The Real World
Chapter 15:
Populations, Cities, and Environments
An Introduction to Sociology
Fourth Edition
Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein

Population
• Demography is the study of the size, composition, distribution, and changes in human population. Three basic demographic variables are crucial to understanding population dynamics.
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Population (cont’d.)
• The first is fertility rates — the average number of births per
1,000 people in the population.
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Population (cont’d.)
• The second is mortality rates — the average number of deaths per 1,000 people in the population.
• A related concept is infant mortality rates — the average number of deaths per
1,000 live births.
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Population (cont’d.)
• Also related is life expectancy — the average age to which a person can expect to live.
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Population (cont’d.)
• The third demographic variable is migration — the movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of resettling.
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Population (cont’d.)
• Robert Malthus was concerned about population growth and overpopulation.
The Malthusian theorem stated that exponential population growth would outpace arithmetic growth in food production and other resources.
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Population (cont’d.)
• Neo-Malthusians believe that population growth will eventually outpace available resources and lead to a global catastrophe.
• Anti-Malthusians believe that family
planning (contraception or any other method of controlling family size and birth of children) and other changes will eventually cause population shrinkage.
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Population (cont’d.)
• Anti-Malthusians forecast a very different future when the pattern of demographic transition (a theory suggesting the possible transition over time from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates, resulting in a stabilized population) now occurring in many industrialized nations spreads to the rest of the developing world.
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Urbanization
• Urbanization refers to the movement of increasing numbers of people from rural areas to urban areas.
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Urbanization (cont’d.)
• A metropolis is an urban area with a large population, usually 500,000 to 1,000,000 people.
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Urbanization (cont’d.)
• A megalopolis (or megacity) is a group of densely populated metropolises that grow dependent on each other and eventually combine to form a huge urban complex.
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Urbanization (cont’d.)
• Suburbanization is the shift of large segments of population away from the urban core and toward the edge of cities.
• Urban sprawl is a derogatory term applied to the expansion of urban or suburban boundaries, associated with irresponsible or poorly planned development.
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Rural/Urban Makeup of U.S. Population, 1800-2010
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Urbanization (cont’d.)
• Another trend that has changed many formerly blighted cities is gentrification —the transformation of poor inner-city neighborhoods into more affluent, middle-class communities.
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Urbanization (cont’d.)
Many sociologists also believe that the freedom of city life is a source of
alienation (decreasing importance of social ties and community and the corresponding increase in impersonal associations and instrumental logic).
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Urbanization (cont’d.)
An urban legend is a form of modern folklore, a story that is believed
(incorrectly) to be true and is widely spread because it expresses concerns, fears, and anxieties about the social world.
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Urbanization (cont’d.)
• Other research on cities has examined the bystander
effect (the social dynamic that shows that the more people are present in a moment of crisis, the less likely any one of them is to take action).
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The Environment
• The environment refers to the natural world, the human-made environment, and the interaction between the two.
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The Environment
(cont’d.)
Sociologists are interested in social
ecology (the study of human populations and their impact on the natural world), especially as environmental degradation has increasingly become a social problem.
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The Environment
(cont’d.)
• Environmental sociology is the study of the interaction between society and the natural environment, including the social causes and consequences of environmental problems.
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The Environment
(cont’d.)
• Environmental sociology focuses on four areas:
• How the political economy influences the environment
• Society’s attitudes about the environment
• The environmental movement (an organized, social movement)
• Sustainable development
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The Environment
(cont’d.)
• The environmental movement is a social movement organized around concerns about the relationship between humans and the environment.
• Its first efforts, in the nineteenth century,
(conservation era) focused on conservation of wilderness areas.
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The Environment
(cont’d.)
• The modern environmental movement arose in the mid-twentieth century in response to ecological disasters that threaten public health and safety.
• Mainstream environmentalism grew in the
1980s as the movement consolidated and lobbied government about environmental concerns.
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The Environment
(cont’d.)
• Most recently, grassroots
environmentalism has emerged in response to perceived blind spots in the larger mainstream groups. Grassroots organizers focus on local action and community involvement.
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Chapter 15:
Participation Questions
Think about the place where you grew up or the place you would consider your childhood home.
Was it more rural or urban?
a. rural b. urban
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Chapter 15:
Participation Questions
Think about the place where you grew up or the place you would consider your childhood home.
Did you feel a sense of community?
a. yes b. no
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Chapter 15:
Participation Questions
Do you recycle?
a. yes b. no
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Chapter 15:
Participation Questions
Do you drive a hybrid or electric car?
a. yes b. no
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Chapter 15:
Participation Questions
Think about electronics or appliances. Have you ever thrown something away because it is cheaper to replace the item than to fix it?
a. yes b. no
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This concludes the Lecture
PowerPoint presentation for
Chapter 15
The Real World
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
4 th Edition
Kerry Ferris and
Jill Stein
© 2014 W. W. Norton Co., Inc.
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