Deck 1: Exploring the City

Question 1

The area of study in which urbanists try to understand why people disperse within cities the way they do is called

A) urban geography.
B) urban ecology.
C) social psychology.
D) social demography.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What city did Richard Henry Dana allude to in his classic Two Years Before the Mast?

A) New York
B) Pittsburgh
C) Boston
D) San Francisco

Answer 2

D

Question 3

While only 9% of the world's population lived in cities in 1900, approximately what percent will be city dwellers in 2050 if present trends continue?

A) 33%
B) 66%
C) 88%
D) 99%

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Early scholars of urbanization portrayed the city as

A) a place of unlimited opportunity.
B) a dangerous place where community and family were threatened.
C) a place where both opportunity and danger coexisted.
D) the main cause of industrialization.

Question 5

Cities have been the dominant type of human settlement since 2000 B.C.E.

Question 6

Cities are growing the fastest in the developing world. What is one negative consequence of this?

A) Urbanization is becoming less effective.
B) Poverty and disease from urbanization
C) Capitalism's growth within urbanization
D) Urbanization has increased access to health care.

Question 7

The "anatomy" of modern North American cities has been characterized by declining population growth.Which of the following regions best illustrate this phenomenon?

A) Sunbelt region
B) Midwest
C) New England
D) Northwest

Question 8

When did early sociologists begin to turn their attentions to cities?

A) The late 17th century
B) The mid-18thcentury
C) The late 19th century
D) The mid-20th century

Question 9

Early sociologists were pessimistic about the study of cities because city life was considered dangerous. More contemporary studies have shown this to be based on

A) economic conditions.
B) political unrest.
C) false evidence.
D) hard science.

Question 10

The Industrial Revolution was seen by the first urban sociologists as an important factor influencing the character of urban life, and contributed to their relatively pessimistic evaluation of cities. Today, however, cities are viewed more neutrally.

Question 11

Through emerging social structures, urban living is shaped by

A) transportation and public utilities.
B) wealth and power disparities.
C) individual choice and freedom.
D) racial and ethnic identities.

Question 12

Cities are inextricably connected to the larger societies of which they are a part, and have been the economic, political, and artistic core of various civilizations.

Question 13

Quality of urban life is indicated, in part, by

A) lack of material wealth.
B) degree of safety and security.
C) presence of cultural capital.
D) access to leisure activities.

Question 14

San Francisco, once known as Yerba Buena ("good herbs"), has always been an easygoing city.

Question 15

Reactions to cities are highly personal and based in various social psychological perspectives.

Question 16

Demographers suggest that the growth of exurban regions far beyond the urbancoreresults from

A) the desire of many people to live a simpler life.
B) a disdain for suburban life.
C) a breakdown of the traditional family unit.
D) the exodus of business and industry from central cities.

Question 17

Although the human species has existed on Earth for at least 200,000 years, cities began to appear how many years ago?

A) 50,000
B) 25,000
C) 10,000
D) 5,000

Question 18

The area of study in which urbanists try to understand why cities are located in particular places is called

A) urban geography.
B) urban ecology.
C) social psychology.
D) social demography.

Question 19

Aristotle suggested people come to the city for security and remain to pursue "the good life."

Question 20

According to Macionis and Parrillo, the most important consequence of decliningpopulation growth in central cities for the people who remain is

A) less opportunity to build a sense of community.
B) less choice in consumption as a result of industry flight.
C) more free space.
D) less federal funding and political representation.

Question 21

About 30 cities in the United States have more than 1 million residents.

Question 22

The economic function of medieval cities is greater than that of contemporary cities.

Question 23

Although people come to the city hoping to find "the good life," many do not find it.

Question 24

An important aspect of a city's social structure is the racial, ethnic, and gender character of its economic and political disparity.

Question 25

All advocates of the critical urban theory perspective are Marxists.

Question 26

Invasion and succession is a well-documented ecological process by which whole sections of a city change.

Question 27

While Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East are experiencing higher levels of urbanization, North America, Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Asia are experiencing much lower rates.

Question 28

The relatively recent decline in urban population growth is primarily a result of an aging population desiring more comfortable living arrangements and business and industry flight from central cities.

Question 29

Strong, community-oriented neighborhoods have weakened in recent decades, and some areas have disappeared altogether.

Question 30

Because cities concentrate everything human into a relatively small space, they intensify the effects of class, ethnicity, gender, and race.

Question 31

While the study of the economics of land use within cities was dominated until the 1960s by an ecological model emphasizing internal competition among residents, many urbanists today embrace the critical urban theory perspective, which highlights the influence of external political forces.

Question 32

Los Angeles is the largest city in the United States.

Question 33

A focus on the potential material benefits of city life alone is justified given that the majority of people residing in cities experience safety, security, and community.

Question 34

The world's cities are growing by approximately 360,000 people each year.