Which of the following criteria is used to classify settlements into rural or urban?

Function is the criterion used to classify settlements into rural or urban. The function of a settlement refers to the main economic activities and services it provides. Rural settlements are characterised by primary activities (farming, fishing, mining, forestry), while urban settlements are characterised by secondary activities (manufacturing), tertiary activities (services, trade, banking), and quaternary activities (research, information technology).

Geographers classify settlements as rural or urban based on what the settlement does - what its residents primarily do for a living and what services the settlement offers. A settlement dominated by agriculture and related primary industries is rural; one dominated by commerce, industry, and services is urban.

The other criteria do not reliably distinguish rural from urban:

• Location does not determine whether a settlement is rural or urban. Urban centres can be found in valleys, on coasts, or on plains, just as rural settlements can.
• Age is irrelevant; old settlements can be either rural or urban, and new settlements can be either type.
• Site refers to the physical characteristics of the land on which a settlement is built (hilltop, riverside, etc.). This influences where a settlement develops but does not determine its rural or urban character.