A settlement type in which buildings are aligned along a road or river is said to be

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for the name of a settlement pattern in which buildings are arranged in a line along a road or river.

Step 2: Explain the concept Settlement patterns describe how houses and buildings are arranged on the land:

• Dispersed: Houses are scattered far apart from one another, often with farmland between them. This is common in areas with large farms.
• Nucleated: Houses are grouped closely around a central point such as a market, a church, or a chief's palace.
• Linear: Houses are arranged in a line, usually along a road, river, railway, or valley, because those features give easy access to transport or water.
• Clustered: This is similar to nucleated, with buildings grouped tightly together. It has no particular line or shape.

Step 3: Apply it to the question The key phrase is "aligned along a road or river". Alignment in a line is the defining feature of a linear settlement. Many Nigerian towns and villages grow this way along major highways, such as the settlements stretching along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, or along river banks in the Niger Delta.

Dispersed, nucleated and clustered patterns do not describe a line-like arrangement, so they can be eliminated.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is **C.

Tip: Link the words to the shape they describe. "Linear" sounds like "line", "nucleated" comes from "nucleus" (a centre), and "dispersed" means "spread out". When you see road, river or line in a question, think linear.