1. Population, Urbanization, and the Environment
Sociology, Tenth Edition

2. Demography: The Study Of Human 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 2002
6.2 billion persons
We add about 77 million persons annually
Sociology, Tenth Edition

3. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Fertility
Fertility – the incidence of childbearing in a society’s population
Fecundity –the potential for childbearing
Crude birth rate – the number of live births in a given year for every thousand people in a population
“Crude” because it takes into account everybody, not just women of childbearing age
Sociology, Tenth Edition

4. Mortality The Incidence Of Death In A Population
Crude death rate
Number of deaths in a given year for every for every thousand people in a population
Infant mortality rates
Number of deaths among infants under one year for each 1,000 live births
Life expectancy
Average life span of a countries population (u. S. 2000: 74.1 for males, 79.5 for females)
Sociology, Tenth Edition

5. National Map 22-1 Population Change across the United States
Sociology, Tenth Edition

6. Migration – Movement Of People In And Out Of A Specified Territory
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
The number entering for every 1,000 people
Out migration rate
Number leaving for every 1,000 people in the territory
Net-migration rate
Difference between in- and out-migration numbers
Sociology, Tenth Edition

7. Population Composition
Sex ratio
Number of males compared to number of females
In the united states there were approximately 96 males to 100 females because women usually outlive men
In India there were approximately 107 males for every 100 females because women were more likely to abort female fetuses and parent may provide less care for female children
Age-sex pyramid
A graphic representation of the age and sex of a population
Sociology, Tenth Edition

8. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Figure Age-Sex Population Pyramids for the United States and Mexico, 2000
Sociology, Tenth Edition

9. Malthusian Theory Of Population Growth
Thomas Robert Malthus ( ), warned of impending doom based on population projections
Population growth would approximate geometric progression (e.g., 2, 4, 8, 16…) but food production would increase only in arithmetic progression (e.g., 2, 4, 6…)
Result: people reproducing 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
Sociology, Tenth Edition

10. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Demographic Transition Theory – Population Patterns Reflect A Society’s Level Of Technological Development
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 give boost to population growth (many of the developing nations today mirror this stage)
Stage three (mature industrial)
Birth rates begin to mask death rates as population surge drops as affluence transforms children into economic liability
Stage four (postindustrial)
Economic realities force drop in birth rates to the point where growth is stagnant or very slow
Sociology, Tenth Edition

11. Figure 22-4 Demographic Transition Theory
Sociology, Tenth Edition

12. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Critical evaluation
Malthusian Theory
Predictions flawed, European birth rate began dropping by 1850
Children becoming an economic liability rather than an asset
Use of artificial birth control
Ignored role of social inequality in world abundance and famine
Blames victims for their own problems
Demographic Transition Theory
Without a redistribution of global resources the planet will be divided into industrial “haves” and nonindustrial “have-nots”
Sociology, Tenth Edition

13. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Global Population Depends Upon Which Side Of The Equator One Is Discussing
The low-growth north
Zero population growth – level of reproduction that maintains population at a steady state
Postindustrial societies
Have shown slow downs in birth rates
“underpopulation” may be a problem
The high-growth south
Population growth is a critical problem in several poor countries
While birth rates have fallen (six to four children per woman), 180 nations are in trouble of overpopulation
In short,
For much of the world, mortality among children is dropping
Challenge is to control birth rates in poor countries as we did death in the past
Sociology, Tenth Edition

14. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Growth In U.S. Cities
Colonial settlement ( )
Capitalism’s impact upon small villages ensured transformation
Urban expansion ( )
Towns springing up along transportation routes
The great metropolis ( )
Impact of civil war (factory growth) ushered in growth
One-fifth of the population lived in cities
Urban decentralization (1950- to present)
Desertion of downtown areas for outlying suburbs
Sociology, Tenth Edition

15. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Cities
Metropolis and centralization
A large city that dominates the area
The suburbs and decentralization
Urban areas beyond the political boundaries of a city
Urban renewal efforts have gone on in attempts to revitalize central cities
Megalopolis
A vast urban area containing a number of cities and their surrounding suburbs: “SUPERCITIES”
Sociology, Tenth Edition

16. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Urban Life
Urban life can be challenging and very different from early rural settings
Ferdinand Tonnies
Gemeinschaft – close ties through kinship and tradition
Gesellschaft – social relations are based on individual self-interest
Emile Durkheim
Mechanical solidarity – social bonds based on common feelings and moral bonds
Organic solidarity – social bonds based on specialization and interdependence
Georg Simmel
The development of a blasé attitude – A strategy for social survival
Robert Park and Louis Wirth
Urban organization based on distinctive ethnic communities, commercial centers, and industrial districts
A human kaleidoscope
Sociology, Tenth Edition

17. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Critical Analysis
Ferdinand Tonnies & Louis Wirth saw the decline of personal ties and traditional morality
Emile Durkheim & Robert Park emphasized urbanism’s positive points like greater autonomy & personal choice
Wirth and others tended to paint with broad strokes overlooking effects of class, race & gender
Cities intensify social differences observed most clearly when categories of people form “critical masses”
Sociology, Tenth Edition

18. Physical Design of Cities
Urban ecology – the study of the link between the physical and social dimensions of cities
Park & burgess’ 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 form many smaller centers
Sociology, Tenth Edition

19. Physical Design of Cities (Cont.)
Social area analysis – what people have in common
Family patterns
Social class
Race & ethnicity
Berry & Rees’ analysis ties many of the previous theories together
Sociology, Tenth Edition

20. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Environment & Society
Ecology – the study of the interaction of living organisms and the natural environment
Natural environment – the 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, Tenth Edition

21. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Theories of Growth
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 (neo-Malthusians)
Critical analysis – long-range predictions are speculative
Sociology, Tenth Edition

22. Sociology, Tenth Edition
Environmental Terms
Rain forest – regions of dense forestation most of which circle 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
Sociology, Tenth Edition