Dispersed settlement

A dispersed settlement, also known as a scattered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement patterns used by landscape historians to classify rural settlements found in England and other parts of the world. Typically, there are a number of separate farmsteads scattered throughout the area. A dispersed settlement contrasts with a nucleated village. It can be known as main human settlements.

The French term bocage is sometimes used to describe the type of landscape found where dispersed settlements are common.

In addition to Western Europe, dispersed patterns of settlement are found in parts of Papua New Guinea, as among the Gainj, Ankave, and Baining tribes. It is also frequently met with in nomadic pastoral societies. In Ghana, Kumbyili in the northern region is also an example of a dispersed settlement