Settlement Hierarchy Research Articles

Towards large-scale analyses of settlement patterns in urbanizing landscapes—findings of first studies for India, Egypt, and China

Improved ability to assess and categorize the spatial characteristics of settlement patterns is required for a deeper understanding of how urbanization is driving land use and land cover transformation and its effects. Two approaches to the globally available settlement maps of the World Settlement Footprint 3D support a detailed assessment of spatial characteristics of settlement patterns in rural to urban landscapes and across scales: graph-based spatial network analysis and elements of fractal theory. Based on first comprehensive tests for the Punjab (India), the Nile Delta (Egypt) and the North China Plain, the results of our study suggest that the presented methods allow a quantitative and qualitative characterization and comparison of settlement patterns between different regions of the world. The approache allows to generate standardized baseline data for arbitrary regions in the world to analyze structuring principles of settlement hierarchies (e.g., self-organized fractal geometries) and their dependence on - or interaction with - cultural, political, socioeconomic, or environmental conditions.

Spatial patterns of electoral support in the 2023 general election in Poland

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This article focuses on identifying the spatial patterns of electoral support for the main political actors, and searching for adequate determinants that explain this distribution of support, based on the results of the 2023 general election in Poland. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: Is there a relationship between the basic morphological features of the voting space in Poland and the hierarchy of the settlement structure, along with the arrangement of regions associated with the country’s historical and political heritage? The methods used in the study include analysis of descriptive statistics, estimation of spatial autocorrelation, discriminant analysis, and cartographic methods. PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The research process involves a two-stage procedure: 1) identifying a general picture of spatial variation in electoral support for selected groupings, and basic clustering patterns of electoral support; and 2) estimating links between the observed patterns of support and their presumed determinants; that is, the country’s settlement hierarchy and historical-political divisions. RESEARCH RESULTS: The spatial variability of the support indicators is characterised by a distinctive territorial distribution, based on the units of the settlement system and the boundaries of former historical divisions. The nature of this linkage indicates the changing layout of the voting space, associated with the increasing polarisation of citizens’ political preferences. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The current pattern of urban-rural differentiation is related to the different preferences of metropolitan (over 20,000 inhabitants) and rural or small-town (up to 20,000 inhabitants) communities. The east-west heterogeneity of Poland’s voting space is increasing due to similarities of preferences among the inhabitants of former Austrian and Russian Poland, on the one hand, and Prussian Poland and the Recovered Territories, on the other.

OSTRICHES AND GEOTOURISM: THE EVOLUTIONARY PATHWAY OF A SMALL TOWN TOURISM DESTINATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Small towns are a critical tier in the settlement hierarchy. For many small towns tourism is a vital sector of local development. This paper contributes an historical perspective on small town destination development. Using archival sources the paper provides a window on the evolutionary development of one small town tourism destination in South Africa. The case study is Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape. During the late 19th century and early 20th century Oudtsthoorn experienced phases of economic boom and bust which linked to international fashion and the trade in ostrich feathers. The imprint of this era is manifest in the town’s landscape of ‘feather palaces’. In terms of early 20th century tourism growth it is demonstrate d geotourism was a critical driver with the asset of Cango Caves. In the period after the Second World War, the local tourism economy diversifies with the revival and reorientation of ostrich farming which incorporates ostriches as tourism attractions. The evolutionary pathway of this small town changes such that its local tourism economy is anchored on the dual foundations of its geotourism and ostrich attractions.

Synthesis of human isotopic data (8000–5000 BP) reveals subsistence strategies and social complexity at the southeast edge of the Loess Plateau, China

AbstractThe southeast edge of the Loess Plateau (SELP) is a crucial area for studying subsistence strategies and social complexity in prehistoric China. Currently, no systematic isotopic study has been conducted to reveal shifts in subsistence strategies and their link to the trajectory of social complexity. This paper compiles previously published isotopic data from human and fauna bones at 24 sites dating from 8000 to 5000 BP, aiming to uncover diachronic changes in subsistence strategies and their relationship with social complexity. The results indicate a gradual increase in millet consumption by humans and an increasing utilization of millet‐based byproducts as feed for domestic animals (pigs and dogs) over time. The isotopic data of humans and animals demonstrate the establishment of millet agriculture during the Early Yangshao period (7000–6000 BP). Millet agriculture creates a crucial material foundation for population growth and cultural prosperity. Two modes of millet cultivation, intensive and extensive, are proposed to explain the continuous development of millet agriculture since the Early Yangshao period. Finally, significant dietary heterogeneity among the human population during the Late Yangshao period strongly suggests the emergence of social differentiation and complexity, supported by other archaeological evidence such as settlement hierarchies and the presence of exquisite objects in burials.

STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL PROBLEMS OF THE URBANIZED TERRITORY OF THE LVIV REGION IN THE CONTEXT OF NEW ADMINISTRATIVE AND TERRITORIAL REALITIES

An analysis of the spread of urbanized territories (cities, urban agglomerations) in the Lviv region in the context of the transformation of the status and functions of settlements as a result of changes in the legislation of Ukraine was made. Urbanized territories are considered as nodal centers of population resettlement, concentration of significant personnel, cultural and educational, intellectual and economic potential of the region. It was concluded that in modern conditions it is urbanized territories in all countries of the world that determine the priorities of social development. The classification of the cities of the Lviv region by population revealed some disproportions in the demographic hierarchy of settlements: 1) there are no large cities in the region with a population of 100 to 500 thousand people; 2) the number of small towns with a population of up to 10,000 people is relatively large, and 8 of them have a population of less than five thousand, which creates real threats for them to lose city status. At the same time, the presence of a significant number of small towns in the region can be considered as a favorable prerequisite and reserve for further urbanization, which will be possible in the processes of new industrialization of Ukraine. Taking into account the mutual location of cities, their historical and geographical features and modern territorial and functional relationships, as well as taking into account the spread of urban agglomerations, within the region there are four bands of urban settlement (Mountain, Foothill, Central and Pobuzhja’s-Styr’s), which differ in density and demographic potential of urban settlements. The comparative analysis proved that the level of urbanization of the Mountain Settlement Belt is the lowest and insufficient for the performance of organizational and service functions. According to the results of the administrative and territorial reform at the medium level, instead of 20 districts in the Lviv region, 7 new ones were created, and 15 cities of the region lost the status of district centers. In the same way, the status of cities of regional importance was actually leveled. All those cities that lost the status of district centers became the centers of territorial communities, which allows them to generally preserve the management infrastructure and personnel potential. All other small towns, which previously did not function as centers of district-type administrative units, with the exception of Dublyany, Vinnyky, Sosnivka, Stebnyk, Ugniv, became the centers of territorial communities. Granting the status of the center of the territorial community can ensure the transformation of those small towns that were not district centers into new centers of socio-economic advancement. The presence of 34 villages in the region, 16 of which have also become the centers of territorial communities, is a reserve for further urbanization of the Lviv region. The conclusion that new administrative districts have the most grounds for performing the functions of coordinating the balanced development of urban agglomerations, provided that they are given the appropriate powers and economic levers, is substantiated. It was concluded that the main features of the demographic potential and location of the cities of the Lviv region, in particular their high density and low average population, reflect, on the one hand, the limited level of urbanization of the region, but on the other hand, the presence of settlement potential for further urbanization, expansion and functional strengthening of urbanized territory This situation is a favorable prerequisite for the formation of a network of more powerful urban centers, testifying to the need for a new economic modernization of the region in general. Key words: urbanized territories, cities, urban territorial communities, urbanization in Lviv region, urban agglomerations, management of urbanized territories.

Introducing climate-related counterurbanisation: Individual adaptation or societal maladaptation?

Climate disruption today and anticipated future climate breakdown are reshaping demographic and spatial processes, with profound consequences for societies across the globe. Specifically, migration can become a key strategy to attempt to respond to and cope with environmental change. This paper seeks to make sense of one type of migration, counterurbanisation, in this climate breakdown era. It provides conceptual clarity to what is termed ‘climate-related counterurbanisation’ vis-à-vis wider climate-induced migration and positions climate disruption within the counterurbanisation literature. Climate-related counterurbanisation is presented as a largely voluntary movement down the settlement hierarchy as a direct or indirect response to climate change, with positive representations of ‘rurality’ central to the relocation decision: individual adaptation. However, it is mediated by numerous geographically variegated and specific environmental, cultural, social and economic factors. Indeed, it may ultimately come to be seen more as maladaptation than adaptation. While moving from urban to rural may make sense at individual household level, such relocations can overall have much more negative impacts on host rural communities or the urban people left behind.

Statistical Approaches to Small Site Diversity

Over the past fifty years, intensive Mediterranean archaeological surveys have yielded abundant and diachronic archaeological data. Although field methods have been continually debated and refined, the interpretation of survey results has focused primarily on site numbers and site size, with particular interest in reconstructing settlement hierarchies and in tracking episodes of nucleation and dispersal across the landscape. Artifact assemblages are largely used to date sites, while less attention has been devoted to assemblage diversity and site function. This study demonstrates the potential of legacy survey data to frame and answer new research questions via an analysis of 250 small rural sites of the first millennium BC recovered by intensive surveys on Crete from the 1970s through the early 2000s. I show that diachronic patterns of rural settlement in Crete depart strongly from those observed in mainland Greece and also differ between regions. I also reveal pronounced variation in the assemblages present at small sites across the island within Cretan regions and periods. This suggests that we cannot simply interpret all small sites as homogeneous farmsteads. Finally, I discuss the challenges and potential of using diversity measures as an exploratory tool for analyzing legacy survey data. Methods outlined here could be productively applied in other Mediterranean regions.

Need of Integrated Regional Planning Approach for the Decentralisation and Optimisation of Renewable Energy Based Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: A Comprehensive Visualisation

The existing research narrates avenues in the regional and thematic area preconditions set via the framework and institutional mechanism towards energy decentralisation (ED). Moreover, with the entrant stakeholders and inclusive energy policy, the researchers find potential in local resources and capacity towards the decarbonisation of the economy. Consequently, governments around the globe emphasise multi-level sectoral economic support packages to buffer the immediate to medium-term gap and subsequently investigate their implementation in infrastructure and technology. The present review attempts to focus on the conditions of energy transformation in enabling a policy and regulatory framework. As such an integrated regional spatial framework focuses to identify support packages across urban and rural planning, transportation, renewable energy, infrastructure, environment and climate change and sustainability. Moreover, the present review revolves its thematic focus around the transport sector to strategize the energy decentralisation of the local potential in the ongoing electric vehicle (EV) transportation. The presented review toils on EV users’ struggle to orient to the need of the hour in the inadequacies of refill/charging infrastructure. Thus, it is imperative to review parameters such as availability and access to charge, depending on the source of energy in the charging infrastructure, facilities and services at the regional level. The presented review investigates under categoric and key search across conceptual regional settlement hierarchy to strategize the development of the Renewable Energy based Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (REEVI) package under system, support and services (SSS). Conclusively, the review study brings out a tentative regional settlement hierarchical integrated methodology for REEVI-SSS in the missing linkages and gaps of spatial planning to ease medium and long trip EV transportation challenges faced at the inter-city–rural, i.e., regional level.

Centra, zázemí a periferie hospodářského života raně novověké společnosti v zemích České koruny. O smyslu hospodářských dějin raného novověku

The paper evaluates the representation of early modern economic history at the 12th congress of Czech historians in Ústí nad Labem in September 2022 and responds to opinions about the current decline of the discipline of economic history and its replacement by the “new” cultural history. It emphasises the continuing importance of classical economic history and the need to enrich it with new approaches, based on complexity, a comparative approach, and interdisciplinarity. Two historiographic probes demonstrating the meaning and significance of the study of territorial economic relations in the 16th and 17th centuries are presented. The first is a microhistorical insight into the management and function of the suburban estates of the Czech nobility in the immediate vicinity of the provincial capital, Prague, at the end of the 16th century, as can be observed through the example of the small manor of Košíř, owned in the years 1585–1597 by the lords of Hradec. The second probe shows the possibilities and benefits of analysing data from contemporary tax records and lists of serfdom duties and corvées for understanding the function and status of cities and towns in the South Bohemian domain of the lords of Hradec. It describes the structure of the urban network and the hierarchy of urban settlements in the 17th century, captures the original traces of war damage, and suggests the possibility of following the trends of early modern urbanisation in the territory of the former Bechyňsko region in a long wave from the end of the Thirty Years’ War to the beginning of industrialisation and the new “industrial” urbanisation in the 19th century.

Возможности практического применения методических рекомендаций по определению опорных населенных пунктов (на примере Европейского Севера России)

This article addresses the challenges associated with establishing a system of key settlements as one of the tools to ensure balanced spatial development of the country. In 2022, the Government of the Russian Federation approved methodological recommendations for classifying settlements as key ones, and corresponding lists were compiled in each region. The purpose of this article is to assess the practical applicability of these methodological recommendations as a mechanism for managing spatial development, using the regions of the European North of Russia as a case study. The study employs research methods such as synthesis, generalization, statistical analysis, spatial analysis, and content analysis. The study is based on works by Russian and international authors on spatial and regional economics, statistical data, and regulatory documents issued by public authorities. The research examines the role of key settlements in the socio-economic development of regions and tests the officially approved methodological recommendations in the European North of Russia. A list of small towns, semi-urban settlements, and villages that meet the specified criteria has been compiled. Based on a content analysis of the regulatory documents regarding the regions of European North of Russia, the towns and settlements were identified that had been classified as key ones. It is observed that authorities often do not fully adhere to the official requirements outlined in the methodological recommendations, mainly due to their general nature and the lack of consideration for regional features. Another issue lies in the absence of a hierarchy of key settlements. The novelty of this research is associated with providing an assessment of the practical applicability of the approved methodological recommendations for selecting key settlements. The results of the study have scientific value and practical applicability within relevant fields of study and can also be used by federal authorities and local governments when developing measures for the formation and development of a network of key settlements on the territory of the European North of Russia.

Moving Up: Migration between Levels of the Settlement Hierarchy in Russia in the 2010s

Moving Up: Migration between Levels of the Settlement Hierarchy in Russia in the 2010s

Interurban mobility: Eurythmic relations among metropolitan cities monitored by mobile phone data

The main aim of this article is to identify and explain the spatio-temporal pattern of interurban mobility in Czechia. The research is based upon analysis of mobile phone location data. More precisely, the data set about more than 3 million mobile-phone stations from 2019 is analysed to investigate mobility patterns and spatiotemporal behaviour among Prague, Brno, and Ostrava, three major agglomerations of Czechia. To achieve the goal, the paper uses proven concepts from time geography and chronogeography, such as constraints and pacemakers. The results reveal that, firstly, Prague's dominant position in the settlement hierarchy is crucial to mobility rhythms even for long-distance journeys. Secondly, journey purpose and means of transport are also proven to be key pacemakers in intraurban mobility.

Centrality on the periphery: an analysis of rural settlement hierarchy in the Dutch part of the Roman limes

The Lower Rhine region was of crucial importance for the Roman empire as a transit zone from Gaul to the North Sea. The river Rhine functioned both as a transport artery and as a defence line. Huge investments were made in the first century CE to protect this economic lifeline, by installing a line of forts and legionary camps along the river from Cologne up to the North Sea, known as the Lower Germanic limes. Unlike areas further south, however, its hinterland did not witness a development towards a ‘central place’ settlement pattern, but instead shows seemingly separate trajectories of development of the ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ settlements. In this paper, the apparently weak socio-economic interaction between the towns, forts and rural hinterland is analysed using a model of settlement hierarchy originally developed by Bertoncello et al. (2012). Data on building materials and ceramic imports found in archaeological surveys and excavations in the Dutch part of the region were used as indicators of socio-economic status, and settlements were classified accordingly. Statistical and spatial analysis of the resulting settlement classification revealed a weak hierarchy of rural settlement in the region, that was to some extent influenced by the development of towns.

Head for the Hills: Nucleated Hilltop Settlement in the Irish Bronze Age

In Bronze Age Ireland, the settlement record almost exclusively comprises individual, isolated farmsteads dotted throughout the island (Ginn in Emania, 21: 47–58, 2013; Ginn, Mapping society: Settlement structures in Later Bronze Age Ireland, Archaeopress, 2016). Recent studies have shown that these are incredibly homogeneous, with the nearly 700 excavated examples showing no signs of significant variation in terms of size or density and little in the way of high-status material culture. This conflicts with other evidence from this period, which points to an elite culture inferred from extensive long-distance trading, the manufacture of high-status goods and the construction of massive communal monuments such as hillforts. The latter comprise some of Europe’s largest and most impressive monuments and are often recognised as regional centres of power and authority. Until recently, these monuments have received little attention in Ireland and have rarely been integrated into the broader study of Irish Bronze Age settlement patterns. Indeed, it is at hillforts, which might be regarded as the permanent settlement of an elite and a central space for a disparate community, that we should find larger structures and more nuanced evidence for settlement hierarchies if they exist. This paper aims to collate the settlement evidence within Irish hillforts and other unenclosed upland settlements, integrating this within the broader narrative of the contemporary settlement pattern. It is argued that a clear hierarchy of settlement is apparent at some of the densely settled Irish hillforts, and that these formed central spaces for a disparate community where architecture formed the main arena for the display of status and group identity.

Latitudinal Trend Analysis of Land Surface Temperature to Identify Urban Heat Pockets in Global Coastal Megacities

Recent global warming has led to increased coastal disturbances through a significant transfer of heat between the land and the ocean surface. The polar regions show excessive temperature changes resulting in massive ice sheet melting. Mid-latitudinal storms pull heat away from the equator towards the poles; therefore, the global sea level is rising, making coastal cities the most vulnerable. In last few decades, rapid urbanization in big cities has drastically changed the land cover and land use due to deforestation, which has led to increased land surface temperatures (LSTs). This eventually leads to urban flooding due to oceanic storm surges frequently created by low pressure over the ocean during summer. This paper considered factors such as drastic unplanned urbanization to analyze coastal cities as the focal point of the generation of heat yielding the annihilation of the natural topography. Urban heat pockets (UHP) were studied for nine megacities, which were selected at an interval of 5° of latitudinal difference in the northern hemisphere (NH) since 70% of densely populated megacities are located in coastal regions. A comparative surface temperature analysis was effectively carried out with the same latitudinal reference for nine mid-sized cities using the derived LST data from Landsat 8. The results provide a comparative classification of surface temperature variations across the coastal cities over the NH. This study infers that the issues pertaining to growing urbanization are very important for analyzing the proportional impact caused by the settlement hierarchy and lays a robust foundation for advanced studies of global warming in coastal urban environments.

Resource deserts, village hierarchies and de-growth in sparsely populated areas: the case of Southern Lapland, Sweden

Small villages in northern Sweden have seen a continuing removal of key services, such as schools, shops and public transport, since the 1970s. Disinvestment in public services has not been strategically planned but has happened in response to population loss and increased costs on a case-by-case basis. More recently, there has been a shift in policy thinking to what might be termed a ‘de-growth’ approach where digitalisation and increased personal mobility are used to provide new ways of delivering services. The purpose of this paper is to examine the existence of ‘resource deserts’ in Southern Lapland and the emergence (or consolidation) of village hierarchies in allocating public services. We map out the distribution of neighbourhood services (grocery stores, pre-/schools and petrol pumps) among villages, and explore the lived experiences in accessing these resources in different villages. Our results show that resource deserts clearly exist in the south and east of the region, while villages in the more sparsely populated western mountain areas were generally in a better position to retain resources. We identify a lack of consistent and transparent service planning at the village level as a key shortcoming in municipal and regional service strategies. There appear to be unofficial settlement hierarchies in the differential treatment of villages that are otherwise similar in population size, population change and distance to central places. We find that political decisions on service allocations are likely influenced by several factors. These include legacy effects relating to historic settlement status, the location of villages in relation to key transport or mobility corridors, as well as ideological factors favouring villages with more ‘exotic’ features and development potential in line with the municipalities’ economic, social and political priorities. We finally argue that a shift to de-growth needs to be more strategically planned if it is to eliminate resource deserts and promote equity of service access across all villages.

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL CHANGES: AN INTEGRATION OF CERAMIC AND LITHIC DATA FROM THE THREE RIVERS REGION

Archaeological research in northwestern Belize indicates a long history of occupation beginning in the Middle Preclassic and ending with abandonment in the Terminal Classic. The collection and analysis of ceramic and lithic data on a broad regional scale and across the entire range of settlement hierarchy allow for a comprehensive examination of social and political changes that occurred across the region. Stylistic changes in the ceramics, the continuity of lithic forms, and depositional patterns of both artifact classes provide information on the activities that occurred between the Late and Terminal Classic in the Three Rivers Region

Moving Up: Migration between Levels of the Settlement Hierarchy in Russia in the 2010s

Moving Up: Migration between Levels of the Settlement Hierarchy in Russia in the 2010s

MÖ II. Binyılda Eminler Höyük ve Karaman Ovası

Karaman Ovası, Orta Anadolu’yu Akdeniz’e bağlayan bir kavşak noktasında yer almaktadır. Neolitik Çağ’dan itibaren yerleşim izlerine rastlanan ova, MÖ III. ve II. binyıllarda dikkat çekici bir kültürel gelişim sergilemiştir. Söz konusu kültürel gelişimin daha detaylı bir şekilde kavranabilmesi amacıyla ovada 2016-2022 yılları arasında arkeolojik yüzey araştırmaları yürütülmüştür. Bu araştırmaların ilk etabını Karaman Ovası’nın kuzeyinde, Karadağ’ın eteklerinde yer alan Eminler Höyük’te gerçekleştirilen yoğun yüzey araştırmaları oluşturmuştur. Eminler Höyük’te 2016-2019 yılları arasında gerçekleştirilen araştırmalar, höyüğün Erken Tunç Çağı’ndan başlayarak Demir Çağı sonuna kadar kesintisiz bir şekilde iskân edildiğini ortaya koymuştur. Bölgenin anahtar yerleşimlerinden biri olan Eminler Höyük, MÖ II. binyılın farklı evrelerine tarihlenen arkeolojik tabakalar barındırmasıyla dikkati çekmiştir. Bu çalışmada öncelikle Karaman Ovası genel özellikleriyle tanımlanmış ve Eminler Höyük yüzey araştırmaları hakkında bilgi verilmiştir. Çalışmanın devamında yüzey araştırmalarından elde edilen çanak çömleklere ilişkin veriler ana hatlarıyla değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmanın son bölümünde, Karaman Ovası’nda tespit edilen MÖ II. binyıl yerleşimleri kısaca değerlendirilmiş ve Eminler Höyük’ün söz konusu yerleşimler içindeki konumu tartışılmıştır.

Scholarly Networks, Gender Sociology, and Knowledge Production in Aegean Survey and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology

Scholarly Networks, Gender Sociology, and Knowledge Production in Aegean Survey and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology