cities
 Morphology of cities reveals Structure & Form of
cities
 Structure of city: elements that constitute a city

Elements of City:
 Communication: road network, waterways, railways, airports, etc.
 Built up area: public bldgs., private bldgs., industries, etc.
 Open space: parks, gardens, square, etc.
 Public utilities: water supply, electricity, telecommunication,
sewerage, drainage, etc.
 Public amenities; services like hospitals, college/ schools, cinema,
post office etc.
 Classification of City Form
1. Radio centric:
 Cities with one or more concentric circular pathway
with a no. of radial corridors radiating from center
 E.g. Delhi, Hyderabad, Garden cities
 Classification of City Form

New Delhi
 Classification of City Form

HYDERABAD
 Classification of City Form

Garden City, Denmark

Garden City by Ebenezer Howard 1898

 Classification of City Form
2. Rectilinear:
 Cities with pathways
Grid pattern
intersecting at right angles
 Usually small cities will have
this kind of shape
 Eg. Vedic cities like Prastara (
eg. jaipur, Karmuka,
Sarbatobhadra, etc,
Mesopotamian cities
Classification of City Form
Classification of City Form
 Classification of City Form
3. Star:
 Similar to radio centric for
except that there are open
spaces between the
outreaching corridors of
development
 Settlement develop at places
where several roads converge
& spread out alongside of
roads
Palmanova City, Italy
Classification of City Form
 Classification of City Form
4. Ring:
 A city with ring for results
when a city is built around
a large open space
 Eg. Shanghai’s Lingang
New city; a large open
space at centre and around
it city is developed

Lingang New City, China

 Classification of City Form
5. Linear:
 The linear shape is usually result of
the natural topography, which restricts
the growth on certain direction or the
result of transportation spine
 Eg. Settlements in Nepal along
highway, Leningrad in Russia.
Classification of City Form
 Classification of City Form
6. Branch:
 Modified form of linear
form with connecting arms
in same directions
 Usually as the result of
steep topography
 Classification of City Form
7. Sheet:
 A city that does not display
any kind f the enhanced
look
 One can not see too much
articulation in such form
 Organic growth
 Classification of City Form
8. Constellation:
 Such cities has a series of
towns of almost equal sizes
 Classification of City Form
9. Satellite:
 A satellite results when
there is a series of cities
dependent on a main city/
parent city
 Eg. In Delhi the concept of
sub city in the form of
Rohini was implemented
 Classification of City Form
 A satellite results when
there is a series of cities
dependent on a main city/
parent city
 Eg. In Delhi the concept of
sub city in the form of
Rohini was implemented
Classification of City Form
 Growth of settlements
Urbanization:
 Urbanization refers to the process of growth in the population living in urban
area and consequent physical, economic and social changes
 Historically, the concept of urbanization is related to specialization,
industrialization and consequent economic development.
 Growth of settlements
Urbanization is characterized by: >>>> CHANGE

 Change in predominant activity from labor intensive agricultural/mining to non

agricultural/ post mining activities
 Change in occupational structure from agriculture to industry & services
(secondary & tertiary activities)
 Sparse settlement pattern>>> to relatively dense settlement
 Increased interactions and functional linkages among centers of population
concentrations
 Growth of settlements
 Change in behaviors, values and institutional structure
 Change in physical environment with increased modern amenities and services
 Rural to urban migration
 Growth of settlements
In Nepali context >>>Local Levels
 Municipalities are referred as Cities or urban area
 Criteria for municipalities are set by Local Self Governance Act (LSGA, 1999) &
Local Governance Operation Act (LGOA, 2074)

“A geographic area with population of 10,000 or more and basic urban services can
be declared as municipality”
 Growth of settlements
Local Levels In Nepal,
 As per LSGA:

A. Metropolitan city (Mahanagarpalika) >>>(500,000+ population)

B. Sub-metropolitan city (Upamahanagarpalika) >>>(200,000+population)
C. Municipality (Nagarpalika) >>>(10,000+ population)
 Criteria for municipalities in Nepal as per LGOA 2074
Population Annual Infrastructures
income (
NPR)

Metropolitan 5 lakh and above Rs. 1 Arab (A) +

Municipality in last 5 metalled major & minor road, specialized hospitals,
years special international sports infrastructure, university for
multiple higher level education, city hall
* Earlier sub metropolitan
Sub- 2 lakh and above Rs. 25 (A) +
metropolitan crore in metalled major &road, specialized hospitals, special
municipality last 5 international sports infrastructure, university for multiple
years higher level education, city hall
• Earlier sub metropolitan
Municipality 10,000 for mountain, Electricity, w/s telecom & other urban services (A)
40,000 for hills, 50,000
for inner Terai, 75,000 (even without road service at hills and mountains)
for Terai & 1 lakh for
Kathmandu valley
 At present, Nepal has • 6 Metropolitan Cities
77 Districts
o Kathmandu, Bharatpur,
753 local levels
Biratnagar, Pohara, Lalitpur
& Birgunj)
• 11 Sub- Metropolitan Cities
• 276 Municipalities and
• 460 Gaunpalika

56.6% of the urban population (16.5 million) of total population of Nepal (29.1
million) as of 2019 (CBS, 2019) lives in 293 declared urban units
Municipalities in Nepal with population above 1 lakh (Metropolitan & sub-metropolitan cities)
 Stages of Growth
Patrick Geddes >>> Primary > Secondary > Tertiary
 Primary town >> which produces human necessities such as agricultural village
 Secondary town>> which functions as entry of exchange such as marketing
town
 Tertiary town>> which provides residential, educational and recreational
facilities

In reality, a town is a mixture of all the above categories

 Stages of Growth
Lewis Mumford >>> 6 stages of settlement growth
1. Ecopolis- here, town grows as one entire unit. Its economy is based on
agriculture >>> rural scene, temple/ market & settlement around
2. Polis- here, town grows into a small urban unit of self contained community. It
has a commerce and industry, etc. >>> traders, richer & more advance, social
stratification
3. Metropolis (Mother city)- Here, the city grows to its full stature, with high
population density & large potentialities, with all facilities like water supply,
drainage, electricity, transport, commerce and industries, etc
 Stages of Growth
>>>towns & villages merges, specialization of trades, compact site, good
amenities attracts people….. Eg. Bombay, London, Calcutta, etc
4. Megalopolis- it is an overgrown city into a mess due to growing expansion of
industries, high rise buildings, multi track roads, mass housing, mass
transportation.
>> diversified cultures, migration, indifferences, class struggle >>> leading to
decline
 Stages of Growth
5. Tyrannopolis – the city shows further decay in all the fields like trade,
commerce, military power etc. >> parasitic state, indifferences, pomp & pleasure,
envt. Degrade- people flee outwards>> inner city degradation

6. Necropolis – the city in the worst stage and unfit for dwelling.
>> So its, the city of dead where one finds disease, famine, economic breakdown,
etc.>> i.e. decays further, war, famine & disease. Cultural institution erode greatly.
e.g. Persepolis, Babylon, etc
 Factors of Growth
 Road & transportation  Education
 Trade routes  Institutional/ political
 Navigable river/ lakes  Social factors
 Sea ways  Technology
 Migration  Defensive sites
 Resource sites
 Infrastructure & services
 Economic activities
 Religious & culture functions