Sociology The Real World chapter 15

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This chapter covers three big and deeply connected topics in sociology: population, urbanization, and the environment. To this point, we have focused mostly on society—on people and their effect on each other. But humans live in a natural as well as a social world, and their environment is another key factor in their lives. We are affected by and have a profound effect on the planet earth. The number of humans who live on the planet has nearly tripled since the middle of the last cen- tury, from 2.5 billion in 1950 to 7.3 billion in 2015. Population studies show that an ever-greater number of people are set- tling into large, sprawling cities—a trend called urbanization. Growing populations and increased urbanization create new demands and pressures on the global environment as more natural resources are consumed and more pollution and waste are produced. Remember that these huge global shifts are the result of the cumulative actions of many individuals over time.

urban sprawl

a derogatory term for the expansion of urban or suburban boundaries, associated with irresponsible or poorly planned development

RURAL REBOUND

population increase in rural counties that adjoin urban centers or possess rich scenic or amenity values

ALIENATION AND ALTRUISM: THE CASE OF NEW YORK CITY

ALIENATION decreasing importance of social ties and community and the corresponding increase in impersonal associations and instrumental logic ALTRUISM unselfish concern for the well-being of others and helping behaviors performed without self-interested motivation

Theories of Population Change

Concerns about population growth first emerged in the eighteenth century during the Industrial Revolution. Many demographic variables at that time contributed to rapid growth in the newly burgeoning urban areas of Europe. Mechanization, which increased agricultural production, and the introduction of a hearty new staple from South America— the potato—made available enough food for people to sustain themselves and support larger families. Other technological and scientific advances helped decrease infant mortality rates while increasing fertility and extending life expectancy. As a result, the first real population boom in human history occurred.

PROBLEMS OF WASTE: POLLUTION

Problems of consumption are linked to problems of waste, often two sides of the same coin. Consider water and air. Water is another natural resource that can be overused; we under- stand what happens during a drought, or when lakes, rivers, or underground aquifers are drained and then go dry. But water can also be damaged by what we put into it. And while we don't normally think of consuming air, it is an essential natural resource, and we can damage its quality and change for the worse the very atmosphere of the planet. Let's look at these examples of pollution.

Living in the City

SOCIAL ATOMIZATION a social situation that emphasizes individualism over collective or group identities URBANITES people who live in cities

Trends in Urbanization

SUBURBANIZATION urban sprawl edge cities SMART GROWTH WHITE FLIGHT

features of urbanization

Setting boundaries on urban area, which means there, have boundaries in urban areas. Saving open space. Creating new town. Environment educations restore a damage of area. Community based solid waste management.

cities

The dynamics of population growth (and sometimes shrink- age) throughout human history have been accompanied by the development of larger cities in which more people are now living. Cities, however, are not a modern development. They have been in existence for thousands of years.

PROBLEMS OF CONSUMPTION: RESOURCE DEPLE- TION

The planet earth provides an abundance of natural resources, including air, water, land, wildlife, plants, and miner- als. We have learned to exploit these resources not only for basic survival but also to build everything in material culture that is part of the modern world. Humans have long been presented with the challenge of managing their use of natural resources, but those challenges have changed in the postindustrial era.

ENVIRONMENT

in sociology, the natural world, the human-made environment, and the interaction between the two

WHITE FLIGHT

movement of upper- and middle-class whites who could afford to leave the cities for the suburbs, especially in the 1950s and 1960s

Demography

study of the size, composition, distribution, and changes in human population

SMART GROWTH

term for economic and urban planning policies that emphasize responsible development and renewal

SUBURBANIZATION

the shift of large segments of population away from the urban core and toward the edges of cities

GENTRIFICATION

transformation of the physical, social, economic, and cultural life of formerly working-class or poor inner-city neighborhoods into more affluent middle-class communities