chapter 6

human population growth

•Population growth rate spiked beginning in the 1700’s with the industrial revolution but has begun slowing since 1960

•Highest growth rates today are in less developed countries

•Increasingly, population growth is at its highest in urban areas

•~58% currently live in urban areas

•Projected that this number will be 68% by 2050

population growth factors

•Remember the four drivers of population size?

•Total Fertility Rate – Average number of children born to a woman of reproductive age within a population.

•2.1 would be a stable population

•US in 1960 was 3.65

•Today it is ~1.79

•Africa has a TFR of ~4.0, with Niger having a TFR or 5.9

•Taiwan and South Korea have TFR’s of 1.28 and 1.09, respectively

•Globally, the TFR is 2.2

variations in birth rates

•Child labor

•Child education

•Retirement/Pension systems

•Urban vs. Rural

•Education levels and job opportunities for women

•Average age for having first child

•Birth control

Religion and culture

variation in death rates

•Life expectancy

•US – 76.5 for men, 81.4 for women

•Globally – 71.2 for men, 76.4 for women

•Infant mortality rate

•US infant mortality rate of ~6

•Globally – 27

migration

movement in or out of an area

age structure

•Variation in men and women at given age ranges

•Can give insight on growth patterns of a population

•As countries develop, typically begin growing more slowly

urbanization

•58% of global population live in urban environment

•68% in 2050

•80% of United States

•May approach 90% by 2050

•Rapidly growing across the globe

•Mega and Hyper cities growing in number, population, and size

•Increased levels of poverty

urban sprawl

growth of low-density urban areas

development of previously underdeveloped or agriculture use lands

common in the US

positives of urbanization

•Economic and Technological development

•More jobs

•Social and Cultural diversity

•Better health care

•Longer life expectancy

•Lower infant mortality

Higher densities mean more undeveloped land and potentially less reliance on personal vehicles

negatives of urbanization

•Reduced vegetation and what we do have is often not native

•Water supply

•Increased air, noise, and light pollution

•Heat bubbles

•Increased run-off

•More people still need more resources, regardless of their density

smart growth

policies and tools to encourage environmentally friendly cities and less dependance on motor vehicles

eco-cities

walkable cities that are designed, from the ground up, to provide green spaces, protect native habitats, reduce pollution, and rely less on large-scale food production