CBSE Class 7 Social Science Geography Revision Notes Chapter 7

CBSE Class 7 Geography Chapter 7 Notes – Human Environment – Settlement, Transport and Communication

CBSE Class 7 Geography Chapter 7 Notes emphasise the topics regarding modern settlement and the different modes of transportation and communication requirements. In this chapter, students learn how a settlement develops its transportation infrastructure and maintains ties with other settlements to function as a single unit. The fundamental definitions of settlement, its various types, and transportation facilities will be elaborated on in this chapter properly. Students can access the Human Environment Settlement Transport and Communication Class 7 Geography Chapter 7 Notes from Extramarks and improve their exam preparations. 

Students can refer to Class 7 Geography Chapter 7 Notes for an in-depth understanding of the concepts and score better in the examination. Extramarks provides these revision notes that are easily accessible from the website. These notes are written by subject matter experts and comply with the revised NCERT guidelines and syllabus. 

Human Environment – Settlement, Transport and Communications Class 7 Notes Geography Chapter 7 Notes

Access Class 7 Geography Chapter 7 – Human Environment – Settlement, Transport and Communication Notes

Settlements

The various types of human settlements, transportation, communication, etc., are well explained in the CBSE Class 7 Geography Chapter 7 Notes. 

Humans lived in caves or on trees in the ancient era. Their needs and ways of living changed with evolution. This gave rise to the development of distinct types of settlements, where people built their homes to survive with their families, friends, and close ones. 

These settlements developed over time with a focus on supplemental transportation and communication facilities.

According to the human environment, there are two types of settlements:- 

Temporary Settlement

• Settlements that are used for a short span of time are called temporary settlements. These settlements involve people residing in cold and hot deserts, dense forests, and mountains. 
• The main activities of those living in transient settlements include gathering, hunting, emigration, and shifting cultivation.

Permanent Settlement

• The places where people construct their own homes and reside in those places are called permanent settlements. 
• Permanent settlements can be additionally categorised into two types: rural and urban settlements.
• Rural Settlement
• Villages are considered to be rural settlements. 
• People living in rural settlements are mainly involved in occupations that consist of their everyday work. 
• Activities such as forestry, crafts work, trading, agriculture, etc., are adopted by rural people as an occupation. 
• One of the most essential occupations carried out by individuals in a rural setting is farming.
• Rural settlements can additionally be categorised into two types, namely, compact and scattered settlements.
• Compact Settlement
• A compact settlement is a place with close-knit residential areas.
• The Vindhyan Plateau, the Malwa plateau region,  Uttar Pradesh, the Nimar upland, the Narmada valley, the paddy land of Bihar, and Rajasthan are the places where this type of settlement is commonly found.
•  Scattered Settlements
• Scattered settlements are also known as dispersed settlements. 
• This type of settlement consists of a few houses located at a distance from each other. 
• High relief, grasslands, dense forest areas, Broadlands, and hot desert areas are places where this type of settlement is found. 
• Scattered settlements usually contain smaller populations that are also known as pada, wadi, or small villages. 
• Individuals in rural areas construct houses as per the requirements of their environment. Slanting roof houses are constructed in places where heavy rainfalls occur. 
• There is a tendency for water to collect in the houses, especially during the rainy seasons, hence they are constructed on locations such as high stilts and platforms.  
• People living in locations where the climate is hot construct houses with thatched roofs with the help of thick mud.
• Houses in this location are built using mud, clay, stones, straw, etc.  
• Urban Settlement
• Urban settlements are fixed communities that are located within an urban area.
• A settlement of this type is a location with a significant concentration of human-made buildings. 
• The geometrical patterns usually come out in rectangles and squares. It also appears in linear shapes.
• A variety of administrative, economic, and non-agricultural functions are carried out by urban settlements.
• The most common issues linked to urban settlements are high population density, poverty, flooding, congestion, slum building, crime, pollution, and scarcity of housing.
• Due to the resettlement of the rural regions, an issue of population density arises in the urban areas.

Transportation Services

• Transport is a means by which goods and people are carried from one place to another. During ancient times, people had to walk the distance to travel from one place to another, as there was no means of transport. With evolution, animals became a means of transport for people to travel distances. People later started using wheels for transport as inventions took place over the years. 
• Early traders took many months to travel from one place to another, depending on the route they took. To cover the distance, they either travelled by land or by sea.
• Advanced modes of transport conserve energy and time. The most common ways of transport are airways, roadways, waterways, and railways.

Airways

• In the 21st century, air transport is the quickest mode of transport.
• Airways reduce the time taken to travel by shortening the distance. Air travel is essential and required in every nation.
• Helicopters play a crucial role in travelling to remote regions that are unreachable due to unexpected natural calamities. During such calamities, aeroplanes are used to rescue people, give food to the affected, and transport clothes to the needy. 
• Air transport has some drawbacks irrespective of its various advantages. The most expensive mode of transport, undoubtedly, is air transport. Storms and fog are some instances of bad weather conditions that affect air traffic.

Waterways

• The cheapest and oldest mode of transportation is by water. This mode of transport is used to move heavy goods from one spot or location to another. 
• Waterways are classified into two types: inland waterways and sea routes. Navigable lakes and rivers are considered to be inland waterways. The Nile River in Africa, the Northern American Lakes, and the Ganga-Brahmaputra River are some of the important inland waterways.
• Oceanic and sea routes are used for transporting goods and merchandise from one place to another. The ports are linked to sea routes. Ships dock in ports as goods are transported to their final destinations.
• Some of the significant ports in the world are located in Mumbai and Singapore located in Asia, Rio de Janeiro in South America, Los Angeles in the Northern part of America, New York, Cape Town and Durban in Africa, Sydney located in Australia, and Rotterdam and London in Europe.

Railways

• Railways are one of the most preferred modes of transport. The invention of the engine during the Industrial Revolution led to the advancement of rail transport. 
• In recent times, steam engines have been replaced by electric engines and diesel. Railways are easily accessible in plain areas. It has become easier to lay railway lines on the slopes of mountains with increasing advancements in technology. 
• Railways are well developed, which is also a huge network located in Asia.

Roadways

• The most preferred mode of transport according to people for travelling short distances is roadway transport. Roads could be paved and unpaved, or metalled and unmetalled. 
• Roadway routes are discovered in deserts, forests, and high mountains. The Manali-Leh-Ladakh highway is the most elevated roadway in the world. 
• Subways are roads constructed underground, whereas flyovers are roads constructed over an elevated structure.

Communication

• Transferring messages from one individual to another is called communication. As technology advances, humans have access to devices with newer, faster forms of communication.
• Newspapers, radio, and television are used in different ways to educate, communicate with, and convey information to many people. Information can be distributed to a large number of people via the media.
• Satellites facilitate communication by making it faster. Satellites are used for forest surveys,  weather forecasts, oil exploration, mineral wealth, and calamity warnings. 
• Devices such as mobile phones, which enable wireless telephonic conversation, are popular today. People can call anyone around the globe and get in touch with them, as well as send messages to them. The internet makes it easy to access news by an enormous mass of people. The world has hence become a global society due to the connection between institutions, services, and people.

Important Questions and Answers

1. How has the internet made our lives more convenient?

Ans: The following points show how the internet has made lives easier:-

• The internet is a recent improvement and advancement in the industry of technology. The internet has contributed to one’s life in many ways, as well as made it more convenient than earlier. 
• Nowadays, one gets access to news mostly through the internet and can also stay in contact with their close ones living at any distance throughout the world. The internet is useful for getting many things done, for example, booking a ticket for any show or reserving a table at a restaurant. 
• Every individual has access to the internet nowadays, which helps organisations to permit their employees to work from home by attending online meetings, as well as helping students attend online lectures from the comfort of their homes.