Deck 22: Urbanization and Sustainable Cities

Question 1

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

Answer 1

Rural village

Question 2

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

Answer 2

Agricultural mechanization is a major pull factor in urbanization of developing countries

Question 3

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

Answer 3

10 million

Question 4

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 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

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 11

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 12

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 13

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

Question 14

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 15

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 16

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 17

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 18

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 19

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 20

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 21

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 22

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

Question 23

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 24

China represents the largest demographic shift in human history.

Question 25

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 26

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 27

"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 28

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 29

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 30

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 31

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

Question 32

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 33

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 34

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

Question 35

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

Question 36

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 37

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 38

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

Question 39

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 40

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 41

Consider the following statement: A city is like an ecosystem.
Discuss why you agree or disagree with this statement and provide supporting evidence in your explanation (use the relationships discussed in chapters 2 and 3 to compare and/or contrast cities and ecosystems).