A settlement is a place where people live, work and live together.

Based on population, population density and industrial structure

It could be divided into two types: rural and urban

The village is usually the original type of settlement

The place where the settlement is formed is related to factors such as living resources and residential security.

For example, coastal areas have formed fishing villages dominated by fisheries due to abundance of aquatic products.

And the inland areas have formed a rural area dominated by agriculture

In addition, places like the urban area of ​​Daxi is located on the second step of the Daxi River Step Group.

That geological location can avoid the river floods.

And it’s convenient to travel to and from both sides of the river.

For those reasons, that area has become the most important settlement in Daxi district.

When the countryside becomes an excellent location and has better site conditions,

factors such as abundant resources or convenient transportation will further develop industrial activities and attract more people to move in, in which will gradually form a city.

Places like Keelung, Taipei, Kaohsiung, etc. are all cities that have emerged from ports.

Due to the large population which are densely distributed,

large settlement areas and tall buildings in the cities have become unique urban landscapes.

Skylines, composed of tall buildings, has become an images representing in every city.

For example, Taipei 101 is an essential part of the Taipei skyline

Villages usually play the role of supplying primary products like planting crops, fishing and breeding 

or sightseeing and recreational activities.

On the contrary, cities have relatively complete life function and service facilities.

Such as shopping facilities, institution and hospitals

Villages and cities complement each other to form a close urban-rural relationship.

However, it is difficult to clearly distinguish the urban and rural areas from the view of the landscape.    

Take Tainan as an example.

The old Tainan urban area is a central city with high-rise buildings and densely populated areas, and it’s surrounded by satellite towns with smaller populations, such as Yongkang and Rende districts, are located on the periphery.

In transition to more peripheral rural areas,

from central cities, satellite towns to the countryside,

buildings gradually become low and sparse.

Farmlands and fish farms have become the main types of landscape.