A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized)

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical restrictions, such as coastlines, mountains, hills or valleys. Linear settlements may have no obvious centre. In the case of settlements built along a route, the route predated the settlement, and then the settlement grew along the transport route. Often, it is only a single street with houses on either side of the road. Mileham, Norfolk, England is an example of this pattern. Later development may add side turnings and districts away from the original main street. Places such as

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

, England developed in this way. A linear settlement is in contrast with

ribbon development Ribbon development refers to the building of houses along the routes of communications radiating from a human settlement. The resulting linear settlements are clearly visible on land use maps and aerial photographs, giving cities and the countrys ...

, which is the outward spread of an existing

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

along a main street, and with a

nucleated settlement A nucleated village, or clustered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement pattern. It is one of the terms used by geographers and landscape historians to classify settlements. It is most accurate with regard to planned settlements: its c ...

, which is a group of buildings clustered around a central point. Wieś ulicówka

Particular types of linear settlements are linear village, chain village, street village (Polish: ulicówka;"Poland Population Distribution"
/ref> German: Straßendorf, Lithuanian: gatvinis kaimas, French: village-rue), and some others. Different countries have various classifications of linear settlements. In 2022, construction began on

The Line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

, a linear city in Saudi Arabia.

See also

References

Further reading