Chapter 19 : Urbanization, Population, and the Environment

Traditional Cities

  Traditional cities differed in many ways from modern urban areas. They were mostly very small by modern standards, were surrounded by walls, and their centers were dominated by religious buildings and palaces.

Living in Cities

  In traditional societies, only a small minority of the population lived in urban areas. In the industrialized countries today, between 60 percent and 90 percent do so. Urbanism is also increasing very rapidly in developing countries.

Theories of Urbanism

  Early approaches to urban sociology were dominated by the work of the Chicago School. The members of this school saw urban processes in terms of ecological models derived from biology. Louis Wirth developed the conception of urbanism as a "way of life." These approaches have more recently been challenged, though without being discarded altogether.

  Later approaches to urban theory have placed more emphasis on the influence of broader socioeconomic factors-particularly those deriving from industrial capitalism-on city life.

Suburbanization

  The expansion of suburbs-suburbanization-has contributed to inner-city decay. Wealthier groups and businesses tend to move out of the central city in order to take advantage of lower tax rates. This begins a cycle of deterioration, in which the more suburbia expands, the greater the problems faced by those living in the central cities. Urban renewal (also called gentrification)-the refurbishing of old buildings to put them to new uses-has become common in many large cities.

Urban Development

  Urban analysis today must be prepared to link global and local issues. Factors that influence urban development locally are sometimes part of much more international processes. The structure of local neighborhoods and their patterns of growth and decline often reflect changes in industrial production internationally.

  Massive urban development is occurring in developing countries. Cities in these societies differ in major respects from those characteristic of the West. The majority of the population live in illegal make-shift housing, in conditions of extreme poverty.

  Population growth is one of the most significant global problems currently faced by humanity. About a quarter of the world's population suffers from malnutrition, and over 10 million people die of starvation each year. This misery is concentrated in the developing countries.

Demography

  The study of population growth is called demography. Much demographic work is statistical, but demographers are also concerned with trying to explain why population patterns take the form they do. The most important concepts in population analysis are birthrates, death rates, fertility, and mortality.

  The changes in population patterns that have occurred in the industrialized societies are usually analyzed in terms of a process of demographic transition. Prior to industrialization, both birth and death rates were high. During the beginning of industrialization, there was population growth because death rates were reduced while birthrates took longer to decline. Finally a new equilibrium was reached with low birthrates balancing low death rates.

  World resources are finite, even if the limits of what can be produced are continually revised due to technological developments. Energy consumption and the consumption of raw materials and other goods are vastly higher in the Western countries than in other areas of the world. These consumption levels depend, moreover, on resources transferred from developing regions to the industrially developed nations. If resources were shared equally, there would be a significant drop in Western living standards.

  There are few aspects of the natural world that have not been affected by human activity. The industrialization of agriculture, the depletion of natural resources, the pollution of air and water, and the creation of vast mountains of unrecyclable waste are all sources of threat to the future survival of humanity. Addressing these issues will mean, among other things, that richer nations will have to revise their expectations of persistent economic growth.

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