Lecture notes Chapter 14

Lesson 14 Population and Urbanization

Learning objectives for Chapter 14

What are the key ideas concerning population and urbanization from the stand point of Conflict Theory, Functionalist Theory, and Symbolic Interactionalist Theory?

What were the 18^th century’s reasons for the world's population growth?

Why is there starvation around the world?

Population growth based upon industrialization

What are the key demographic variables used in estimating population growth?

How did cities develop?

How do some city-dwellers feel a sense of alienation while others find community?

Vocabulary to learn from Chapter 14

Anti-Malthusian theory

deindustrialization

demographic transition

disinvestment

Industrializing Countries

Least Industrialized Nations

Malthus theory

megacities

megalopolises

metropolitan statistical areas

metropolises

Neo Malthusian theory

noninvolvement and the diffusion of responsibility

Overpopulation

"push" and "pull" factors behind the rural rebound.

suburbanization

urbanization & urban problems

Discussion

Most college students are too young to remember population growth scares like we had in the sixties. Population "clocks" were found in all major cities and were counting off the shear growth of the human population crowding out the planet. Population growth had been slow during the World Wars and the Great Depression. In fact, it had been slowing down since the mid 1880s due to industrialization. But the average number of children born to a woman in the years 1946-1964 greatly increased over what had been in recent memory. Fears of over population and resulting starvation were trumpeted every where. It was a reenactment of the fears of an earlier period (late 1700s -early 1800s) when Thomas Malthus sounded the alarm that too many people being born would result in too little food for everybody. He suggested that the poor people should be moved onto swamp land to die so the food would be sufficient for the rest of the population.

Malthusian Theory

He logically noted that food production increased arithmetically. One had to plant more acres to get more food. However, a couple usually had more than just 2 kids. In his day, many farming families had 8 or so children (although not all of them lived to adulthood). It was necessary to have large families to get enough hands to do the manual labor it took. So he noted that human population grew geometrically. To him it was obvious that the trend could not continue. The rebirth of these fears came in the 1960s with movies like "Soylent Green" that was meant to shock people into slowing down the birth rate.

Of course, years later with the invention of machinery, that number of hands would no longer be needed and we began to see a drop in the average number of children per family. Today the average is only 1.8 children per couple in the United States. That is not even replacement rate (we are under zero population growth, which is 2.1 children per couple). If we did not have immigration, America would be in a difficult situation like is found in countries that have shrinking populations.

So most students today probably have little fear of the population growth due to yet another factor. Food is now being produced at geometric rates due to new science technology in agriculture.

Anti Malthusian Theory

As a result of these changes, population dropping and food greatly increasing, even countries like Russia now have bumper crops. During the sixties they had to import many millions of metric tons of grain from the US and others just to feed their population. Now the crisis seems to be over, other than in areas of drought or natural disasters. There still are poor people who are hungry, but generally speaking, there is food available nearly everywhere if they can afford it.

The Anti Malthusians believe that the world food supply is more than enough for the 6 + billion people on the planet as of the year 2000. In fact, that year they said that, without changing current agricultural practices, the planet could supply enough food for 12 billion people. The problem, they state is the need for the political will to share food and to stop food from being used as a weapon of war in many places. These facts have almost buried the population clocks in the first world countries.

Neo Malthusian Theory

However, a new group (neo = new), is reverting back to the concerns of Thomas Malthus since they feel that agricultural practices being used today are simply not sustainable. They are from ecological areas and note serious problems ahead of us: pesticides, Franken foods, water contamination, salt from irrigation making land unusable, ground contamination, and the fact that aquifers are not being replenished as fast as the water is being pumped out. They believe that current practices are already starting to fail and will become critical in 20 or so years.

How do you, personally, view this debate?

Demography
Count the number of people in one area (such as a county) and divide that by the area in square miles and you get population density. It is one thing to state the number of people living in an area, but quite another when you look at the usable land area for them to live on.

As an example, Hong Kong is a very small place geographically, but has millions of people crowed into the island and Kowloon (a small crescent of land around some of the island that sits in the bay).

Urbanization
Some people like to live in crowded places, some people do not. Those that find it difficult often feel "alienated" or like a ghost that nobody seem to notice. People in crows usually do not look at each others' faces, so it also invites some types of crime. If you live in a very small place, nearly everybody knows you, but in a big city you probably will not be known among the crowd.

Movies assigned

Chapter 14 Population & Urbanization

Videos that you can rent which are based upon some of the principles of this lesson:

Population

Soylent Green (Malthusian Theory)

Logans' Run (Malthusian Theory)

Urbanization

Batteries not Included (loosing your home to business)

The 'Burbs (strange neighbors)

Little Shop of Horrors (trapped down town)


				*SLCC Students* *Lecture notes Chapter 14*



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		Lesson 14 Population and Urbanization Learning objectives for Chapter 14 What are the key ideas concerning population and urbanization from the stand point of Conflict Theory, Functionalist Theory, and Symbolic Interactionalist Theory? What were the 18^th century’s reasons for the world's population growth? Why is there starvation around the world? Population growth based upon industrialization What are the key demographic variables used in estimating population growth? How did cities develop? How do some city-dwellers feel a sense of alienation while others find community? Vocabulary to learn from Chapter 14 Anti-Malthusian theory deindustrialization demographic transition disinvestment Industrializing Countries Least Industrialized Nations Malthus theory megacities megalopolises metropolitan statistical areas metropolises Neo Malthusian theory noninvolvement and the diffusion of responsibility Overpopulation "push" and "pull" factors behind the rural rebound. suburbanization urbanization & urban problems Discussion Most college students are too young to remember population growth scares like we had in the sixties. Population "clocks" were found in all major cities and were counting off the shear growth of the human population crowding out the planet. Population growth had been slow during the World Wars and the Great Depression. In fact, it had been slowing down since the mid 1880s due to industrialization. But the average number of children born to a woman in the years 1946-1964 greatly increased over what had been in recent memory. Fears of over population and resulting starvation were trumpeted every where. It was a reenactment of the fears of an earlier period (late 1700s -early 1800s) when Thomas Malthus sounded the alarm that too many people being born would result in too little food for everybody. He suggested that the poor people should be moved onto swamp land to die so the food would be sufficient for the rest of the population. Malthusian Theory He logically noted that food production increased arithmetically. One had to plant more acres to get more food. However, a couple usually had more than just 2 kids. In his day, many farming families had 8 or so children (although not all of them lived to adulthood). It was necessary to have large families to get enough hands to do the manual labor it took. So he noted that human population grew geometrically. To him it was obvious that the trend could not continue. The rebirth of these fears came in the 1960s with movies like "Soylent Green" that was meant to shock people into slowing down the birth rate. Of course, years later with the invention of machinery, that number of hands would no longer be needed and we began to see a drop in the average number of children per family. Today the average is only 1.8 children per couple in the United States. That is not even replacement rate (we are under zero population growth, which is 2.1 children per couple). If we did not have immigration, America would be in a difficult situation like is found in countries that have shrinking populations. So most students today probably have little fear of the population growth due to yet another factor. Food is now being produced at geometric rates due to new science technology in agriculture. Anti Malthusian Theory As a result of these changes, population dropping and food greatly increasing, even countries like Russia now have bumper crops. During the sixties they had to import many millions of metric tons of grain from the US and others just to feed their population. Now the crisis seems to be over, other than in areas of drought or natural disasters. There still are poor people who are hungry, but generally speaking, there is food available nearly everywhere if they can afford it. The Anti Malthusians believe that the world food supply is more than enough for the 6 + billion people on the planet as of the year 2000. In fact, that year they said that, without changing current agricultural practices, the planet could supply enough food for 12 billion people. The problem, they state is the need for the political will to share food and to stop food from being used as a weapon of war in many places. These facts have almost buried the population clocks in the first world countries. Neo Malthusian Theory However, a new group (neo = new), is reverting back to the concerns of Thomas Malthus since they feel that agricultural practices being used today are simply not sustainable. They are from ecological areas and note serious problems ahead of us: pesticides, Franken foods, water contamination, salt from irrigation making land unusable, ground contamination, and the fact that aquifers are not being replenished as fast as the water is being pumped out. They believe that current practices are already starting to fail and will become critical in 20 or so years. How do you, personally, view this debate? Demography Count the number of people in one area (such as a county) and divide that by the area in square miles and you get population density. It is one thing to state the number of people living in an area, but quite another when you look at the usable land area for them to live on. As an example, Hong Kong is a very small place geographically, but has millions of people crowed into the island and Kowloon (a small crescent of land around some of the island that sits in the bay). Urbanization Some people like to live in crowded places, some people do not. Those that find it difficult often feel "alienated" or like a ghost that nobody seem to notice. People in crows usually do not look at each others' faces, so it also invites some types of crime. If you live in a very small place, nearly everybody knows you, but in a big city you probably will not be known among the crowd. Movies assigned Chapter 14 Population & Urbanization Videos that you can rent which are based upon some of the principles of this lesson: Population Soylent Green (Malthusian Theory) Logans' Run (Malthusian Theory) Urbanization Batteries not Included (loosing your home to business) The 'Burbs (strange neighbors) Little Shop of Horrors (trapped down town)



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*Lecture Notes Chapter 15*