Chapter 4 Inhabitants and Settlements Section 3 Human

Section 3 Human Settlement I Settlement

Settlement and Environment

We call human settlements - villages and cities - collectively as settlements. Villages are generally small in scale, and there are different types of villages, such as rural villages, pastoral villages, and fishing villages. People living in villages are generally engaged in farming, herding, fishing and other activities. People living in cities are mainly engaged in industrial and service work. Due to the difference in labor production methods, the landscapes of villages and cities differ greatly.

The formation of settlements is closely related to the environment. Generally speaking, it is easier to form settlements in places with superior topography, climate, resources and other natural conditions. At present, in the plain areas in the middle and lower reaches of some rivers, or in estuaries and coastal areas, industrial and agricultural production is more developed and settlements are more densely distributed; in high mountains and desert areas, there are few or no settlements.

The form of settlements varies. Some settlements are clustered in the plains, while others are striped along rivers, foothills and valleys.

Settlements and World Heritage Sites

The settlements are integrated with the local natural environment and record information about the history, politics, culture and folklore of the time from different perspectives, and are an "encyclopedia" for us to understand how people lived at that time. However, due to natural and social reasons, some distinctive village settlements are gradually decreasing, therefore, how to protect valuable monuments, buildings and sites in settlements and how to deal with the relationship between settlement development and conservation is a common problem for all human beings.

UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1972. At present, many settlements in the world are listed in the World Heritage List. For example, Venice in Italy and the ancient city of Lijiang in Yunnan Province.

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