Chapter 22
Population, Ecology, and Urbanization
•Demographic Analysis
–Fertility
–Mortality
–Migration, immigration, emigration
•Population Growth
–The Malthusian Trap
–Technology, industrialization and the Cornucopian view
•Urbanization
–History of the city
–Modern cities
–Urbanism
The future?
DEMOGRAPHY:
THE STUDY OF HUMAN POPULATION
• FROM 200,000 YEARS B.C. UNTIL
SEVERAL CENTURIES AGO, THE
HUMAN POPULATION GREW TO
20 MILLION
• THE WORLD POPULATION IN
2005
– 6.5 BILLION PERSONS
– 77 MILLION PERSONS ANNUALLY
• DEMOGRAPHY
– INTERESTED IN CAUSES AND
CONSEQUENCES OF GROWTH
– LET’S EXAMINE SOME OF THE
DISCIPLINE’S MORE BASIC
CONCEPTS
I GUESS OUR
TWO MORE
WON’T
MATTER
MUCH!
FERTILITY
• “FERTILITY”- IS THE INCIDENCE OF
CHILDBEARING IN A SOCIETY’S
POPULATION
– “FECUNDITY” IS THE MAXIMUM POTENTIAL
FOR CHILDBEARING (reproductive capacity)
• “CRUDE BIRTH RATE” (see page 574 for formula)
– 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
Demographic Analysis
• Demography – the scientific study of the size,
growth, and composition of the human population
• Demographic transition – a model that describes
how fertility and mortality rates change as the
society becomes industrialized
• Fertility Rate – the average number of children
born to a population of women during their lifetime
• Crude birth rate = # of births per 1,000 members
of a population
• Crude death rate – is the number of deaths per
1,000 members of a given population
• Infant Mortality Rate- # of infants per 1,000 who
die before their first birthday
Demographic Analysis
• Factors Affecting Birth Rates and Fertility
Rates
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Importance of children as part of the labor force
Urbanization
Cost of raising and education children
Educational and employment opportunities
Infant mortality rate
Average age at marriage
Availability of pension systems
Availability of legal abortions
Availability of reliable birth control methods
Religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural norms
Age Structure Diagrams
(Population Pyramid; page 578)
• Proportion of pre-reproductive, reproductive,
and post-reproductive populations
–
–
–
–
–
Rapid Growth- Guatemala, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia
Slow Growth- U.S., Australia
Zero Growth- Spain, Austria, Greece
Negative Growth- Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria
The line of demarcation is most noticeable between
developed (industrial and post-industrial) and
developing (pre-industrial) populations.
DEPENDS UPON WHICH SIDE OF THE EQUATOR ONE IS DISCUSSING
• THE LOW-GROWTH NORTH
– ZERO POPULATION GROWTH
• A 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 THE WORLD, FERTILITY IS DROPPING, BUT SO IS MORTALITY
AMONG CHILDREN
• CHALLENGE IS TO CONTROL BIRTH RATES IN POOR COUNTRIES AS WE DID
DEATH IN THE PAST
Demographic Analysis
• Migration – the movement of people from one place to
another
• Immigration – the movement of people into a geographical
location
• Emigration – the movement of people out of a geographical
location
• Push and Pull factors:
• Push factors are reasons persons leave a location
• Pull factors are reasons persons are attracted to a location
• Much of migration is internal; people moving about their
country without crossing international boundaries
THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE IN AND OUT OF A SPECIFIED TERRITORY
•
VOLUNTARY MIGRATION
– USUALLY 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 OUTMIGRATION NUMBERS
Demographic Analysis
•
•
•
•
•
•
Four stages of demographic transition page 586
Pre-industrial- High birth rate and high death rate
Transitional- High birth rates and declining death rates
Transitional- Declining birth rates and low death rates
Industrial- Low birth and death rates
Post-industrial ?????
• Based upon the European experience and not necessarily a
cross-cultural process
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION THEORY
LINKING POPULATION PATTERNS TO A SOCIETY’S LEVEL OF
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
• STAGE ONE (PRE-INDUSTRIAL)
– 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 (POST-INDUSTRIAL)
– ECONOMIC REALITIES FORCE DROP IN BIRTH RATES TO THE
POINT WHERE GROWTH IS STAGNANT OR VERY SLOW
Population Growth
• The Malthusian Trap – Malthus predicted that as the population
grew, famine, war, and disease would check the population. He further
suggested that most societies were doomed to alternating periods of
prosperity (and population growth) followed by periods of famine,
war, and disease.
• As technology has increased, and as the birth rates of industrialized
countries have stabilized or even declined, the mass famines have not
occurred.
• Are the predictions of Malthus inevitable given the explosive rates of
population growth in non-industrialized countries? What are the
appropriate responses? Do we feed these billions of persons, or do we
let nature take it’s course? (Neo-Darwinism)
• Cornucopian view vs. neo-Malthusians
Population Growth
• The Malthusian Trap – At the transition stage where there are
high birth rates and declining death rates, and where there is
sufficient food supplies to sustain the moderate increases in
population, a mathematical problem occurs. The population
will increase in a geometric progression such as 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,
64, 128…., where as the food supply can only be increased
through the conversion of raw land into agricultural production
at an arithmetic rate such as 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14…. . The
conclusion of this mathematical problem is doom and gloom; if
the population continues to grow it will exceed the ability of
agriculture to supply enough food, and starvation and death is
inevitable. Without the surplus food stocks produced by the
industrialized nations much of the worlds population would be
in immediate jeopardy.
• The Easter Island lesson – population and ecosystems
Why Are People Starving?
• The amount of food produced for each
person in the world is now much more than
it was in 1950.
• Starvation does not occur because the earth
produces too little food.
• Starvation occurs because particular places
lack food. Why?
Urbanization
•
•
•
•
Historical rise of the cities
Migration to, and emigration from, cities; problems?
45% of the worlds population is urban
Urbanization in industrialized nations
GROWTH
IN U.S. CITIES
• COLONIAL SETTLEMENT (1624-1800)
– CAPITALISM’S IMPACT UPON SMALL
VILLAGES ENSURED
TRANSFORMATION
• URBAN EXPANSION (1800-1860)
– TOWNS SPRINGING UP ALONG
TRANSPORTATION ROUTES
• THE GREAT METROPOLIS (1860-1950)
– IMPACT OF CIVIL WAR (FACTORY
GROWTH) USHERED IN GROWTH
– ONE-FIFTH OF THE POPULATION
LIVED IN CITIES
• URBAN DECENTRALIZATION (1950TO PRESENT)
– DESERTION OF DOWNTOWN AREAS
FOR OUTLYING SUBURBS
LIFE IN THE BIG CITY
•
•
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,
COMERICAL CENTERS, AND INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS
• A HUMAN KALEIDOSCOPE
THE ISSUES AT HAND:
* RISING POPULATIONS
* URBAN SPRAWL
* DESPERATE POVERTY
Urbanization
• Louis Wirth – three characteristics of urban life (ideal type)
• Size – the larger the urban area the more socially diverse it
becomes; people interact in terms of roles rather than
whole personalities
• Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, Tonnies, page 593
• Density – the closer people live together the more transitory and
brief their relationships; associational!
• Heterogeneity – diversity leads to tolerance of different life
styles and ethnic groups (or anonymity and
indifference). This has been the least validated
characteristic, and often the most fervent prejudices
are experienced in the cities. (requires meaningful
contact)
Suburban Flight
• Redlining - afraid of
loans going bad, banks
drew a line on a map
around a problem area
and refused to make
loans there.
• Disinvestment withdrawal of
investment.
• Deindustrialization a process by which
fewer people work in
manufacturing. In
turn, these companies
move to other
countries.
Who Lives in The City?
• Types of Urban
Dwellers:
–
–
–
–
–
(1) the cosmopolites
(2) the singles
(3) the ethnic villagers
(4) the deprived
(5) the trapped
• The city is divided
into little worlds that
people come to know.
• People create a sense
of intimacy by
personalizing their
city.
• Urban dwellers try to
avoid intrusions from
strangers.
Sustainable Living
•
•
•
•
•
1. Bring population under control
2. Conserve finite resources
3. Reduce waste
“Egocentric” vs. “Ecocentric”
How can some of the concepts discussed in
this class be used to understand and address
these issues?
Environmental Racism
(Exploitation)
“patterns of development that expose poor
people, especially minorities, to
environmental hazards” page 599
Factories, dumps, recycling facilities,
chemical plants located in or nearby
neighborhoods where the poor live and
work.
Environmental Racism
(Exploitation)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Bhopal India – 1991 – methal isocynate insecticide
spill; 20,000 dead and 120,000 injured
Alang India and Chirlagang Bangladesh lead paints and
asbestos; the poor dismantling ships
China, West Africa, and Pakistan recycling computers
and TV sets; lead, arsenic, mercury, gold and silver
Native American lands and radioactive dump sites
Pollution in Newark, New Jersey and southside Chicago
page 599
Concluding Remarks
• The relationships between urbanization and the Great
Social Transformation:
(rural agricultural to industrialization)
• Is catastrophe inevitable?
• What are the ethical issues facing the industrialized nations
concerning the fate of some of the non-industrialized
nations that still have high birth rates and insufficient
resources to feed it’s citizens?
• Have we used our technology wisely in terms of
population and ecology?