Chapter 21, Population, Urbanism, And The Environment

1. Chapter 21, Population, Urbanism, And The Environment • Demography and the U.S. Census • Population Characteristics • Theories of Population Growth Locally and Globally • Checking Population Growth

2. Chapter 21, Population, Urbanism, And The Environment • Urbanism • Ecology and the Environment • Globalization: Population and Environment in the Twenty-First Century

3. Three Demographic Processes The total number of people in a society at any given moment is determined by: • Births • Deaths • Migrations

4. Births • The crude birth rate for the entire world is about 27.1 births per thousand people. • The crude birth rate for the U.S. is about 16 births per thousand people. • Minority groups tend to have higher birth rates than Whites.

5.  Deaths • In the U.S. poverty and minority status result in lowered life expectancy and increased infant mortality. • The U.S. ranks near the bottom among Western nations with a life expectancy of 76.2. • Women around the world experience higher life expectancy than men.

6.  Deaths • The lower one's social class, the less one's life expectancy, regardless of gender. • Minority group individuals, especially African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, have lower life expectancies and higher infant mortality than Whites.

7.  Migration • Current migration patterns in the U.S. have resulted in an increase of people of color in urban and suburban areas. • Large portions of populations, such as the underclass, remain stuck in central cities.

8.  Malthusian Theory • Idea that population grows faster than the subsistence needed. • Predicted uncontrolled population growth checked by famine, disease, and war.

9. Malthusian Theory Three revolutionary developments that derailed the cycle of growth and catastrophe: • Technological advances in agriculture • Medical control of disease • Development and widespread use of contraceptives

10. Demographic Transition Theory Three stages to population change • Stage 1 - high birthrate and high death rate. • Stage 2 - High birthrate and lower death rate • Stage 3 - low birthrate and low death rate

11. Zero Population Growth • The environment is a critical factor in the growth and health of populations. • Many of the predictions have been realized. • Despite advances, worldwide population growth is still out of control. • Advocates policies promoting zero population growth to reach population replacement level.

12. Theories of  Urbanism • Simmel - urban life leads individuals to become insensitive and avoid emotional involvement. • Wirth - the city is a center of distant, cold interpersonal interaction. • Gans - many city residents develop strong loyalties and have a sense of community.

13.  Race, Class, and the Suburbs • 1/4 of African Americans live in suburban areas, where sub-groupings tend to form based on class and race. • Racial segregation, promoted by landlords, homeowners, and realtors, persists in suburban neighborhoods and schools.

14. Human Ecologyand the Environment Any society is an ecosystem with interdependent forces: • human populations • natural resources • the environment

15. Human Ecologyand the Environment • Depletion of a natural resource affects other parts of the ecosystem. • Toxic waste dumps are often at or very near areas with high concentration of minorities. • In the past three decades, federal and local agencies have made concerted efforts to bring environmental pollution under control.

16. Population and Environment in the 21st Century • The UNDP estimates that the world population will stabilize at 10 billion, with a high estimate of as much as 14 billion. • The U.S. will continue to experience increasing suburban development, heavy industry, and additional pollution.