1. Urban Settlements L/O:
To be able to explain the features of settlement hierarchy and apply it to your own country
Key terms:
Sphere of influence
Threshold population
Range
Think of the area you live in! e.g. Sanlucar
Which of the things from the list above does it have?
Write them down and then feed back to the board

2. Class Settlement hierarchy
The more services there are in a place means the larger the settlement
However there are less larger settlement and more smaller settlements – hence the pyramid!
The settlement with the most services
The settlement with the most services

3. High order services Low order services
High order and low order services Look at your list of services you have in your settlement:
Which services do you think people use everyday? Which services sell basic things that are not very expensive
Which services do you use less frequently? Which services are more specialised and expensive?
High order services
Low order services

4. Sphere of influence
Look at the settlement we have placed at the top of our hierarchy. People will be willing to travel a longer distance to visit this settlement that the one at the bottom. Why is this?
This is called a settlement’s sphere of influence. It means the size of the area the settlement serves OR how far people are willing to travel to visit it. We can use this term for other things too e.g. Real Madrid FC will have a larger sphere of influence than Tomares FC

5. Transport
Fans
Sphere of influence
players
Merchandise TV

6. Sphere of influence
Every settlement has a sphere of influence depending on how much it has to offer. Complete the table to explain why these things would have an impact on the size of a settlement’s sphere of influence.
Factor:
Explanation:
Size and services it provides
Population density
Wealth of the people
Good transport links
Competition from other settlements

7. Threshold population – how much population is needed to for a service to be provided
Low order services need a low threshold population!
High order services need a high threshold population!

8. So …….
Settlement hierarchy is based on the amount or services a settlement has to offer, its size and amount of people
Sphere of influence is the area a settlement serves
High order services are usually found in larger settlement and sell more specialised, expensive products which people are prepared to travel further to get (large sphere of influence)
Low order services can be found in all settlements and sell cheap, everyday items.
Threshold population is the minimum amount of people needed to keep a business open e.g. a car dealership can not stay open if it is in an area of low population density with no transport links!
Low order shops: low threshold pop!
High order shops: High threshold pop!

9. Class tasks:
You should be experts now so….. Complete tasks: 1-3 on pages Note: For task 3a you can incorporate task 3b and do it for your own country – however you will need to add the name, location and explanation for it.

10. Homework: Tuesday 18th November
Produce an information sheet on where you live! (for display)
Do you think the place where you live has a large or small sphere of influence? Explain!
Look at the types of services which are in your area and name any that at high-order and any that are low-order.
Can you name any spheres of influence that might overlap? (E.g. are there two gyms?)Explain
Compare where you live with ONE other settlement near you. How are they different? Try to use the terms: range, threshold population, sphere of influence – you may need to get out and investigate.