Sociology Chapter 20

NIMBY

"Not In My Back Yard," the tendency of people to protest poor environmental practices when those practices will affect them directly

Human Ecology

a functional perspective that looks at the relationship between people and their built and natural environment

Cancer Cluster

a geographic area with high levels of cancer within its population

Population Pyramid

a graphic representation that depicts population distribution according to age and sex

Megalopolis

a large urban corridor that encompasses several cities and their surrounding suburbs and exurbs

Fertility Rate

a measure noting the actual number of children born

Mortality Rate

a measure of the number of people in a population who die

Concentric Zone Model

a model of human ecology that views cities as a series of circular rings or zones

Population Composition

a snapshot of the demographic profile of a population based on fertility, mortality, and migration rates

Zero Population Growth

a theoretical goal in which the number of people entering a population through birth or immigration is equal to the number of people leaving it via death or emigration

Malthusian Theory

a theory asserting that population is controlled through positive checks (war, famine, disease) and preventive checks ( measures to reduce fertility)

Cornucopian Theory

a theory that asserts human ingenuity will rise to the challenge of providing adequate resources for a growing population

Demographic Transition Theory

a theory that describes four stages of population growth, following patterns that connect birth and death rates with stages of industrial development

Refugee

an individual who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster

Exurbs

communities that arise farther out than the suburbs and are typically populated by residents of high socioeconomic status

Fracking

hydraulic fracturing, a method used to recover gas and oil from shale by drilling down into the earth and directing a high pressure mixture of water, sand, and proprietary chemicals into the rock

Climate Change

long-term shifts in temperature and climate due to human activity

Internally Displaced Person

someone who fled his or her home while remaining inside the country's borders

Carrying Capacity

the amount of people that can live in a given area considering the amount of available resources

Metropolis

the area the includes a city and its suburbs and exurbs

Suburbs

the communities surrounding cities, typically close enough for a daily commute

E-Waste

the disposal of broken, obsolete, and worn-out electronics

Gentrification

the entry of upper- and middle-class residents to city areas or communities that have been historically less affluent

Pollution

the introduction of contaminants into an environment at levels that are damaging

White Flight

the migration of economically secure white people form racially mixed urban areas toward suburbs

Sex Ratio

the ratio of men to women in a given population

Environmental Sociology

the sociological subfield that addresses the relationship between humans and the environment

Demography

the study of population

Urbanization

the study of the social, political, and economic relationships of cities

Urban Sociology

the subfield of sociology that focuses on the study of urbanization

Asylum-Seekers

those whose claim to refugee status have not been validated