Urban Settlements

Film info

Film summary

Urban environments may seem very different from one another – but their underlying structures are often remarkably similar.

Key facts

• Every urban settlement has a central business district at its core, always situated where main roads meet.
• In most towns and cities the residential districts date back to the industrial revolution, when thousands of houses were built in a grid-like pattern near to factories.
• In the more affluent 'suburban' areas houses are often bigger, with gardens, garages and areas of open space.
• In the rural-urban fringe a transition between town and countryside can be seen as business parks, hotels and airports are often dotted in the green space here.