Deck 22: Urbanization and Sustainable Cities

Question 1

Historically, ________ of the world's population has always lived in _______, at least since the beginning of written history.

A) At least half; urban areas
B) At least half; rural communities
C) The vast majority; urban areas
D) The vast majority; rural communities
E) A small percentage; rural communities

Answer 1

The vast majority; rural communities

Question 2

_______ of urban residents in developing countries have satisfactory sanitation services.

A) Nearly all
B) 70-80 percent
C) Less than half
D) Less than 10 percent

Answer 2

Less than half

Question 3

The American idea of a dream home in the suburbs and a car in the garage is a result of

A) advertising.
B) government policies.
C) concerns for the environment.
D) advertising and government policies.

Answer 3

advertising and government policies.

Question 4

Smart growth is a term that is applied to

A) growth that generates the most tax revenue for new infrastructure.
B) development strategies that make efficient use of resources.
C) efforts to stop development and urban growth.

Question 5

Urban planners suggest that it takes a population of about _____ to obtain the advantages of a city but still retain the sense of community.

A) 500 to 1000
B) 2500 to 5000
C) 30,000 to 50,000
D) 90,000 to 100,000

Question 6

Many American cities are rebuilding public transportation systems that were abandoned in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Question 7

It is estimated that 3 billion people live in slums, shantytowns, and squatter settlements of the developing world's cities.

Question 8

Over a third of the surface area of many large downtown areas like Los Angeles' are utilized for automobiles.

Question 9

Cities in many developing nations have a disproportionately high share of their nation's wealth.

Question 10

The vast majority of the growth in human population in this century is expected to take place in

A) rural Africa and Asia.
B) rural Asia and South America.
C) current large urban areas of the developing nations.

Question 11

Examples of smart growth, such as garden cities, have only been tried during the past 30 years.

Question 12

In rural areas, the majority of people

A) Are involved in harvesting natural resources
B) Work in trade and manufacturing
C) Are economically dependent on cities
D) Work in goods exchange
E) Work in information exchange

Question 13

The experience of Los Angeles suggests that in large growing cities additional freeway construction

A) has worsened traffic congestion.
B) has reduced time drivers spend in traffic jams.
C) has increased average freeway speed.
D) More than one of these choices are correct

Question 14

Cities with populations greater than 10 million people

A) do not exist in the developed world.
B) are referred to as megacities.
C) do not exist in the developed world and are referred to as megacities.

Question 15

Urbanization is a process of increased concentration of people in cities.

Question 16

Which of the following U.S. cities is considered a good example of successful urban land use planning?

A) Atlanta, GA
B) Las Vegas, NV
C) Los Angeles, CA
D) Portland, OR

Question 17

Most residents of the German city of Vauban do not own a car for all of the following reasons except

A) automobile ownership is prohibited by local restrictions.
B) shopping, schools, and work places are within walking distance.
C) trolley service provides transportation to the nearest large city.
D) narrow row houses put everything close together.

Question 18

Migration is the primary cause of urban growth in

A) Africa.
B) South America.
C) East Asia.
D) all the world's urban areas.

Question 19

Urbanization began to grow especially quickly after the

A) Development of agriculture
B) Beginning of the twentieth century
C) Invention of commerce and religion
D) Industrial revolution
E) Invention of record keeping

Question 20

The proportion of people living in urban areas in the last 30 years has increased in

A) North America, South America, and Asia.
B) all continents.
C) all continents but Africa.
D) all continents but Europe and Africa.

Question 21

Which of the following is a push factor for urban growth?

A) Jobs in rural manufacturing
B) Unemployment in farming communities
C) Better access to education at big universities
D) High unemployment in cities
E) Opportunities for specialization in an occupation

Question 22

Televisions and other mass media contribute to urban growth because

A) People must move close to town to get TV reception
B) There are so many jobs in media
C) TV is used to advertise about labor shortages
D) TV makes urban life appear luxurious and accessible
E) TV educates people about the drawbacks of living in rural areas

Question 23

Natural increase factors in urban growth result from __________ while immigration results from ___________.

A) Improved medical care; better sanitation
B) Better sanitation; improved medical care
C) Improved medical care; push and pull factors
D) Push and pull factors; improved medical care
E) Push and pull factors; better sanitation

Question 24

The current urbanization experience of many developing countries is similar to the United States' __________ that occurred in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

A) Demographic rural shift
B) Demographic transformation
C) Rural-to-urban shift
D) Urban-to-rural shift
E) Demographic transition

Question 25

Curitiba, Brazil is famous for its

A) Successful mass transit program
B) Zero population growth program
C) Particularly disastrous rainforest destruction
D) Complete environmental breakdown due to uncontrolled industry
E) Revitalized city nightlife

Question 26

Cities are distinguished by their

A) Sheer size
B) Differentiated, specialized jobs and functions
C) Large groups of interdependent households
D) Strong traditions and cultural character
E) Dependence on natural resource-based occupations

Question 27

When compared to less-developed countries, shantytowns are _________ found in more developed countries due to the ____________.

A) Not; lack of poverty
B) Also; same conditions of poverty and lack of infrastructure
C) Not; high levels of public support for a nation's poor
D) Also; lack of initiative among poorer people
E) Not; strict land use codes

Question 28

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Even crowded, squalid living conditions in expanding Third World cities are sometimes better than what people have in the countryside
B) When governments set commodity prices to make urban life easier, rural populations often suffer, leading to further migration to cities
C) Agricultural mechanization is a major pull factor in urbanization of developing countries
D) Political instability can play a major role in urban growth
E) All of these are true

Question 29

A city with a population greater than ______ is considered a megacity.

A) 1 million
B) 200 thousand
C) 10 million
D) 30 million
E) 1 billion

Question 30

Natural increase is an especially important factor in urban areas of

A) Latin America and Asia
B) The United States
C) Europe
D) The former Soviet region
E) Africa

Question 31

When you first met your roommate, she said she missed the connectedness of the people in the area where she lived. Your roommate probably lived in a(n)

A) City
B) Urban area
C) Suburb
D) Urban farm
E) Rural village

Question 32

An example of a megacity is

A) Mexico City, Mexico
B) Los Angeles, USA
C) Tokyo, Japan
D) Delhi, India
E) All of these

Question 33

Slums are usually dwelling places that are

A) Illegal and built by squatters
B) Legal but have inadequate living conditions
C) Small but up to city code
D) Condemned by the city but illegally occupied
E) On undeveloped lands in the outskirts of a city

Question 34

A collection of rural households linked by custom, culture, or family is known as a(n)

A) City
B) Urban area
C) Megacity
D) Urban farm
E) Rural village

Question 35

Which of the following is a pull factor for urban growth?

A) Jobs in rural manufacturing
B) Unemployment in farming communities
C) Better access to education at big universities
D) High unemployment in cities
E) None of these is a pull factor for urban growth

Question 36

The diseases that are caused by water pollution in the major cities of developing countries are mainly due to the

A) Lack of waste treatment systems to accommodate the population
B) High amount of runoff that includes pesticides, fertilizers, and animal waste
C) High number of industries that dump their wastes into surface water
D) Practice of swimming in water contaminated by toxic chemicals
E) High use of pesticides and fertilizers by urban residents

Question 37

The most useful definition of a city, rural area or village is based on

A) The land uses involved
B) Functions
C) The geographical area
D) The size of the land used
E) The size of the population

Question 38

Air pollution in major cities of developing countries is

A) Usually negligible
B) Responsible for extremely high rates of respiratory diseases
C) Rapidly becoming less of a problem
D) Not well understood
E) Decreasing because of the use of scrubbers and other technologies

Question 39

Squatter towns are often dangerous places to live because the land they are on is commonly

A) Unstable, polluted, or near industrial sites
B) Owned by powerful political figures
C) In the densest parts of the city
D) Close to new building construction zones
E) Close to major highways

Question 40

The principal difference between shantytowns and slums is that shantytowns are

A) Maintained by the city
B) Built by the city but condemned
C) Illegal and built by residents
D) Legal but below code
E) Built on land that the residents own

Question 41

Describe three push and three pull factors that have influenced the demographic shift from rural areas to urban areas (2 points for each accurately identified factor).

Question 42

China represents the largest demographic shift in human history.

Question 43

Suburbs are known for

A) Uniform, single family detached houses
B) Affordable housing for minorities
C) Presence of artistic and cultural opportunities
D) Creating a sense of community and identity
E) Independence from an automobile

Question 44

"New towns" are designed to

A) Accommodate the reliance most people have on the automobile
B) Improve the efficiency of industrial areas in urban centers
C) Separate income classes to prevent crime
D) Incorporate open space with the convenience of living in an urban area
E) Urbanize rural communities

Question 45

Consider the following statement: A city is like an ecosystem.

Question 46

Approximately two thirds of the population in developing world cities don't have access to safe drinking water.

Question 47

The best solution to ease traffic congestion and reduce air pollution is

A) Build more freeways
B) Produce more fuel-efficient vehicles
C) Develop a successful mass transit system
D) Build more airports
E) All of these

Question 48

Conservation development involves preserving at least one half of a subdivision as open space.

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT a goal for smart growth?

A) Create a positive self-image for the community
B) Make the downtown area vital and livable
C) Each resident is responsible for growing his/her own food
D) Improve communications
E) Improve community access to the arts

Question 50

The Altgeld Gardens on Chicago's South Side is an excellent example of the cleanup

A) And use of brownfields
B) Of a shantytown
C) And elimination of a squatter town
D) And elimination of a shantytown
E) That results from laws and regulations

Question 51

Texas colonias are examples of

A) Urban redesign projects in the United States
B) Shantytowns in the United States
C) Rural ghost towns resulting from rapid migration to cities
D) Sustainable projects in the United States to help urban people help themselves
E) Public housing projects built in the past

Question 52

Nearly half of the world's population currently lives in cities.

Question 53

Traditional suburban development does not

A) Consist of only house lots and streets
B) Typically consist of identical parcels of land without open space
C) Facilitate social interactions among neighbors
D) Consume agricultural land and wildlife habitat
E) All of these are characteristics of traditional suburban development

Question 54

What is the fastest growing metropolitan region in the United States?

A) Atlanta, Georgia
B) Houston, Texas
C) Seattle, Washington
D) Albuquerque, New Mexico
E) Las Vegas, Nevada

Question 55

One of the most important things influencing land use is the

A) Building of mass transit systems
B) Original zoning in a city
C) Siting of cities
D) Siting of industry
E) Building of freeways

Question 56

In many U.S. cities, poor, undereducated, minority and other less powerful groups are often concentrated

A) In urban centers
B) At city margins
C) Outside of the city entirely
D) In a ring of satellite settlements around a city
E) None of these; usually the poor, undereducated, minority and other less powerful groups are distributed throughout the area

Question 57

Urban sprawl can be loosely defined as the multiple large high rises that make up the core of a city.

Question 58

Which of the following U.S. cities is the best example of smart growth?

A) Miami, FL
B) Portland, OR
C) Las Vegas, NV
D) New York, NY
E) Denver, CO