Settlement Geography

A branch of human geography that studies the regions of human habitation and the associated lifestyles and production. The essential objective of settlement geography is to investigate the distribution, form, location, development process, function, and relationships and connections between settlements, and to clarify their regional characteristics. As such, it covers a wide range of related fields, and is particularly closely linked to the studies of population, history, and ethnicity. Prior to the Second World War, research results focused on both form (planar and three-dimensional) and location, and after the war, notable achievements have been made in the fields of function, development, and transformation.

In terms of form, the use of old maps, especially cadastral maps, has been noted for Japan. Location is greatly influenced by natural geographical conditions. For villages that are primarily based on primary industries, the first requirements are that they are blessed with access to drinking water, which is essential for daily life, and that they are close to means of production such as cultivated land, forests, and fishing grounds, as well as convenient or inconvenient transportation. In addition, areas with plenty of sunlight (sunny slopes in mountainous hills) and that are easy to avoid natural disasters (few wind and flood damages) are selected. As the population increases and the settlement expands, artificial disaster prevention facilities (waterproofing and drainage facilities) are installed to ensure safety. An important requirement for urban locations is that they can become the center of a region, and they are blessed with easy transportation both on land and sea, are convenient for the collection and distribution of heavy materials, and are suitable for both secondary and tertiary industrial sites. Inadequate natural conditions for urban locations have been compensated for by artificial construction. Cities are also highly populated, and more attention must be paid to the supply of drinking water and industrial water, as well as the health and hygiene of citizens, than villages. Rome, considered the forerunner of European cities, strengthened its national centrality as a political city by developing large-scale roads, sought industrial use for water transport on the Tiber River, constructed large aqueducts to address water supply issues, and installed drainage ditches and sewers in the humid central city area. In this way, Rome has been regarded as a model for the development of large cities in Europe, and this method is still used in the construction of cities in Europe and the United States today. This is where Rome's urban construction methods differ greatly from those of Japan.

In the course of their long history, villages have been the exceptions, relying purely on primary industry, and although there are differences in degree, the tendency to commercialize primary industry and introduce secondary and tertiary industries is undeniable. In the middle and late early modern period in Japan, not only did village residents change their occupations, but analysis of family structures also showed changes due to rising incomes, changes in village functions, and regional differences in these changes. Therefore, the study of settlement geography also requires the introduction of historical methods.

[Yukio Asaka]

"Village Geography" by Takehiko Watanuki (1933, Chukokan)" ▽ "Introduction to Geography" by Taro Tsujimura (1954, Yuhikaku)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

人文地理学の一部門。人類の居住とそれに付随する生活、生産の地域について研究する分野をいう。分布、形態、立地、発達過程、機能、集落間の関係・結合について研究し、それらの地域的性格を究明することが集落地理学の本質的課題である。したがって関連分野が広く、とくに人口、歴史、民族の諸学との結び付きが深い。その研究成果としては、第二次世界大戦前からは形態（平面と立体）と立地の両分野が主で、戦後はそれらに加えて機能、発達、変容の諸分野に著しい業績がみられている。

　形態については、日本については古地図、とくに地籍図の利用が注目される。立地については自然地理的条件の影響を受けることが大きい。第一次産業を主とする村落では、まず日常生活に必要不可欠な飲料水の取得に恵まれ、耕地、林野、漁場などの生産手段への近接状況と交通の便・不便が第一要件をなす。また日照に恵まれ（山地丘陵では日向(ひなた)斜面）、自然災害を避けやすい地区（風水害が少ない）が選ばれる。人口が増え集落が拡張されると人工的に災害防除施設（防水・排水の施設）を設けて安全を期する。都市立地は地域の中心地たりうることが重要条件で、水陸ともに交通の便に恵まれ、重量物資の集散に好都合で、第二次・第三次両産業地としての適否が選定の要件をなす。都市立地のための自然的条件の不備については人工工事によってそれを補ってきている。都市はまた人口の集中が多く、飲料水、産業用水の補給をはじめ、市民の保健衛生にも村落以上に留意する必要がある。ヨーロッパ都市の先駆とされるローマは、大規模道路を整備して政治都市としての国家中心性を強化し、テベレ川水運の産業的利用を図ったのをはじめ、大型水道を築設して給水問題に対処し、低湿な中心市街地に対しては排水溝と下水道を設けた。こうしてローマはヨーロッパにおける大都市造成法のモデルとされてきたのであり、現在も欧米の都市建設に引き継がれている。これが日本の都市建設手法と大きく趣(おもむき)を異にするところである。

　村落はその長い歴史の経過のうちには、純粋に第一次産業依存に推移しているのは例外で、程度の差はあれ、第一次産業の商品生産化、また第二次・第三次産業の導入傾向は否めないところである。日本近世も中後期になると村落居住者の職業変化はもとより、家族構成の分析によっても所得増による変容、村落の機能変化、そしてそれにも地域較差がみられる。したがって集落地理学の研究には歴史手法の導入がまた必要である。

［浅香幸雄］

『綿貫勇彦著『集落地理学』（1933・中興館）』▽『辻村太郎著『地理学序説』（1954・有斐閣）』

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