Human Population
• That’s an old cartoon. There are now Seven billion
humans on the planet.
Demographics Terminology 1
• Demography is the study of populations—age
structure, growth rate, etc.
• Already defined—carrying capacity, logistic growth
curve, species, and population.
• Age structure is the composition of a population by
age cohorts (percentage or number by age class).
• Birth rate—births per 1000 (or 100,000) population
per year.
• Death rate—deaths per 1000 (or 100,000)
population per year.
• Growth rate—percentage increase in population
per year.
Demographics Terminology 2
• Life expectancy—average life time expected at birth.
• Maximum lifetime—the maximum one can theoretically
live.
• Replacement fertility rate—the birthrate per woman over
her lifetime to keep population constant (assuming no
immigration or emigration).
-- usually considered to be 2.1 in US.
-- can be as high as 2.5 in countries with high mortality.
• Population lag effect—responding to environmental
conditions a generation later.
• Zero population growth—a population’s births and deaths
are balanced and births are at replacement rate (or
lower).
• Total fertility rate (TFR)--the average total number of
children a woman will have over her lifetime.
History of Human Population
Human population throughout
history of the species
Age Structures
Rapidly growing--a pyramid with a wide base.
Slowly growing--a pyramid with a narrower base.
Stable--a tower with a narrow base.
Updated U.S. Age Structure
Comparison between developed and developing
countries (1975 purple; 2000 blue)
Most of the population growth has been and will continue to be
in the developing world.
Global Fertility Rates 1993
Global Fertility Rates 2006
Future Population Growth
Factors that have caused the
human population to increase
Decreased mortality from:
Medicine: reducing death rates of diseased
people.
Public health: reducing the spread of disease
to already healthy people.
Law enforcement: reducing mortality from
violence.
Public safety: firefighters, lifeguards and
others.
Increased food supply and transportation
(fossil fuel use), reducing famine -(increased
carrying capacity).
Public Health and Medicine
Factors that did not contribute to
population growth
• Decreased mortality from war is not one of
the factors—combat is more deadly, although
other causes of mortality from war have
decreased.
• Neither is increased birth rate—birth rates
have generally decreased while population
has increased.
Declining World Fertility Rates
U.S. Fertility Rates ( last 90 yrs)
Rule of 72
Methods of reducing the rate of
population growth in a society
Design government programs to reward
population restraint and punish high
reproductive rates:
- Allow access to contraception.
- Increase benefits to families with few children
and reduce them for families for more.
- Increase access to medicine and public health
(long-term solution).
- Increase access to education for women.
- Decrease poverty.
- Promote a technological society.
Affluence and Fertility
China’s One Child Policy
NDTTV Video: China Won't Change One-Child Policy
India’s Changing Age Structure
Demographic Transition
• Higher use of resources.
-- land.
I=PxAxT
-- food.
I = impact
-- water.
P = population
-- minerals.
-- energy.
A = affluence
T = technology • Greater production of
waste.
-- solid waste.
How to decrease
-- air pollution.
the environmental
-- water pollution.
impact of human
-- heat.
activities?
Technology can also decrease impact
technology reduced the impact by 69 percent over what it would
otherwise have been
Technology can also decrease impact
Cities as Systems
Discovery News video: Cities Are Like Stars
Urban Populations by Country
Growth of Urban Populations by
Region
Growth of Cities
Largest Slums
Favela (slum) in Brazil
Effects of Urbanization on Surface
Water
Effects of Urbanization on Climate
Microclimate is a different local climate for a
small locality that is different from the area
around it.
Urban heat island—cities warmer than
surroundings, also less humid but with more
precipitation.
The Weather Channel Video: The Urban Heat
Island Explained
Another Weather Channel Video: Science
Behind Urban Heat
Sprawl: Standardized and Ugly
NASA video:
What Doesn't
Stay in Vegas?
Sprawl.
Google Earth:
Landsat Annual
Timelapse 19842012
Effects of Sprawl
Anti-Sprawl in Unexpected Places
• Portland has the strictest anti-sprawl policies in the
country. This graphic shows people there are watching
“The End of Suburbia.” In few weeks, we will, too.
Urban Decay in Detroit
Empty area in Detroit the size of
San Francisco.
One way to downsize the city.
Interconnected urban villages
St. Cyril past and present
Google Maps shows that the neighborhood is
now completely empty.
What to do with Detroit’s empty land?
Adopt Urban Agriculture:
The world headquarters of the charity Urban
Farming is located in Detroit.
Michigan State University is putting an
extension and research facility in Detroit.
Hantz Farms is trying to start commercial
operations in Detroit.
There is a proposal for a shrimp raising facility
in town.
Hey, it beats a zombie theme park!
How can cities be made more
sustainable?
Shifting people out of cars and into other modes
of transportation (bikes, rail and buses).
Limits and Regulations
* Zoning
* Planning
* Protection
* Taxes
* Tax Breaks
* Revitalization and New Growth.
Metro Detroit and Public Transit
• It is very difficult to get
to work (and school) in
metro Detroit by public
transportation.
• While 99% of the jobs in
Detroit proper can be
reached by bus, only
56% of the jobs in the
suburbs can be, and
most of the jobs are in
the suburbs.
Los Angeles—Back to the Future
Detroit—Back to the Future?
Yes, Back to the Future
Walkable Neighborhoods 1
A walkable community
features a medium
density mix of housing,
stores, business, schools,
and destinations to walk
to. It has paths, trails and
sidewalks that connect
neighborhoods to one
another. In addition,
walkable communities,
are attractive, invite
further exploration and
are places where all
people feel safe.
Walkable Neighborhoods 2
Walkable Neighborhoods 3
Finally, there’s the hipster view of cities
Human Population
The Student Outcomes Assessment Committee is
happy to announce the launch of the 7th annual
student essay competition. Financially supported
by the OCC Foundation the contest offers a total of
$3,250 in prize money. Students have until
Monday, March 3, 2014 to submit their essay.
The prompt along with complete contest rules can
be found at
www.oaklandcc.edu/essay.
Students can also pick up a Student Essay Packet at
the Reference Desk at any OCC Library.