Urbanization and Population Chapter 20 In Henslin’s Sociology: A Down To Earth Approach

Many agree and many disagree with this Thomas Malthus (1798): Thomas Malthus proposed that because European population was increasing geometrically, while food supply was increasing only arithmetically, at some point, the world’s population will outstrip its food supply. Many agree and many disagree with this pessimistic theory.

Why are people starving? Starvation is not occurring due to a lack of food supplies, but rather from mal-distribution of food, which is due primarily to drought and civil wars.

Why Do the Poorer Countries Have So Many Children? Lesser Industrialized countries often view children as gifts from God, costing little to rear and contributing to the family’s income from an early age. They represent their parents social security. Therefore people are motivated to have large families.

Three Demographic Variables… To compute population growth, demographers use Fertility Mortality Migration Births – Deaths + Net Migration = Population Growth

Why Is Forecasting Difficult? A nation’s growth can be influenced by many unanticipated variables… Economic Cycles War Famines Industrialization Governmental Policies

What Is the Relationship Between Cities to Farming and the Industrial Revolution? Cities can develop only if there is a agricultural surplus, which frees people from food productions. The invention of the plow 5000-6000 years ago was the impetus to the formation of cities. Throughout history, cities have been traditionally small. Industrialization brought increased transportation, communication encouraging the growth of cities. Metropolises are larger cities which incorporate the surrounding areas. A Megalopolis is when several metropolises overlap each other.

Proposals for the Growth of Our Cities… The primary models are: Concentric Zones. Sector. Multiple-Nuclei. Peripheral. These models fail to account for Medieval Cities, many European cities and those in Least Industrialized Nations.

Are Cities Inherently Alienating? While some find city dwelling alienating, others find a true of community. Several types of people who live in cities are: Cosmopolites. Singles. Ethnic Villages. The Deprived. The Trapped.

Why Are Cities Declining? Three major factors negatively impacting cities are: Suburbanization Deindustrialization Disinvestment

What Is The Rural Rebound? As more and more people flea the cities and suburban areas to find more rustic and rural settings, population trends are moving upward in these areas. This newly developing trend is a total departure from a trend that has existed for hundreds of years.

What Social Policies Could Save US Cities? Three guiding principles for developing workable urban social policies are: Livability Scale Social Justice