Human Environment - Settlement, Transport and Communication Class 7 Notes CBSE Geography Chapter 7 (Free PDF Download)

In CBSE Class 7 Social Science Geography Chapter 7, you will learn about the different types of human settlement, transportation, communication, and other services, etc. 

In the prehistoric era, humans used to live in caves or on trees. With evolution, their needs changed, and so did their way of living. This led to the development of different types of settlements- where people today build their homes to live with their families, friends, and close ones. 

It is these settlements centering around additional transportation and communication services that have grown over the years.

Settlements

Talking about the human environment, settlements are primarily of two types.

Temporary Settlement 

• Settlements that are occupied for a short period are known as temporary settlements. Such settlements include people living in cold and hot deserts as well as deep forests and mountains. 

• Occupation of the people living in temporary settlements includes gathering, hunting, transhumance, and shifting cultivation.

Permanent Settlement 

• Permanent settlements refer to the place where people live by building their own homes. 

• Permanent settlement can be further classified into two terms, namely rural and urban settlements.

Rural Settlement 

• Villages are known as rural settlements. 

• People in rural settlements are primarily involved in occupations that involve their daily life works. 

• Rural people do activities like crafts work, trading, forestry, fishing, and agriculture. 

• Farming is one of the foremost critical occupations performed by individuals here.

• Rural settlements can further be classified into two forms that are compact or scattered settlements.

Compact Settlement

• A compact settlement refers to a place that has closed built areas of dwellings. 

• This type of settlement is found in places such as the Malwa plateau region, Nimar upland, Narmada valley, paddy land of Bihar, Vindhyan Plateau, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

Scattered Settlements

• The scattered settlements are also known as dispersed settlements. 

• In scattered settlements, few houses are there, and they are far away from each other. 

• This kind of settlement is generally found in places of high relief, grasslands, dense forest areas, extensive lands, and hot desert areas. 

• Scattered settlements have less population that are called pada, wadi as well as small hamlets. People in rural areas build houses according to their environment. 

• They build slanting roof houses in places where they experience heavy rainfall. 

• The houses are constructed on raised stilts and platforms because there is a tendency for water to accumulate in the houses during the rainy seasons. 

• People living in places of hot climate make houses with thatched roofs by using thick mud.

• Materials used for constructing houses in this place are mud, clay, stones, straw, etc.

Urban Settlement

• Urban settlements refer to concentrated settlements that constitute a part of the urban area. 

• The urban settlement is a region having a high density of structures made by humans.

• The geometrical patterns mainly appear in rectangles and squares. They can also occur in linear shapes.

• Urban settlements perform a variety of administrative, economic, and non-agricultural functions.

• Although there are many problems associated with urban settlements, there is a high population density, poverty, congestion, crime, slum creation, pollution, flooding, and lack of housing.

• The migration from the rural regions causes a problem of population density in the urban areas.

Transportation Services 

• Transport refers to the means with the help of which goods and people move. There were no means of transport in the early period, and people had to walk if they wanted to travel from one place to another. Then evolution happened, and gradually people started using animals as their means of transport. Later, inventions were made, and people made use of wheels to transport easily. 

• Early traders used to take several months to travel from one country to another. They took either the land route or the sea route to travel to their destination. 

• Modern means of transport can save energy as well as time. The four means of transport are airways, waterways, roadways, and railways.

Airways

• The fastest means of transport in the 21st century is air transport.

• It gradually reduces the distance by minimizing the time for travel. Air transport is essential for every country. 

• Also, as part of air transport, helicopters play a vital role in traveling to remote areas that become inaccessible due to sudden natural calamities. In such times, they help rescue people, distribute food among the affected, and deliver clothes and food to the needy. 

• Although air transport has many advantages, there are certain drawbacks associated with it. Air transport is considered to be the most expensive form of travel. Also, air traffic gets affected by various bad weather conditions such as storms and fog.

Waterways

• The waterway is one of the earliest methods of transportation as well as the cheapest one. They were used to carry bulk and heavy goods from one place to another. 

• There are two main types of waterways. One is the inland waterway, and the other is the sea routes. Navigable lakes and rivers are used as inland waterways. A few essential inland waterways are the Northern American Lakes, the Nile River in Africa, Ganga-Brahmaputra River. 

• Oceanic routes and sea routes are mainly used for transporting various goods and merchandise from one country to another. Sea routes are connected to ports where the ships docked and the goods are taken to their required places. 

• The most important parts of the world are Mumbai and Singapore in Asia, Los Angeles in the northern part of America, New York, Cape Town and Durban in Africa, Rio de Janeiro in South America, Rotterdam and London in Europe, and Sydney, which is situated in Australia.

Railways

• Railways are one of the most common means of transport. Rail transport was developed after the invention of the engine as well as the Industrial Revolution. 

• Nowadays, electric engines and diesel have replaced steam engines. Plain areas have good access to the railways. The advanced technology has also made it possible to lay the railway line in the stope of the mountains. 

• The largest network of the railway is found in Asia, and it is well developed.

Roadways

• Roadway transport is the most appropriate means of transport for people traveling short distances. The roads can be unmetalled as well as metalled. 

• Routes are found in forests, deserts, and high mountains. The most elevated roadway in the world is the Manali-Leh Ladakh highway. 

• Roads are also built underground, and they are called subways. While roads are built, over a raised structure are called flyovers.

Communication

• Communication refers to transporting messages from one person to another. With advancing technologies humans have devices fast and new modes of communication.

• Various modes are used for communicating, educating, and providing information to different people. They are sent through radio, newspaper, and television. These can provide information to a huge number of people, and so they are called mass media. 

• Satellites are advanced means that make communication fast. Satellites help in forest surveys, oil exploration, weather forecasts, mineral wealth, and disaster warnings. 

• The wireless telephonic conversation has become more powerful in today's time. Through mobile phones, people can convey and share the news with their loved ones as well as send messages. Also, the Internet provides news to a large mass of people. They have resulted in making people's lives safe and comfortable. The world is considered to be a global society due to the interconnectivity of institutions, services, and people.

Important Questions and Answers

1. Give a reason for the given statement: "Today's world is shrinking."

Ans: Various reasons result in the shrinking of today's world. They are the following-

• Airways are the fastest mode of transportation in today's world, and so more and more people are using airplanes to travel to different places. Airways reduces our time. 

• Communication has resulted in reducing both time and distances. We can talk, see as well as interact with a large number of people who are far away from us. 

• Business deals can be made in a few seconds by superfast communicational means such as satellite phones and the Internet.

2. How did the people in early time travel? Mention the changes that took place with time.

Ans: 

• People had no means of transportation in the early days. During the early medieval period, they used to walk barefoot from one place to another. They used their animals, such as cows and goats, to carry goods from one place to another. 

• The invention of the wheel resulted in a boom for people all over the place. Transportation became easier after that. Eventually, different types of transportation means have developed, such as roadways, airways, waterways, and railways. 

• Among them, the airway is the fastest means of transportation, and roadways are the most common means.

3. How has the Internet resulted in making our lives more comfortable?

Ans: 

• The latest development and advancement in the field of technology is the Internet. The Internet has made our life more happening, easy, and more comfortable than earlier. 

• We can get news through the Internet and get in touch with our close ones living near and far away from us. A lot of work can be done now through the Internet, such as booking a ticket or reserving a seat, booking air tickets, and cinema tickets. 

• It has become very common, and almost every individual has access to the Internet from which they can also attend their college seminars and office meetings sitting at home.

4. Give a vivid description of the waterways.

Ans: The cheapest mode of transportation is the waterways. They are used to transport heavy goods from one place to another. There are two types of waterways, namely inland waterways and sea routes. 

• Inland waterways: Navigable lakes and rivers are known as inland waterways. A few of the important waterways are the Great lakes in North America, the Nile river in Africa, and the Ganga- Brahmaputra river. 

• Sea routes: Oceanic routes and sea routes are generally used for transporting goods and merchandise from one place to another. They are connected to the ports. The most important ports are Mumbai, Singapore, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, etc.

5. What do you understand from the word 'transportation'?

Ans: 

• The word 'transportation' refers to how goods and humans are moved from one place to another. Transport also refers to the action of movement of a particular object from point A to point B. 

• There are various modes of transport, including land, air, road, and railway. The field can be thus divided into operations, vehicles, and infrastructure. Transports help to trade between people of different origins and cultures, which is important for developing civilization. 

• Transport infrastructure involves installations of railways, roads, airways, canals, waterways, pipelines, and terminals like bus stations, railway stations, etc.