Most rural settlements in developing countries of Africa

Analyze the question: It asks about the typical pattern of rural settlements in developing African countries. This is a settlement-patterns question in Human Geography.

Explain the concept: Settlement patterns are usually grouped into three types:

• Nucleated (clustered): Houses are grouped closely around a central point such as a market, shrine, water source, chief's palace or church.
• Dispersed (scattered): Houses are spread far apart, often with each farmstead sitting on its own land.
• Linear: Houses are arranged along a road, river or railway.

Work through the options:

• A. Nucleated: Many rural villages in Africa, such as Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa villages, grew up around a central feature. Reasons include security (historically, protection from raids and wars), kinship and family ties, shared water sources, and the sharing of common social facilities. This fits.
• B. Dispersed: This pattern does occur, for example in parts of Igboland and in highland or sparsely populated farming areas. However, it is not the most typical pattern overall. It is more characteristic of large-scale farming in developed countries such as the USA and Australia.
• C. Dense transport systems: Rural areas in developing countries typically have poor and sparse roads, so this is wrong.
• D. Satellite towns: These are found around large cities, and they are an urban feature, not a rural one.

Answer: The best answer is A. are nucleated.

Tip: Link "rural + developing Africa" with "clustered villages." Link "dispersed" with "large farms in developed countries." Also remember that "satellite towns" always means big cities, and "dense transport" does not describe poor rural areas.