Permanent Settlement Site Selection
Choosing where to build a permanent settlement is the single most consequential decision your group will make. A poor site choice compounds into decades of struggle—hauling water uphill, fighting floods, shivering in wind-blasted buildings, or watching crops fail in unsuitable soil. A good site choice provides natural advantages that reduce labor and increase resilience every single day.
This guide provides a systematic evaluation framework. No site will score perfectly on every criterion. The goal is to understand trade-offs and make informed compromises.
Water Access & Hydrology
Water is the non-negotiable first criterion. Without reliable, clean water within reasonable distance, no other advantage matters.
Surface Water Sources
The ideal site sits above a reliable water source by 5-30 meters elevation—close enough to access easily, high enough to avoid flooding, and positioned to potentially use gravity-fed-plumbing later.
Rivers and streams should be evaluated across seasons. A stream that flows strongly in spring may dry to a trickle by late summer. Look for:
- Perennial flow — ask locals if possible, or look for water-loving trees (willow, alder) that indicate year-round moisture
- Bank stability — eroded, undercut banks suggest the stream shifts course and floods
- Upstream contamination risk — what’s above you? Abandoned industrial sites, old dumps, or dense animal populations upstream are problems
Springs are often the best water source. A spring emerging from a hillside indicates a reliable underground aquifer. Mark spring locations and estimate flow rate by timing how long it takes to fill a known container.
Groundwater Potential
If no surface water exists nearby, you’ll need wells. Signs of accessible groundwater:
- Vegetation stays green in dry periods in specific areas
- Low-lying areas between hills often have shallow water tables
- Certain soil types (gravel over clay layers) create accessible aquifers
- Historical well sites (look for old well caps, pump foundations)
Hand-dug wells are feasible to about 10-15 meters. Beyond that, you need more advanced well-drilling techniques.
Flood Risk Assessment
Examine the landscape for flood evidence:
- Debris lines on tree trunks (watermarks, tangled vegetation) show historical high-water levels
- Flat, silty areas near rivers are floodplains—fertile for farming but dangerous for buildings
- Terrace levels along river valleys show where water has carved over centuries
Rule of thumb: Build living structures at least 3 meters above the highest visible flood evidence, and at least 50 meters from the main water channel.
Terrain & Soil Analysis
Soil Testing
You don’t need a laboratory. Basic field tests reveal what you need:
The jar test: Fill a clear jar 1/3 with soil, add water to near-full, shake vigorously, then let settle for 24 hours. Sand settles in minutes, silt in hours, clay stays suspended longest. The visible layers show your soil composition.
- Sandy soil — drains fast, poor nutrient retention, easy to dig, poor for adobe/cob
- Clay soil — holds water, rich nutrients, difficult drainage, excellent for building
- Loam (mixed) — ideal for agriculture, moderate for building
The ribbon test: Wet a handful of soil and squeeze it between thumb and forefinger, pushing it out into a ribbon. Long, smooth ribbons = high clay content. Crumbly, short ribbons = more sand/silt.
For building, you want clay-rich soil for earthbag-building and straw-bale-construction plaster. For farming, you want loam. Ideally, your site has both within reasonable distance.
Slope and Drainage
A gentle south-facing slope (in the Northern Hemisphere) is ideal:
- 2-8% grade provides natural drainage without erosion problems
- South-facing maximizes solar gain for passive-solar-design and agriculture
- Convex slopes shed water; concave slopes collect it—build on convex, farm on concave
Avoid:
- Flat valley floors (flooding, cold air pooling, poor drainage)
- Steep slopes over 15% (erosion, difficult building, landslide risk)
- North-facing slopes (cold, low light in winter)
Defensibility & Security
In uncertain times, a site that’s naturally difficult to approach undetected provides passive security without requiring constant armed patrols.
Natural Barriers
The best defensive sites use terrain as force multipliers:
- Ridgelines provide visibility but exposure to wind
- River bends create natural moats on three sides
- Dense forest on approach routes slows and channels movement
- Rocky outcrops provide natural walls and elevated positions
Avoid sites that are:
- In a bowl or depression (surrounded and overlooked)
- At the junction of multiple easy travel routes (high traffic exposure)
- At the base of cliffs or steep slopes (rockfall, inability to retreat uphill)
Sightlines
Can you see people approaching from at least 200-500 meters in the most likely approach directions? Even a modest elevation advantage of 10-20 meters dramatically extends visual range. Combine observation points with the settlement’s daily work areas so that watching and working happen simultaneously.
Climate & Microclimate
Microclimate varies dramatically within a few hundred meters. Two sites a kilometer apart can differ by 5-10°C in winter minimums.
Wind
Identify the prevailing wind direction by observing:
- Tree growth patterns (flagged trees lean away from dominant wind)
- Snow drift patterns in winter
- Erosion patterns on exposed soil
Place buildings to use natural windbreaks (hills, tree lines, rock outcrops). Orient your settlement so prevailing wind carries smoke and odors away from living areas—place workshops, forges, and livestock downwind.
Cold Air Drainage
Cold air is denser than warm air and flows downhill like water at night. Valley floors and enclosed basins collect cold air pools, creating frost pockets that can be 5-10°C colder than slopes above. Build living quarters and tender crops on slopes, not in valley bottoms.
Resource Proximity
Building Materials
A permanent settlement will consume enormous quantities of materials:
- Timber — within 2km if possible. You’ll need hundreds of poles and beams. Consider replanting plans from the start
- Stone — surface stone is easiest. Quarrying requires significant labor and tools
- Clay — for bricks, mortar, plaster, and pottery. Usually found near water features
- Sand/gravel — for foundations, mortar, drainage layers
- Straw/grass — for straw-bale-construction, thatching, insulation
Salvage Access
Proximity to pre-collapse infrastructure provides enormous advantages:
- Abandoned buildings — glass, metal hardware, wire, roofing, pipe
- Vehicles — springs, axles, sheet metal, glass, wire, batteries
- Hardware stores, warehouses — tools, fasteners, adhesives, rope
But don’t build on salvage sites. They may have chemical contamination, structural collapse risks, and attract other scavengers. A 5-20km distance to salvage sources is ideal.
The Evaluation Framework
Score each potential site on these criteria (1-5 scale):
| Criterion | Weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Water reliability | 5x | Non-negotiable |
| Water quality | 4x | Can be treated but adds labor |
| Agricultural soil | 4x | Can be amended but slowly |
| Drainage | 3x | Fixable but expensive in labor |
| Building materials | 3x | Can haul but costly in energy |
| Defensibility | 3x | Context-dependent |
| Solar exposure | 3x | Hard to change |
| Wind protection | 2x | Can plant windbreaks |
| Salvage access | 2x | Temporary advantage |
| Expansion room | 2x | Long-term growth |
Multiply each score by its weight. Compare totals across candidate sites. But remember—a score of 1 on water reliability eliminates a site regardless of other scores.
Common Mistakes
- Choosing beauty over function — a scenic hilltop with no water beats you in weeks
- Not testing across seasons — if possible, observe a site through at least one full season before committing
- Ignoring drainage — the #1 cause of building failure in primitive construction is water damage from poor drainage
- Building too close to water — floods, insects, dampness, and disease all increase
- Ignoring wind — a site with constant wind makes life miserable and wastes heating fuel
Take time with this decision. Weeks of careful evaluation prevent years of regret. Walk the site at dawn and dusk. Sleep there overnight. Watch where water flows in rain. Dig test holes. The site will tell you what it offers if you pay attention.