Deck 19: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment

Question 1

According to demographic transition theory, the stage in which the highest population growth takes place is:

A) stage one (preindustrial, traditional)
B) stage two (partial industrialization)
C) stage three (full industrialization)
D) stage four (postindustrial)

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Although the Chinese government's population policies were successful, they have had some unintended consequences, one of which was that:

A) China's cities are still growing rapidly
B) low birthrates will not provide enough adult children to care for their aging parents
C) more parents will abort male fetuses or put infant sons up for adoption
D) parents are never allowed to have more than one child

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A demographer wants to study the possibility of a second demographic transition, so she studies the region with the lowest population growth. Which region does she study?

A) Africa
B) Asia
C) Europe
D) North America

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Factors lowering fertility rates in the second demographic transition include:

A) shifts in the family structure
B) declining food production
C) an aging population
D) higher death rates

Question 5

The rate that is calculated by subtracting the number of deaths per thousand from the number of births per thousand in a year reflects:

A) crude births
B) fecundity
C) crude deaths
D) population growth or decline

Question 6

The number of deaths per thousand of population per year is known as:

A) the rate of population decline
B) the death rate
C) fecundity
D) the crude death rate

Question 7

Demography is considered part of the discipline of sociology because it focuses on:

A) quantitative research
B) populations
C) social inequality
D) social organization

Question 8

Population controls in China have:

A) worked because the government provides disincentives for families with more than one child
B) worked because the government strengthened support for what the majority of the population already wanted (very small families)
C) not worked because most children in China are born outside of marriage and the government cannot control this trend
D) not worked because the decentralized structure of the Chinese government impedes any social change

Question 9

Much of the contemporary theory and research in urban sociology focuses on cities as:

A) natural formations
B) places of conflict
C) created environments or social constructions
D) danger zones of incivility

Question 10

The potential number of children an average woman is biologically able to bear is known as _____________; whereas the average number of live-born children an average woman actually has is known as _____________.

A) dependency ratio; infant expectancy
B) crude fertility; actual fecundity
C) fecundity; fertility
D) the crude fertility rate; the actual fertility rate

Question 11

The maximum number of years that an average person in a society could expect to live is called:

A) life expectancy
B) fecundity
C) the crude death rate
D) the life span

Question 12

Population growth rates are exponential. This means population grows

A) in a linear way: 1, 2, 3, 4
B) in a "boosted" way: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8
C) in a geometric way: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16
D) in an unpredictable and explosive way: 1, 2, 4, 1000

Question 13

A sociologist wants to measure the current infant mortality rate in Niger. Accordingly, the sociologist:

A) interviews women who have lost infants and women whose infants have survived
B) measures changes in infant death rates over time and estimates the current year
C) starts by collecting data on crude death rates
D) searches for available data that records the number of babies per thousand of population who die before reaching one year of age

Question 14

The theory that economic development generated by industrialization leads to population stability is called:

A) Malthusianism
B) the demographic transition
C) the second demographic transition
D) economism

Question 15

The number of live births per year per thousand of the population is the:

A) crude birthrate
B) fertility rate
C) fecundity rate
D) rate of population growth or decline

Question 16

Like plant and animal populations, cities grow following principles of adaptation and equilibrium so that neighborhoods were settled in a process of competition, invasion, and succession. This is the idea behind:

A) urban ecology or the ecological approach to urban analysis
B) urbanism as a way of life
C) the created-environment approach to urban analysis
D) collective consumption

Question 17

The number of years an average person can expect to live is called:

A) life expectancy
B) fecundity
C) the crude death rate
D) the life span

Question 18

A sociologist might use this interpretation of population change to interpret population changes in: Demographic Transition
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A) Europe beginning with widespread contraceptive access in the mid-twentieth century
B) industrialized countries from the nineteenth century onward
C) the global south from the nineteenth century onward
D) any country at any time

Question 19

Demographers refer to changes in the ratio of births to deaths in industrialized countries as:

A) life expectancy
B) the demographic transition
C) fertility
D) life span

Question 20

The Ghanaian government wants an accurate measure of fertility rates, so it employs a sociologist to measure:

A) how many children an average woman could possibly have subtracted by the number of children the average woman actually has
B) the key factors in the second demographic transition that are at play in Ghana
C) which stage in the demographic transition best describes Ghana and then apply fertility statistics from that stage
D) the number of live-born children the average Ghanaian woman has

Question 21

Ehn plans a sociology project that will apply Logan and Molotch's theory to her study of Miami. She looks at:

A) how neighbors create zones of privacy in the midst of a crowded city block
B) conflicts between property owners and zoning law officials over building use
C) the natural processes that shape how new Cuban refugees find space to live and work
D) how people sitting on their front steps serve as "eyes and ears" on the street, increasing safety for everyone

Question 22

The first cities emerged about 3500 BCE in the:

A) Nile River valley
B) central valley of Mexico
C) Chinese mainland
D) southern part of Italy

Question 23

Dr. Song is a sociologist who wants to study contemporary issues related to rural poverty in the United States. Accordingly, he looks at _____________________ in Appalachia.

A) the second demographic transition
B) conturbations
C) rising opioid use and suicide
D) gentrification

Question 24

In modern societies, most of the population lives in:

A) the countryside
B) villages
C) small towns
D) cities

Question 25

The first society to undergo industrialization was in:

A) Great Britain
B) the United States
C) China
D) Indochina

Question 26

The northeast corridor of the United States, an area covering some 450 miles from north of Boston to south of Washington, D.C., has 44 million people. Why is this area referred to as a conurbation?

A) It is organized by rings, moving from a center of wealth to rings of increasing poverty.
B) It is an environment constructed by humans, not natural or inevitable processes.
C) It is an agglomeration of towns and cities into an unbroken urban environment.
D) It serves as an organizing center of the new global economy.

Question 27

A cluster of cities and towns forming a continuous network is called:

A) a conurbation
B) a metropolis
C) a megalopolis
D) urbanization

Question 28

As an important factor in urban development, Manuel Castells emphasized the struggles of underprivileged groups participating in the process of:

A) urban ecology
B) urbanism as a way of life
C) collective consumption
D) the collective conscience

Question 29

Industrialization generated the movement of population from the countryside into towns and cities, which is known as:

A) conurbation
B) suburbanization
C) urbanization
D) gentrification

Question 30

The phenomenon that explains why rural places have a disproportionately higher number of older adults is called:

A) collective consumption
B) gentrification
C) aging in place
D) the aging of rural America

Question 31

According to the text, minorities move to the suburbs for the same reasons that other people do, such as to have better schools and less crime. According to the chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority, suburbanization:

A) is not about race but about social class
B) is about race because minorities are not welcomed
C) has been only for the upper-middle classes
D) is a significant factor in racial integration

Question 32

Which of the following best describes the migration of people within the United States during the decade between 2000 and 2010?

A) The Northeast and Midwest continued to see out-migration.
B) Migration to the South and West slowed, and there was a decrease in the population.
C) Only the Midwest actually gained residents.
D) The population of the Northeast declined by more than 300,000.

Question 33

Cities can be seen as a series of concentric circles, with the inner ring designated as the inner city and the outer rings as:

A) smaller neighborhoods
B) business districts
C) suburbs
D) conurbations

Question 34

Suburbanization in the United States was possible in part because of the:

A) emphasis on a pastoral lifestyle found in the countryside
B) availability of Federal Housing Assistance (FHA) loans
C) development of factories at the turn of the twentieth century
D) massive outflow of racial minorities leaving cities for better jobs

Question 35

According to David Harvey, industrial capitalism continually restructures space in its pursuit of profits. This process is not found in traditional cities because:

A) traditional cities did not have any industries at all
B) industries were originally found far from a city and only recently appeared within its boundaries
C) city and country boundaries were clearly defined in traditional cities but are blurred in modern cities
D) patterns of consumption in modern cities demand constant restructuring

Question 36

What makes cities such as New York and Tokyo where the coordination of global business activity takes place "global cities"?

A) They both have populations that exceed 100 million people.
B) They both provide contexts of production.
C) They both produce services and financial goods exclusively and no material goods at all.
D) They are home to highly diverse populations, many of whom are immigrants.

Question 37

The global city takes on a geography of "centrality and marginality," meaning that:

A) the globalization process is central, pushing cities to the margins of the economy
B) the space of the city is increasingly devoted to the needs of the wealthy and is made unlivable for the poor
C) affluent city dwellers flee the central city for its furthest margins
D) the poor "untouchables" transform the cityscape to serve their needs rather than those of the affluent

Question 38

The massive development and inhabitating of towns surrounding cities is a process known as:

A) suburbanization
B) metropolization
C) urbanization
D) gentrification

Question 39

Louis Wirth identified the "urban interaction problem" as the necessity for city dwellers to respect social boundaries when many people are in close proximity all the time. An example of this is:

A) joining a conversation on a city stoop
B) asking for survey participants on the sidewalk
C) talking on cell phones while in a busy park
D) making eye contact with the street vendors

Question 40

Most cities of the ancient world had an outer wall offering defense and separation and did this largely because:

A) the buildings at the core were religious and political
B) the central area was primarily a business district needing constant protection
C) the very poor were unprotected but the center protected the elite
D) religious temples were too large to be contained within this same walled center

Question 41

According to Manuel Castells, megacities are:

A) only economically and not physically larger than most cities
B) connection points between huge populations of people and the global economy
C) overwhelmingly populated by people who would be considered successful in the global economy
D) on the decline throughout the world

Question 42

Explain how demography fits within the discipline of sociology. Define one of the following (crude birthrates, fertility, infant mortality rate), and explain why it is considered an important measure for demographers.

Question 43

Sociologists debate whether a second demographic transition has begun in the most developed industrial countries. What is the second demographic transition, and what measures may indicate whether it is happening?

Question 44

________________ sociology tended to minimize or ignore the importance of human impact on the environment, whereas ___________ sociology studies interactions between humans and the natural environment.

A) Classical; environmental
B) Premodern; modern
C) Demographic; population
D) Rural; urban

Question 45

The process of more-affluent groups moving back into cities and renovating dilapidated buildings and neighborhoods is called:

A) conurbation
B) metropolization
C) urbanization
D) gentrification

Question 46

Gentrification often fails to foster dialogue between new white residents and former black residents because:

A) racism prevents people of different races from freely speaking with one another
B) the black families fled to the suburbs when the whites moved into their neighborhoods
C) a social class barrier divided the two groups
D) white families rented most of the homes to transients who did not live in the community long enough to establish relationships

Question 47

Which statement represents the human exceptionalism paradigm (HEP)?

A) Humans live within the web of nature, and our biophysical environment is not limitless.
B) Population growth is extremely rapid in the contemporary world and not completely predictable.
C) Science and technology are fueling a world of limitless opportunity and endless progress for humans.
D) Urbanization should be managed by human planners and governments.

Question 48

The job that most closely illustrates the informal economy is:

A) a secretary at a multinational paper manufacturing company
B) a housekeeper paid "under the table" (not reported for tax purposes) in suburban communities
C) a unionized garbage worker in the northeastern United States
D) a Walmart employee who strives for a better job but is unable to get one

Question 49

Although today sociologists tend to use the terms interchangeably, ghettos are areas where particular people are forced to live, whereas slums are:

A) worse than ghettos
B) areas populated by poor people
C) ethnically exclusive areas
D) dirty parts of a large city

Question 50

As global cities, what are two characteristics that New York, London, and Tokyo have in common? Use Saskia Sassen's theory as the basis for your answer. If you were to develop her theory, what is one additional characteristic of global cities that you would add?

Question 51

The term meaning "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" that originated from a report by the World Commission on Environment and Development is:

A) development
B) sustainable development
C) modernization
D) postmodernization

Question 52

The rapid increase in suburbanization in the United States occurred in the:

A) 1920s
B) 1930s and 1940s
C) 1950s and 1960s
D) 1980s

Question 53

The process of the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that acts like the glass on a greenhouse and causes the average temperature of the earth to rise is called:

A) global warming
B) depletion of the ozone layer
C) toxic waste
D) climate change

Question 54

How is the Anthropocene shown in this photograph? [img/]

A) It is implied, but not visible, as the healthy layers of earth far beneath the surface.
B) It is the geological age represented by primary geological influences being created by humans (trash).
C) The humans move with confidence, representing faith in science and technology to deal with the effects of large populations and problems such as trash.
D) The doll's face represents the Anthropocene as an age in which human influence fades into the background, and technology exerts independent influence on the environment.

Question 55

What is one element of the ecological approach to urban analysis (the Chicago School) that, in your view, is still useful today? What is one element of this approach that is no longer useful for the study of cities?

Question 56

According to the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the planet's temperature is rapidly rising. The panel pointed out that the past 11 of 12 years have been the warmest on record. The cause of this warming is considered to be:

A) geologic trends that have been occurring since the origin of geologic time
B) human activity, such as human-caused greenhouse gas emissions
C) the shrinking of the polar ice caps
D) the increase in hurricane activity in the North Atlantic

Question 57

According to sociologists, Hurricane Katrina disproportionately affected poor black people in New Orleans because of ghettoized poverty, itself the consequence of:

A) an unwillingness of the political leadership to try to save the most impoverished after struggling to save the lower-middle class and middle-class residents
B) a lack of education for the poor, preventing them from following instructions
C) a surplus of resources for the poor that had been squandered
D) a scarcity of resources for poor people

Question 58

Given past and recent rates of exploding population growth, what is the most widely accepted official prediction for the global population in 2050?

A) 9-10 billion
B) 14-15 billion
C) 19-20 billion
D) 24-25 billion

Question 59

Which of the following statements would most likely come from a Malthusian supporter?

A) To control population growth, poorer countries need to provide their people better access to family planning.
B) Populations will increase during times of famine because people will seek solace with their loved ones.
C) Artificial food production will facilitate population growth.
D) To control population growth, the earth's resources will need to be increased to accommodate a growing population.

Question 60

The belief that population growth tends to outstrip expansion of food production, leading to natural curbs on the population such as famine and war, is called:

A) Malthusianism
B) the limit to growth
C) the population bomb
D) apocalyptical

Question 61

Compare and contrast the "human exceptionalism paradigm" (HEP) with the "new ecological paradigm" (NEP). Do you believe there is a need for a new ecological paradigm? Why or why not?

Question 62

Do you think Anthropocene is a useful term for a geological period? Why or why not?

Question 63

What are some of the key challenges facing rural America? Why, despite these challenges, do many rural sociologists remain optimistic about the future of rural life?

Question 64

How, at the level of theory, do urban sociologists today view cities? Describe one key contribution from each theorist: David Harvey, Manuel Castells, and Saskia Sassen.

Question 65

Make an argument that the most developed industrial countries have or have not entered a fourth stage of demographic transition (called the second demographic transition). Your answer should reflect an understanding of all four stages.

Question 66

Make a prediction regarding the future of urbanization in the global south. Justify your prediction with analysis of economic challenges, environmental challenges, and social challenges.

Question 67

Manuel Castells refers to megacities as one of the main features of third-millennium urbanization. In addition to their massive population, what is a key characteristic of a megacity?

Question 68

Explain the argument between the Malthusians and those contrary to Malthus. What is the key issue at stake? How do the two sides predict the future differently?

Question 69

The environment is the subject of biological and environmental sciences. In what ways is the environment a sociological issue? Describe two specific ways.