Dwelling TypesExamples of Dwellings
Rural SettlementsSettlement Patterns
Shelter ranks high on list of human needs• Dwellings serve several functions• Houses reveal characteristics of region and
culture• Layout and function of houses provides a
glimpse of social values and economic needs
• Materials used reflect local availability & purpose
Dispersed Settlement•Houses lie far apart
Nucleated Settlement•Houses are grouped together in tiny
clusters (hamlets)•Larger clusters (villages)
Arrangement of houses in villages takes on different forms
Early ancestors- lived in bands of dozen to 50 to 60 people
Early humans lived in holes covered w/ branches and leaves in temporary campsites
deBlij- unlikely first humans lived in caves because many humans lived where no shelter was available
Functional Differentiation:• As society developed, communal dwelling gave way to
individual dwelling• Communities became larger & more organized• Buildings for food storage and livestock became necessary• Functional differentiation began in buildings
Human communities existed as far back as 100,000 years ago
Migrating people protected selves against elements
Buildings reflect adaptations required of environmental changes
Nomadic people had light-weight, tent-like shelters- Igloos for Inuit people
Unchanged-TraditionalTraditional
Modified-TraditionalModern
Unchanged-Traditional – layout, construction, appearance have not been significantly altered by external influences
Modified-Traditional – new building materials used, no change to original structure or layout
Modernized-Traditional – materials and layout have been changed (floor plan, multiple bathrooms, two-car garage, …)
Modern – reflects advanced technology, practicality, comfort, affluence, technology makes up for lack of style, suburbanization (most common in US)
Building Materials • Typically reflect what is locally available • Wood, brick, stone, wattle (tightly woven sticks &
poles plastered w/ mud), grass and brush
Uygur yurt in Xinjiang Province, China
Masai manyatta, Kenya
Stone house, Nepal
Sod farm house, Iceland
Uros reed dwelling, Lake Titicaca, Peru
Traditional housing, Nias Island, off the west coast of Sumatera, Indonesia
Stone and cement house, Armenia
Adobe-style construction, Santa Fe, NM
Solar-powered T.V. hut, Niger
Fred Kniffen studied three principal housing types (New England, Middle Atlantic & “Tidewater South” of the Lower Chesapeake); diffused South & West
Ranch house – evolved in California in 1920s; diffused eastward (first through Sunbelt, then to other regions); designed for balmy climate & outdoor living (cultural symbol)
Maladaptive diffusion – negative • Ranch house diffused to areas with greater
extremes in temperature (north); image over practicality
• New England style diffused into Hawaii
Ranch House
Buildings of the Lower St. Lawrence
Hearth of North America
Norman Cottage
Quebec cottage
Montreal house
Buildings ofNew England
Saltbox house
Upright-and-wing house
Georgian-style NE large house
Buildings of theMiddle Atlantic
States
Four-over four house
Traditional or classic “I” house, w/ 2 rooms per floor separated by central hallways
Buildings of the“Tidewater South”
Charleston single house
Hamlet = smallest What constitutes a village?
• Canada – up to 1,000 residents; US – 2,500; Japan – up to 30,000 (pop. numbers are not standard)
• Functional differentiation: hamlet – offers very few services (gas station, store,…); village – may offer several dozen services
Traditionally- villagers either farmed surrounding land or provided services to those who did
Japan- houses tightly packed, only narrow passageway remains
W. Europeans built on dikes- look more linear Over ½ of world’s population live in villages and rural
areas
Linear: e.g. low-lying areas in W. Eur. located on levees (Strassendorfs- ‘street villages’)
Clustered: Japan – need to allocate every available foot of land for farming
Round: Africa & parts of Europe – central cattle corral
Grid: US – township-and-range system adopted after Amer. Rev.- Rectangular Survey System• Basic unit is one square mile• Similar system used in Canada
Size and structure of rural regions depend on space, environment, and social norms (and laws) • Primogeniture – larger plots of land (N. Eur, Americas,
S. Afr, Aus & N.Z.) – all land passes to eldest son• Land divided among heirs – smaller (S. Eur, Asia,
Africa) • Township-and-Range system – U.S.; Northwest
Ordinance (1787) – rectangular survey system (dispersed settlers more evenly)
Functional differentiation of buildings is greater in Western cultures – rural areas in core regions vary greatly w/ more isolated, poverty-stricken areas along the periphery