Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Population, Urbanization, and the Environment

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Demography: The Study Of Population From 250,000 years ago until just 250 years ago, the human population hovered around 500 million. About 1750 world population began to spike. The world population in 2005: –6.6 billion, with about 74 million people added annually

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Fertility Fertility–The incidence of childbearing in a society’s population Fecundity–Maximum possible childbearing Crude birth rate–The number of live births in a given year for every thousand people in a population –To calculate a crude birth rate, divide the number of live births in a year by the society’s total population and multiply the result by 1,000.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Mortality Crude death rate–Number of deaths in a given year for every for every 1,000 people in a population Infant mortality rates–Number of deaths among infants under one year for each 1,000 live births in a given year Life expectancy–The average life span of a country’s population The incidence of death in a country’s population

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Migration Voluntary migration–Due to economic push and pull factors Involuntary migration–Forced migration due to war or other social conflict Immigration–Movement into a territory Emigration–Movement out of a territory Rates –In-migration rate –Out-migration rate –Net migration rate The movement of people into and out of a specified territory

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Population Growth Fertility, morality, and migration all affect the size of the population. A handy rule-of-thumb for estimating population growth is to divide a society’s population growth rate into the number 70. –This yields the doubling time in years.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Population Composition Sex ratio–The number of males for every 100 females in a nation’s population The US in 2005 had about 96 males to 100 females. In India, the ratio is 106. Age-sex pyramid–A graphic representation of the age and sex of a population

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Malthusian Theory Of Population Growth Malthus: Population increase would lead to social chaos. –People would reproduce at rates that exceeded their ability to produce sufficient food. –Limits included artificial birth control (morally wrong) or abstinence (unlikely). Seen as “the dismal person” because war and famine were our future Malthus’s prediction was flawed.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Demographic Transition Theory Stage one (preindustrial, agrarian) –High birth rates due to economic value of children and lack of birth control Stage two (early industrial) –High birth rate and lowered death rate boosts population growth Stage three (mature industrial) –Population surge drops as affluence transforms children into economic liability Stage four (postindustrial) –Economic realities force drop in birth rates The thesis that population patterns reflect a society’s level of technological development

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Global Population The low-growth north –Zero population growth–Level of reproduction that maintains population in a steady state –“Under-population” might be a problem. The high-growth south –Population growth is a critical problem in several poor countries.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. The Growth of Cities Urbanization–The concentration of population into cities The evolution of cities –The first city was Jericho, north of the Dead Sea. –Pre-industrial European cities date back 5,000 years to the Greeks. –Industrial European cities began as the Middle Ages ended.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Growth in US Cities Colonial settlement ( ) –Capitalism’s impact upon small villages ensured transformation. Urban expansion ( ) –Towns springing up along transportation routes Metropolitan era ( ) –Effects of Civil War boosted growth, –Metropolis–A large city that socially and economically dominates an urban area Urban decentralization (1950-to present) –Desertion of downtown areas for outlying suburbs

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Suburbs and Urban Decline By 1999, most Americans lived in the suburbs and shopped at local malls. Postindustrial sunbelt cities Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, Houston Megalopolis–A vast urban area containing a number of cities and their surrounding suburbs Edge cities: Office buildings, malls, hotels, and entertainment complexes Rural rebound: Migration from urban areas

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Urban Life Tönnies –Gemeinschaft–A type of social organization in which people are closely tied by kinship and tradition –Gesellschaft–A type of social organization in which people come together only on the basis of individual self-interest Durkheim –Mechanical solidarity–Social bonds based on common sentiments and shared moral values –Organic solidarity–Social bonds based on specialization and interdependence

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Urban Life Simmel –Blasé attitude–”Tuning out,” a strategy for social survival Park and Wirth –Urban organization based on distinctive ethnic communities, commercial centers, and industrial districts

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Critical Analysis Tönnies and Wirth saw the decline of personal ties and traditional morality. Durkheim and Park emphasized urbanism’s positive points like greater autonomy and personal choice. Overlooks effects of class, race, and gender Cities intensify social differences; observed most clearly when categories of people form “critical masses”

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Urban Ecology Park and Burgess’s concentric zones –Business districts ringed by factories ringed by housing Hoyt’s wedge-shaped sectors –Industry forms along rail lines, new fashionable areas next to old fashionable areas Harris & Ullman’s multicentered model –Cities decentralize The study of the link between the physical and social dimensions of cities

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Urban Ecology Social area analysis–What people have in common Berry & Rees’ analysis uses many of the previous theories

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Urban Political Economy Applies Karl Marx’s analysis of conflict in the workplace to conflict in the city. City life is defined by people with power. Capitalism –Transforms the city into real estate traded for profit –Concentrates wealth and power in the hands of a few

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Environment & Society Ecology–The study of the interaction of living organisms and the natural environment Natural environment–Earth’s surface and atmosphere including living organisms, air, water, soil and other resources necessary to sustain life Ecosystem–A system composed of the interaction of all living organisms and their natural environment Environmental deficit–Profound and long-term harm to the natural environment caused by humanity’s focus on short-term material affluence

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Growth and Limits Logic of growth–More powerful technology has improved our lives and new discoveries will make the future better –Critical analysis: Progress can lead to unexpected problems, resources are finite Limits to growth–Humanity must implement policies to control growth of population, production and resource use to avoid environmental collapse –Critical analysis: Long-range predictions are speculative

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Solid Waste: The Disposable Society We consume more products than virtually any other nation. 80% of our solid waste ends up in landfills. Recycling–Reusing resources we would otherwise discard

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Water and Air Water Supply –Only about 1% of Earth’s water is suitable for drinking. Water Pollution –US rivers and streams absorb 500 million pounds of toxic waste a year. Air Pollution –Air quality improved in the final decades of the 20th century.

Sociology, 12 th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved. The Environment Rain forest–Region of dense forestation, most of which circles the globe near the equator Global warming–A rise in the earth’s average temperature caused by an increasing concentration of carbon dioxide and other gasses in the atmosphere Environmental racism–The pattern by which environmental hazards are greatest for poor people, especially minorities Ecologically sustainable culture–A way of life that meets the needs of the current generation without threatening the environmental legacy of future generations