Population,

Urbanization, and
the Environment
Learning Objectives
Demography and Population
 • Understand demographic measurements like fertility and
mortality rates
 • Describe a variety of demographic theories, such as
Malthusian, cornucopian, zero population growth, and
demographic transition theories
 • Be familiar with current population trends and patterns

Urbanization
 • Describe the process of urbanization
 • Understand the function of suburbs, exurbs, and
concentric zones

The Environment and Society

 • Understand the challenges posed by urbanization on the
environment and society
Demography and Population
Demography, or the study of populations.
Three of the most important components
affecting the issues above are fertility,
mortality, and migration.

Population Density Population density is a

measurement of the number of people in an area. It
refers to the ratio between numbers of people to the
size of land in a country. It is usually measured in
persons per sq km.
 Components of Population Growth/Change
There are three factors responsible for population change.

 Birth Rate: If the births exceed deaths, within a given year there will be
a net population increase.

 Death rate: If the death exceeds births, within a given year there will
be a net population decrease.

 Migration: The permanent or semi-permanent change of a person’s

place of residence is called migration. Immigration increases population
of a place whereas emigration decreases population of a place.
Trends in Population Growth

 In the early stages of the development (before 1 A.D) the birth and death
rate was small therefore the size of population was also small. The world
population was below 300 million.

 In the 16th and 17th centuries the population growth was rapid. It was due
to expanding world trade. The world population increased to 1 billion.

 In 18th century after Industrial revolution, the world population increased

rapidly and by 1930 it reached 2 billion.

 In 19th century due to scientific and technological advancements in

transportation, sanitation, medical advancements and introduction of
biotechnology the world population grew very rapidly. The world population
reached 3 billion.

 Since last four decades the world population has increased rapidly and
estimated as 7 billion in 2013.
Population Pyramid
 The population structure for an area shows the number of males
and females within different age groups in the population. This
information is displayed as population pyramid. The shape of the
pyramid reflects the characteristics of a population.

 Population pyramids of LEDCs (Less Economically Developed

Countries) typically have a wide base and a narrow top. This
represents a high birth rate and high death rate.

 Population pyramids of MEDCs (More Economically Developed

Countries) typically have a roughly equal distribution of population
throughout the age groups. The top obviously gets narrower as a
result of deaths. 
Demographic Theories
 Malthusian Theory
 Thomas Malthus (1766–1834) was an English
clergyman who made dire predictions about earth’s
ability to sustain its growing population.

 According to Malthusian theory : earth population

rate increases by exponential rate (i.e doubling with
each cycle ) while food production grows at an
arithmetic rate (i.e by the repeated addition of a
uniform in each uniform interval of time) three factors
would control human population that exceeded the
earth’s carrying capacity, or how many people can
live in a given area considering the amount of
available resources.

 He identified these factors as war, famine, and disease

(Malthus 1798). He termed these “positive checks”
because they increased mortality rates, thus keeping
the population in check, so to speak.

 These are countered by “preventative checks,” which

also seek to control the population, but by reducing
fertility rates; preventive checks include birth control
and celibacy.
Criticism
 Thinking practically, Malthus saw that people could only produce so much food in
a given year, yet the population was increasing at an exponential rate.
Eventually, he thought people would run out of food and begin to starve.

 First, technological increases in food production have increased both the amount
and quality of calories we can produce per person.

 Second, human ingenuity has developed new medicine to curtail death through
disease.

 Finally, the development and widespread use of different forms of family

planning have decreased the speed at which our population increases
 Zero Population Growth

 A neo-Malthusian researcher named Paul Ehrlich brought

Malthus’s predictions into the 20th century.

 However, according to Ehrlich, it is the environment, not

specifically the food supply, that will play a crucial role in the
continued health of planet’s population (Ehrlich 1968).

 human population is moving rapidly toward complete

environmental collapse, as privileged people use up or pollute
a number of environmental resources, such as water and air.

 He advocated for a goal of zero population growth (ZPG),

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.

 While support for this concept is mixed, it is still considered a

possible solution to global overpopulation.
Cornucopian Theory
 Cornucopian theory scoffs at the idea of
humans wiping themselves out; it asserts
that human ingenuity can resolve any
environmental or social issues that develop.

 As an example, it points to the issue of food

supply. If we need more food, the theory
contends, agricultural scientists will figure
out how to grow it, as they have already
been doing for centuries.

 After all, in this perspective, human ingenuity

has been up to the task for thousands of
years and there is no reason for that pattern
not to continue (Simon 1981).
 Demographic Transition Theory
 In Stage 1, birth, death, and infant
 Demographic transition
mortality rates are all high, while life theory (Caldwell and
expectancy is short. Caldwell 2006) suggests
that future population
 As countries begin to industrialize, growth will develop along a
they enter Stage 2, where
birthrates are higher while infant predictable four-stage
mortality and the death rates drop. model.
Life expectancy also increases.

 Stage 3 occurs once a society is

thoroughly industrialized; birthrates
decline, while life expectancy
continues to increase. Death rates
continue to decrease.

 Stage 4, we see the postindustrial

era of a society. Birth and death
rates are low, people are healthier
and live longer, and society enters a
phase of population stability. Overall
population may even decline.
Current Population Trends
 The United Nations Population Fund (2008)
categorizes nations as high fertility,
intermediate fertility, or low fertility. They
anticipate the population growth to triple
between 2011 and 2100 in high fertility Projected Population
countries, which are currently concentrated in in Africa
sub-Saharan Africa.

 For countries with intermediate fertility rates

(the U.S., India, and Mexico all fall into this
category), growth is expected to be about 26
percent. Projected Population
in USA
 And low-fertility countries like China, Australia,
and most of Europe will actually see population
declines of approximately 20 percent. The
graphs below illustrate this trend.

Projected Population
in Europe
Urbanization
 Urbanization is the study of the social,
political, and economic relationships in
cities, and someone specializing in urban
sociology would study those
relationships.

 In some ways, cities can be microcosms of

universal human behavior, while in others they
provide a unique environment that yields their
own brand of human behavior.

 once a geographically concentrated population

has reached approximately 100,000 people, it
typically behaves like a city regardless of what
its designation might be.
Urbanization Process
 Urbanization proceeded rapidly during
the Industrial Era.

 As more and more opportunities for

work appeared in factories, workers
left farms (and the rural communities
that housed them) to move to the
cities.
 Suburbs and Exurbs
 As cities grew more crowded, and often more impoverished and costly, more
and more people began to migrate back out of them.

 Suburbs are the communities surrounding cities, typically close enough for a
daily commute in, but far enough away to allow for more space than city
living affords. Suburban sprawl contributes to traffic congestion, commuting
times and distances have continued to increase as new suburbs developed
farther and farther from city centers. Simultaneously, this dynamic
contributed to an exponential increase in natural resource use, like
petroleum, which sequentially increased pollution in the form of carbon
emissions.

 As the suburbs became more crowded and lost their charm, those who could
afford it turned to the exurbs, communities that exist outside the ring
of suburbs and are typically populated by even wealthier families who
want more space and have the resources to lengthen their commute.

 Together, the suburbs, exurbs, and metropolitan areas all combine to form a
metropolis. New York was the first American megalopolis, a huge
urban corridor encompassing multiple cities and their surrounding
suburbs. These metropolises use vast quantities of natural resources and are
a growing part of the U.S. landscape.
Concentric zone model
 The concentric zone model (Burgess 1925) ;

 This model views a city as a series of concentric circular areas, expanding

outward from the center of the city, with various “zones” invading (new categories of
people and businesses overrun the edges of nearby zones) and succeeding (after
invasion, the new inhabitants repurpose the areas they have invaded and push out
the previous inhabitants) adjacent zones.

 Zone A, in the heart of the city, is the center of the business and cultural district.

 Zone B, the concentric circle surrounding the city center, is composed of formerly
wealthy homes split into cheap apartments for new immigrant populations; this zone
also houses small manufacturers, pawn shops, and other marginal businesses.

 Zone C consists of the homes of the working class and established ethnic enclaves.

 Zone D consists of wealthy homes, white-collar workers, and shopping centers.

 Zone E contains the estates of the upper class (exurbs) and the suburbs.
The Environment and
Society
 The subfield of environmental sociology
studies how humans interact with their
environments.

 This field is closely related to human ecology,

which focuses on the relationship between people
and their built and natural environment.

 This is an area that is garnering more attention as

extreme weather patterns and policy battles over
climate change dominate the news.

 A key factor of environmental sociology is the

concept of carrying capacity, which refers to the
maximum amount of life that can be sustained
within a given area.
PROBLEMS OF URBANAIZATION
Economic Problems
Over urbanization or the uncontrolled urbanization is due
to large-scale in-migration of rural people.
Decreasing employment opportunities in the rural as well
as smaller urban areas has caused large scale rural to urban
migration.
The huge migrant population in urban areas creates stagnation
and generates a pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labor force.
Urban areas suffer from shortage of housing, transport,
health and civic amenities.
A large number of people live in substandard housing i.e.
slums and squatter settlements or on the streets which are
growing as fast as the city.
Socio-cultural Problems
Inadequate social infrastructure and basic facilities is due to lack of financial
resources and over-population in the cities.
The available educational and health facilities remain beyond the reach of the
urban poor.
Lack of employment and education tends to aggravate the crime rates.

Environmental Problems
Many cities of the developing countries do not provide the minimum required
quantity of drinkable water and water for domestic and industrial uses.
The large urban population uses and disposes off a huge quantity of water and all
types of waste materials.
An improper sewerage system creates unhealthy conditions.
Massive use of traditional fuel in the domestic as well as the industrial sector
severely pollutes the air.
The domestic and industrial wastes are either disposed off into the general
sewerage system or dumped without treatment at unspecified locations.
Huge concrete structures of buildings create heat in the city environment.