- Home
- > Geography
- > Human Environments
- > Urban
Urban systems, patterns and change.
Site and situation
Site refers to the characteristics of the spot that a settlement is found on.
Situation describes where a place is in relation to its surroundings - other towns, uplands and rivers, for example.
Most large cities have developed where both the site and the situation have been an advantage.
The site was often the original reason for a town to develop, whereas the situation may explain why a settlement remains small or grows into a town or a city.
Settlements with a long history were usually built on sites which were advantageous to early dwellers, such as:
defensive sites - on a hill, or surrounded by water
route centres - for example, where valleys meet
bridging points - an easy place to cross a river
wet/dry sites - on springlines or higher land above marshland
Watch
Britain from Above: An Oxford Story
From above this town appears at first glance to be defined by its world-famous university. But the way Oxford looks today is also highly dictated by water.
Watch
Britain from Above: Urban Sprawl
How did Britain become an urban nation from it's rural roots? The industrial revolution has seen our cities swell beyond all recognition.
Watch
Britain from Above: Northern Giant
Manchester: the birthplace of the industrial age. Nowhere else in Britain illustrates better the changing landscape from old to new, and from above you can see how the city has been shaped by three centures of industrial endeavour.
Watch
Britain from Above: New Manchester
Manchester: the birthplace of the industrial age. Nowhere else in Britain illustrates better the changing landscape from old to new, and from above you can see how the city has been shaped by three centures of industrial endeavour.
Watch
Britain from Above: Factories to Football
Trafford Park - from the world's first industrial park to one of the world's largest shopping centres.
© MMIX