Society: The Basics Chapter 15

demography

the study of human population

fertility

the incidence of childbearing in a country's population

crude birth rate

the number of live births in a given year for every 1,000 people in a population; how demographers describe fertility

mortality

the incidence of death in a country's population

crude death rate

the number of deaths in a given year for every 1,000 people in a population

infant mortality rate

the number of deaths among infants under one year of age for each 1,000 live births in a given year

demographers

use both crude death rate and infant mortality rate to measure mortality

life expectancy

the average life span of a country's population

migration

the movement of people into and out of a specified territory

net migration rate

difference between the in-migration rate and the out-migration rate

sex ratio

the number of males for every 100 females in a nation's population

age-sex pyramid

a graphic representation of the age and sex of a population; demographers use to show the composition of a population graphically and to project population trends

rich nations

grow almost as much from immigration as from natural increase

poorer nations

grow almost entirely from natural increase

world population historically

grew slowly, as high birth rates were offset by high death rates

world population 1750

rose sharply, mostly due to falling death rates

Thomas Robert Malthus

in the late 1700s, he warned that population growth would outpace food production, resulting in social calamity

demographic transition theory

a thesis that links population patterns to a society's level of technological development

zero population growth

the rate of reproduction that maintains population at a steady level

current world growth

gaining 84 million people each year, with 98% of this increase taking place in poor countries

2050 world population expectation

reach about 9.3 billion

urbanization

the concentration of population into cities

first urban revolution

began with the appearance of cities about 10,000 years ago; about AD 17, cities emerged in most regions of the world except North America; preindustrial cities have low-rise buildings; narrow, winding streets; and personal social ties

second urban revolution

began about 1750 as the Industrial Revolution propelled rapid urban growth in Europe; cities' physical form changed as planners created wide, regular streets to facilitate commerce; emphasis on business and the increasing size of cities made urban life more impersonal

third urban revolution

now occurring in poor countries, low-income nations; almost all global population increase is taking place in cities (of 23 cities with population more than 10 million, 18 are in poor nations)

metropolis

a large city that socially and economically dominates an urban area

suburbs

urban areas beyond the political boundaries of a city

megalopolis

a vast urban region containing a number of cities and their surrounding suburbs

urbanization in the US (for more than 400 years)

came to North America with European colonists; by 1850- hundreds of new cities from coast to coast; 1920- majority of US lived in urban areas; since 1950- decentralization of cities has resulted in the growth of suburbs and edge cities

rural areas

represent 75% of the US's land area; those near large cities (especially scenic) are attracting migrants; currently lose net population through migration to cities

Sunbelt cities

(not the older Snowbelt cities) are increasing in size and population

Gemeinschaft

type of social organization in which people are closely tied by kinship and tradition; typical of rural village - joins people into a primary group

Gesellschaft

type of social organization in which people come together only on the basis of individual self-interest; typical of modern city - individuals motivated by their own needs (not a desire to help improve the well-being of a community)

urban ecology

the study of the link between the physical and social dimensions of cities

Ferdinand Tonnies

built his analysis on the concepts of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

Emile Durkheim

agreed with much of Tennis's thinking but claimed that urbanites do not lack social bonds; the basis of social solidarity simply differs in the two settings. (mechanical & organic solidarity)

mechanical solidarity (Durkheim)

social bonds based on common sentiments and shared moral values; typical of traditional, rural life

organic solidarity (Durkheim)

social bonds based on specialization and interdependence; typical of modern, urban life

Georg Simmel

claimed that the overstimulation of city life produced a blasé attitude in urbanites

Robert Park

(University of Chicago) claimed that cities permit greater social freedom

Louis Wirth

saw large, dense, heterogeneous populations creating an impersonal and self-interested, though tolerant, way of life

Karl Marx

his analysis of conflict in the city is echoed in the urban political economy model

ecology

the study of the interaction of living organisms and the natural environment

environment

a social issue because it reflects how human beings organize social life

natural environment

earth's surface and atmosphere, including living organisms, air, water, soil, and other resources necessary to sustain life

ecosystem

a system composed of the interaction of all living organisms and their natural environment

environmental deficit

profound long-term harm to the natural environment caused by humanity's focus on short-term material affluence

society's technology

the more complex, the greater its capacity to alter the natural environment

logic-of-growth thesis

supports economic development, claiming that people can solve environmental problems as they arise

limits-to-growth thesis

states that societies must curb development to prevent eventual environmental collapse

solid waste

54% of what we throw away ends up in landfills, which are filling up and can pollute groundwater

clean water supply

already low in some parts of the world; industrial technology has caused a decline in air quality

rain forests

regions of dense forestation, most of which circle the globe close to the equator; help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and are home to a large share of this planet's living species; under pressure from development, they are now half their original size and are shrinking by about 1% annually

global warming

a rise in earth's average temperature due to an increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

environmental racism

patterns of development that expose poor people, especially minorities, to environmental hazards

conflict theory

draws attention to environmental racism

ecologically sustainable culture

a way of life that meets the needs of the present generation without threatening the environmental legacy of future generations

record levels of planet's population

due to high fertility in low-income nations, coupled with declining mortality almost everywhere

danger of continual population increase

humanity faces environmental challenges that involve both greater consumption of resources and higher levels of pollution