Minds On

Choosing a place to live

Considering that humans have been moving around for hundreds of thousands of years, settling down in one place for a long time is a fairly new lifestyle. If you’re going to settle down in one place, you have a lot to choose from.

So why did we choose to live where we do? What might we consider when choosing a new place to live?

Consider the settlement, town, or city that you live in.

  • Why do you think your settlement, town, or city is located here?

Record your ideas in a notebook or a method of your choice.

Press ‘Hint’ to reveal possible reasons for a location.

Think about what many cities or towns may be located near. What do settlements need access to?

Brainstorm

Brainstorm

Brainstorm a list of factors that might influence where cities and towns are developed and located.

Complete the following City and Town Development Factors activity in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. You can also use another method of your choice.

Press the ‘Activity’ button to access City and Town Development Factors. 

Activity(Open PDF in a new window)

Action

Different settlement factors

In the following activity, you will be exploring factors that are typically considered when creating a settlement in a particular location.

Task 1: Settlement factors

There are many different factors that influence where cities and towns are developed, and where people live.

Press the following tabs to access information about the different settlement factors.

People need food to live. Areas that are conducive to thriving agricultural production are the most desirable. Conducive is defined as making a situation possible. For example, some areas are more conducive to growing food and farming.

Areas that are conducive to farming require access to water or precipitation, moderate climate, and quality soil.

A photo of a tractor spraying a large field of soybeans with pesticides.

Regular access to water is another key factor in settlement. Water is used for transportation, irrigation, industry, and personal use. A dock surrounded by buildings in the town of Leeds, England.

Areas where historical settlement has occurred continue to grow today. For example, when French colonizers came to Canada, they began to settle along the St. Lawrence River, where Indigenous communities were already living. This area continues to be a populated region of Ontario. An image of a historical black and white map of settlements near the St. Lawrence River from 1730

A political area is one that shares a government and has its own leaders and sets laws. The term political also relates to the ideas or strategies of a particular government.

Government policies can encourage or discourage settlement. For example, previously China enforced a “One Child Policy,” which encouraged people who wanted to have larger families to move to a different country.

If a country is actively engaged in a war, this also may cause a change in settlement patterns.

Four children hug as they walk along their refugee camp

Economy is defined as the system of production and consumption of various commodities and services in a country, region or community, or globally.

People want to live where plentiful economic opportunities exist. An important part of an economy is the availability of natural resources.

An image of a pile of freshly harvested pin logs with a pine forest in the background

People who settle in areas that are prone to natural disasters must prepare their settlements with features like storm cellars to ensure their personal safety. Natural disasters, such as earthquakes or floods, affect settlement patterns in certain parts of the world.

A house surrounded by a wall of sandbags, with flood waters being held back behind the sandbags

Now that you have explored general background information of different settlement factors, complete the following activity. You may need to do a little extra research to find the answers.

Select the correct answer, then press "Check Answer" to see how you did.

Brainstorm

Brainstorm

Explore this video clip entitled “Water Everywhere but Not a Drop to Drink” to learn more about access to clean drinking water in First Nations communities.

What are some of the settlement factors currently impacting these communities?

Record your ideas in a notebook or another method of your choice.

Task 2: Inquiry

Choose one of the settlement locations and conduct research about its development as a human settlement.

Consider the following:

  • What factors influenced the development of this city or town?
  • Why is (or was) it a good place to settle?

Settlement locations:

  • London, England
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Cape Town, South Africa
  • Winnipeg, Canada
  • Prince George, British Columbia
  • Elliot Lake, Ontario
  • Sudbury, Ontario
  • Toronto, Ontario
  • another town or city of your choice

Complete the Town or City Development Factors Activity in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. You can also use another method of your choice.

Formulate questions related to the topic:

What do you want to know about this topic?

What do you know about your topic already?

What do I need to know?

What is the focus?

Gather information about the topic using a variety of resources:

What kinds of resources would be helpful?

Consider if information is valid and accurate

Interpret and analyze How does this information relate to my topic?

How does it answer questions asked?

Does it raise new questions?

Evaluate and draw conclusions

Make informed and critical judgements about your evidence to help you answer your questions

Communicate your findings in an appropriate way (possible choices could be: visual presentation, series of diary entries, video, speech, etc.).

Who is your audience?

What is important?

What else can I connect my information with?

How will I express my message?

Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Town or City Development Factors.

Activity (Open PDF in a new window)

Consolidation

Task 1: Favourable and unfavourable settlement factors

Choose whether the following settlement factors are "favourable" or "unfavourable." Select the correct answer, then press “Check Answer” to see how you did.

Task 2: Designing a settlement

If you could establish a settlement anywhere in the world, where would it be? What criteria would you use to select the location? What settlement factors will draw people in?

Choose one the following options: a brochure, a website, or a model, to attract people to your settlement.

Brochure

Create a print or digital brochure that attracts people to your settlement. Explain the settlement factors that led to the establishment of your settlement.

Website

Create a print or digital website that attracts people to your settlement. Explain the settlement factors that led to the establishment of your settlement.

Model

Design a model of your establish settlement. What settlement factors led to the establishment of your settlement? What factors will draw people to your area?

Reflection

As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel...

Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.

Press ‘Discover More’ to extend your skills.

Investigate your own town or city. How was your town or settlement established? Which settlement factors do you feel belong to your settlement?

Record your ideas in a notebook or another method of your choice.