Chapter 15 - Urbanization, Population, And The Enviroment Flashcards
What are the two characteristics of ancient cities?
- They were usually surrounded by walls that served as a military defense
- The central area of he city was almost always occupied by a religious temple, a royal palace, government buildings, and a public center
Conurbation
A cluster or gowns or cities forming an unbroken urban environment
Megalopolis
Very large conurbations
Urbanization
The movement of the population into towns and cities and away from the land
How is urbanization related to globalization?
The more urbanized cities become, the more they are able to connect and become global.
Ecology approach
A perspective on urban analysis empathizing the “natural” distribution of city neighborhoods into areas having contrasting characteristics.
Inner city
The areas composing the central neighborhoods of a city.
Urban ecology
An approach study of urban life based on an analogy of plants and organisms to the physical environment.
Urbanism
A term used to denote distinctive characteristics of urban social life, such as its impersonal or alienating nature
How does urban ecology use physical science analogies to explain life in modern cities?
Plants grow where the resources are plentiful. Cities are created by similar principles.
What is the urban interaction problem?
The necessity for city dwellers to respect social boundaries when so many people are in close physical proximity all the time.
Created environment
Constructions established by human beings to serve their own needs.
What is ‘Eyes and Ears Upon the Street’?
According to Jane Jacobs, the more people there are on the streets, the more likely street life will be orderly
Suburbanization
The development of towns surrounding a city
Exurban counties
Low-density suburban counties on the periphery of large metro areas.
Urban renewal
The process of renovating deteriorating neighborhoods by encouraging the renewal of old buildings and the construction of new ones.
Gentrification
A process of urban renewal in which older, deteriorated housing is refurbished by affluent people moving into the area
Global city
A city that has become an organizing center of the new global economy.
Informal economy
Economic transactions carried on outside the sphere of formal paid employment
Demography
The study of the size, distribution, and composition of populations
Crude birthrate
A statistical measure representing the number of births within a given population per year
Fertility
The average number of live-born children produced by women of childbearing age in a particular society
Fecundity
A measure of the number of children that it is biologically possible for a woman to produce
Crude death rate
A statistical measurement representing the number of deaths that occur annually in a given population per year
Mortality
The number of deaths in a population
Infant mortality rate
The number of infants who die during the first year of life, per 1,000 live births.
Life expectancy
The number of years an average person can expect to live
Life span
The maximum length of life that is biologically possible for a member of a given species
Rates of population of growth or decline
A measure of population change calculated by subtracting the yearly number of deaths per 1,000 from the number of births per 1,000
Exponential growth
A geometric, rather than linear, rate of increase. Populations tend to grow exponentially
Doubling time
The time it takes for a particular level of population to double
Malthusianism
A doctrine about population dynamics developed by Thomas Malthus, according to which, population increase comes up against “natural limits,” represented by famine and war
Demographic transition
The changes in the ratio of births to deaths in the industrialized countries from the nineteenth century onward
Dependency ratio
The ratio of people of dependent ages (children and the elderly) to people economically active ages
Sustainable development
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Anthropocene
A term used to denote the current geographical epoch, in which many geologically significant conditions and processes are profoundly altered by human activities
What are at least two problems facing rural America today
extreme population loss, decline in farming, high poverty opportunities, and scarce economic opportunities.
Why did so many Americans move to suburban areas in the 1950’s and 1960’s?
The post-war economic boom mad housing in the suburbs cheaper than apartments in the city
What are two unintended consequences of suburbanization?
It created more highways and took manufacturing and service jobs with them to the suburbs.
What are the four main characteristics of globalization on cities?
- They have developed into command posts for the global economy
- They are the key locations for financial and specialized service firms
- They are the sites of production and innovation in these newly expanded industries
- They are markets in which the products of financial and service industries are bought, sold, or otherwise disposed of
What is the effect of globalization on cities?
Made them more interdependent and encouraged the connection of cities
What are economic consequences of urban growth in developing countries?
Because of rapid population growth, there are not enough jobs for all the people who live in the new urbanized areas
What are environmental consequences of urban growth in developing countries?
There is not enough housing for all the new residents, coupled with the rise in pollution and unclean water
What are social consequences of urban growth in developing countries?
Poverty is widespread and existing social services can’t keep up with the need for healthcare, etc.
What is the difference between fertility and fecundity?
Fertility is the average number of children born, while fecundity is the number of children that’s biologically possible
What’s Malthus’s position on the relationship between population growth and the food supply?
He believed that, because food supplies can’t keep up with the rapid increases in population, we are doomed to live forever in famine and war.
What approach to urban analysis claims that “cities do not grow up at random but in response to advantageous features of the environment”?
the Chicago School’s ecological view
According to David Harvey, urbanism is a process that involves a constant restructuring of space. What influences this process?
decisions made by business, government, and investors
Social problems such as high levels of child poverty, high rates of motor vehicle fatalities and other accidental deaths, and low levels of health and educational services are troubling realities faced by people living…
In rural areas
In modern societies, most of the population lives where?
In the city
Manuel Castells emphasized __________, such as the gay community in San Francisco, as an important factor in urban development.
Underprivileged groups
What are the stages of the demographic transition?
Stage 1. The conditions characteristic of most traditional societies, where birth and death rates and infant mortality are high
Stage 2. When death rates fall while fertility remains high
Stage 3. When birth rates fall to such a level that population is fairly stable
What is the human exceptionalism paradigm?
The believe that humans are unique amongst all species
