  Human settlements on Earth are scattered in a multitude of shapes, sizes and
spatial arrangements. These patterns are often not random but a result of
complex geographical, cultural, economic and historical processes that have
profound human and ecological impacts. However, little is known about the
global distribution of these patterns and the spatial forces that creates them.
This study analyses human settlements from high-resolution satellite imagery
and provides a global classification of spatial patterns. We find two emerging
classes, namely agglomeration and dispersion. In the former, settlements are
fewer than expected based on the predictions of scaling theory, while an
unexpectedly high number of settlements characterizes the latter. Our global
classification of spatial patterns correlates with some urban outcomes, such as
the amount of CO2 emitted for transportation, providing insights into the
relationship between land use patterns and socio-economic and environmental
indicators. To explain the observed spatial patterns, we also propose a model
that combines two agglomeration forces and simulates human settlements'
historical growth. Our results show that our model accurately matches the
observed global classification (F1: 0.73), helps to understand and estimate the
growth of human settlements and, in turn, the distribution and physical
dynamics of all human settlements on Earth, from small villages to cities.
