Nucleated settlements are towns where buildings are close together often clustered around a central point. The location of nucleated settlement can be determined by a range of important factors including water supply or route center. (Doc McPhee). Factors such as; presence of social amenities, industrial plants, presence of natural resources such as mineral and water influence the development of nucleated settlements.( John Mulu 2017). Nucleated settlement is a type of settlement pattern which has homesteads clustered around a central point called a nucleus. The focal point depends on location and culture and many include a church, park, sports stadium, market etc. Nucleated villages may emerge through expansion to create a polyfocal settlement. Population size in nucleated villages is large and in most cases, there is high population density. The clustering together of buildings enables the sharing of resources such as electricity and water. Flat areas that lack geographical restrictions allow for outward growth of the towns in all directions. (Joseph Kiprop 2018)
In Kenya such settlements can be notices in places where there are social amenities such as hospitals, schools, factories, road junctions among others. For instance, towns like Webuye and Mumias established as a result of pan paper and sugar factories respectively. The need to seek for employment lured people to settle in the place and as a result other social amenities such as hospitals and schools emerged and it letter became a trading center. People constructed residential houses where most people from different regions moved and settled in the trading center. Since then most people have been settling in the place building their residential homes and becoming close neighbors to other many people. A town like Kisumu has been able to grow and expand into a big city due to its proximity to the lake. People move to do activity such as fishing and as a result a trade emerged in the area which transformed into a city after people moving to settle in the area. It is currently one of the cities in Kenya and with the presentence of an international airport it has made the town more popular. A town like Magadi though small emerged as a result of Lake Magadi where a plant was established to mine soda ash. The presence of the plant lured people to settle in the area in such of employment. It has since resulted into emergence of other amenities such as residential houses, schools, trading center and hospital and it has since grown into a small town with people from different diversity living as close neighbors and sharing the available social amenities. Therefore the presence of some important natural and manmade resources has been a reason for the emergence of nucleated settlement in Kenya. People are lured by the presence of such recourses and decide to settle in the place so that they can benefit from such resources. In areas like Dadaab town, nucleated settlement has been witnessed as a result of the presence of NGOs who provide important resources such as water, schools, hospitals and even relief food. Due to the availability of such resources, most host communities have moved to live within the Dadaab center so that they can be able to benefit from the resources made available for refugees in the region.
Dispersed settlement is when you have buildings that are far away from each other. This type of settlement is usually found on farms or in areas with lots of mountain and hills. The people living in this area have huge pieces of land and where they can farm. (Alishi 2018) A dispersed settlement is the scattered pattern of households in a particular area. This form of settlement is common in the world’s rural regions. Several characteristics define a dispersed settlement, and they are found mainly in the regions with grasslands, thick forests, poor agricultural lands, extreme climates, regions with extensive cultivation, hilly tracts and regions where the farmer live in the agricultural land as opposed to distant settlement. This type of settlement can also be seen in highly-productive land where the reason behind the dispersed settlement is usually socio-cultural or historical. The common economic activities practiced in regions with a dispersed settlement include large-scale farming, ranching and lumbering. (Joseph Kiprop 2018)
Dispersed settlement in Kenya is as a result of natural set up of communities. In Kenya we have communities who are nomadic in nature and most of them live far away from each other to avoid conflict that comes as a result of competition over pasture and water. However, due to persistent drought communities are always forced to cross over to other settlement areas owned by other communities in such of pasture and water for their livestock and this has always resulted into conflict among the nomadic communities. Also due to the harsh condition in the area, only few people are settled in the area making the population in such area sparsely populated and therefore their homestead are always far away from each other. Some areas in Kenya experience dispersed settlement due to large scale farming. In areas like Trans Nzoia, Laikipia and in other settlement schemes people live far away from each other because people there, own large pieces of land where they practice large scale farming hence making them to live far away from each other. Such populations are separated by the large pieces of land they own and therefore they are not able to build their homes/houses close to each other.
Advantages and disadvantages of nucleated and dispersed settlements
Advantages
In nucleated settlement, there is more interaction with people. (Alfred Mtewele 2016) Since people live close to each other, there is daily interaction and people are able to make friends, business partners and colleagues and this brings about cohesion among the people. People are able to learn and respect other people’s culture, region and their way of living and this brings about mutual understanding.
Secondly, in nucleated settlement there is safety as there are many people living together and they can look up for each other. (Alfred Mtewele 2016). They can also share ideas on how to solve problems that may encounter their community in which they live in. In such community we have people with different profession living together and whenever they encounter a problem these people can always come together to share their ideas on how to go about any problem that is bound to face their community.
Disadvantages
Due to isolation of individual households in a dispersed settlement, the inhabitants are at great risk to breaches of insecurity. (Joseph Kiprop 2018). Since people live away from each other, there is no one to look out for each other and therefore in the event that one is faced with insecurity challenges there is no one close to reach to for support. Also given that people live away from each other, it gives hooligans opportunity to attack their target since they know that the chances of being caught in the act is minimal since no one is near to interfere with their plans.
Secondly, access to public amenities such as schools, hospitals and government offices is another challenge faced by people residing in dispersed settlements. In the event of natural disasters or accidents, emergency response is hindered by the expanse of the farms between households in a dispersed settlement. (Joseph Kiprop 2018)
REFERENCES
1. Alisi (2018). The Ways in Which Settlements Develop in the Rural Areas. Geography for Gr 6-7. Retrieved 2018 from: https://steemit.com>steemiteducation
2. Don MacPhee. Nucleated Settlements, Retrieved from: www.resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk
3. Kiprop J. (2018, May 11). What is Dispersed and nucleated Settlement, Retrieved from: https://www.worldatlas.com
4. Mtewele A. (2016, May 4), Advantages and Disadvantages of Nucleated and Dispersed Settlement. Retrieved from: www.mkombozijembe.blogspot.com
5. Mulu J. 2017, January 14). Give Three Factors that Influence the Development of Nucleated Settlement. Retrieved from: https://www.kenyaplex.com>questions
Smwenje answered the question on November 15, 2018 at 20:56