Deck 15: Urbanization, Population, and the Environment

Question 1

Rural areas in the United States have seen their populations decline because of:

A) low poverty rates.
B) growth in farming industries.
C) too many government services.
D) lack of opportunities for young people.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to the ecological approach, the development of urban areas can be understood as similar to:

A) the natural world.
B) the solar system.
C) rural development.
D) a machine.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to William Julius Wilson, the growth of an urban underclass is largely due to:

A) whites leaving urban areas for the suburbs.
B) blue-collar manufacturing industries moving out of urban areas.
C) lower educational levels among urban minorities.
D) a decline of the information economy.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Britain was the first country to undergo industrialization, which generated ________, the movement of population from the countryside into towns and cities.

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

Question 5

Sandra lives in the heart of a large city. Lately, there have been robberies on several of the streets near where Sandra lives but none on her street. Sandra and her neighbors believe that they have not seen any crime on their street because they know each other, notice when strangers or strange cars are in the neighborhood, and have a mix of old retired couples and young families who use the neighborhood at different times of the day. Jane Jacobs would see this as an example of:

A) gentrification.
B) nosy neighbors.
C) inner-city life.
D) eyes and ears on the street.

Question 6

Several distinct central cities and counties, including Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, and San Bernardino, merge together to form the Greater Los Angeles Area, which is an unbroken urban environment known as:

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

Question 7

Although more racial and ethnic minorities are moving to the suburbs, the suburbs remain largely white. Only ________ of the suburban population was nonwhite in 2010.

A) 35 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 10 percent
D) 5 percent

Question 8

When Jorge first moved to Chicago from his small, rural town in California, he found it hard to meet new people. Back home in his small town, people often said hello to each other on the street, and he knew the name of most of the people who lived in his town. However, in Chicago people rarely made eye contact with him on the street. According to Louis Wirth, Jorge was experiencing:

A) the rudeness of urban people.
B) the urban interaction problem.
C) rural isolationism.
D) the racism of urban life.

Question 9

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Waukee, an area located outside Iowa's capital city of Des Moines, is 98.17 percent white. If suburbs are increasingly becoming "majority minority," what explains Waukee's demographics?

A) Waukee has a white mayor, which makes it less welcoming to residents of color.
B) Waukee is an exurb, not a suburb, so it is one of the few places that remain majority white.
C) Suburbs in the Midwest are generally exempt from the "majority minority" pattern.
D) Waukee has a lower average income compared to surrounding areas.

Question 10

According to sociologists who use ________, cities tend to develop in response to advantageous features of the environment. For example, cities develop on the shores of rivers, on fertile plains, and at the intersections of trading routes.

A) the collective-consumption theory of urban development
B) gentrification analysis
C) the created-environment approach to urban analysis
D) the ecological approach to urban analysis

Question 11

Manuel Castells emphasized ________, such as the gay community in San Francisco, as an important factor in urban development.

A) model minorities
B) privileged groups
C) revolutionary groups
D) underprivileged groups

Question 12

In most ancient cities:

A) the elite and ruling class generally lived in the city center.
B) the outer area was primarily a religious and political district.
C) an inner wall offered military defense.
D) there was little separation from the countryside.

Question 13

The Chicago School focused on cities as ________; however, most contemporary theory and research in urban sociology focus on cities as ________.

A) natural formations; created environments
B) places of conflict; places of cooperation
C) social constructions; created environments
D) dangerous; safe

Question 14

With the support of government programs, the rapid increase of suburbanization in the United States occurred in the:

A) 1950s and 1960s.
B) 1930s and 1940s.
C) 1920s and 1930s.
D) 1980s and 1990s.

Question 15

Urban ecology emphasizes the ________ of city areas, whereby the specialized groups on which people depend are located in the city centers.

A) segregation
B) independence
C) interdependence
D) division

Question 16

Most of the people leaving rural areas represent:

A) the younger population.
B) the older population.
C) the uneducated population.
D) the nonwhite population.

Question 17

According to David Harvey, cities as well as suburbs can be understood as ________ humans established to serve their needs.

A) created environments
B) evolutionary spaces
C) urban ecology
D) collective communization sites

Question 18

According to David Harvey and Manuel Castells, the most important factors that affect cities are:

A) natural growth and development.
B) ecological processes.
C) government decisions and social movements.
D) size and shape.

Question 19

Sociologists refer to a "city of cities" as:

A) a mega-urbation.
B) a metropolis.
C) a megalopolis.
D) urbanization.

Question 20

Suburbanization is:

A) the development of state-subsidized housing.
B) the movement of nonwhite populations outside the city.
C) the redevelopment of housing in the inner city.
D) the massive development and inhabitation of towns surrounding cities.

Question 21

The number of children women are biologically able to produce is known as:

A) the crude birth rate.
B) fertility.
C) fecundity.
D) the crude fertility rate.

Question 22

What is meant by a geography of centrality and marginality in global cities?

A) Enormous affluence and acute poverty reside side by side with minimal interaction.
B) Central business districts reside in global cities.
C) There are central zones and zones that are deemed marginal.
D) Some global cities are central to the global economy, and others are marginal.

Question 23

Demographers study population patterns. If a demographer were going to study the population changes in a country such as China, which of the following would he or she examine?

A) political party affiliation
B) deaths
C) job growth
D) pollution

Question 24

Places such as New York and Tokyo are called ________ because they are the organizing centers of the new global economy.

A) conurbations
B) global cities
C) megalomania
D) urban ghettos

Question 25

Urban growth in less-developed countries is high because of higher birth rates as well as:

A) high crime in rural areas.
B) high rates of internal migration.
C) high rates of migration from other countries.
D) idealization of American life.

Question 26

Karachi-the largest city in Pakistan, with a population of sixteen million people-began to run out of water. What does this example best demonstrate?

A) Housing is one of the most acute problems in urban areas.
B) Urban populations are growing exponentially.
C) Unbalanced age distribution in less-industrialized areas adds to economic difficulties.
D) Global climate change, in combination with urbanization, can have deadly consequences.

Question 27

The inner cities in the United States have decayed in the past fifty years. What reasons do sociologists give for this decay?

A) Businesses, jobs, and middle-class residents have moved to the inner city.
B) Manufacturing industries have disappeared and taken away many of the blue-collar jobs for which lower-class residents were qualified.
C) Segregation has significantly decreased.
D) There is a lack of public transportation to the businesses and jobs in the inner city.

Question 28

In the 1980s, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was a predominantly Latino and black area of New York City, but since the mid-1990s, landlords have pushed out tenants, renovated buildings, and rented out units for dramatically higher prices. This process is called:

A) conurbation.
B) metropolization.
C) gentrification or urban renewal.
D) urbanization.

Question 29

Which of the following countries has a higher crude birth rate than the United States?

A) Russia
B) India
C) Germany
D) Italy

Question 30

Mike Davis noted what he calls a "conscious hardening of the city surface against the poor" in his study of Los Angeles. Examples of this process are:

A) freeways.
B) large public parks.
C) short benches at bus stops.
D) homeless shelters.

Question 31

Both urban and suburban neighborhoods are highly:

A) populated by whites and blacks, whereas Latinos live in rural areas.
B) racially integrated.
C) segregated by race.
D) populated by nonwhites, whereas rural areas are mostly white.

Question 32

Jonah grew up in a neighborhood with poor schools, few businesses, and many run-down and abandoned buildings. However, in the past few years, the city has renovated many buildings, and tax breaks are encouraging new businesses to move into the city. This process is called:

A) conurbation.
B) urban renewal or gentrification.
C) suburbanization.
D) urbanization.

Question 33

Which of the following jobs most closely illustrates the informal economy?

A) a used-book vendor on the streets of New York City
B) a secretary at a multinational paper manufacturer based in Los Angeles
C) a sociology professor in Detroit
D) unionized garbage workers in the northeastern United States

Question 34

The decline in jobs in the manufacturing industries in the urban United States corresponded to an increase in jobs in:

A) the low-skill service industry.
B) the white-collar service industry.
C) the blue-collar skilled sector, such as plumbing.
D) academic teaching jobs.

Question 35

In October 2011, the world population reached:

A) seven billion.
B) two billion.
C) nine million
D) four billion.

Question 36

Which of the following researchers could we categorize as a demographer?

A) Han Rosling, who has written about Africa's dramatic population increase
B) Arthur G. Tansley, who coined the term ecosystem
C) Edward Soja, who writes about economy and space
D) bell hooks, who writes about race, gender, and sexuality

Question 37

In 2014, Afghanistan had thirty-four live births per one thousand people. This number is known as:

A) crude death rate.
B) fertility.
C) fecundity.
D) crude birth rate.

Question 38

In Mexico City, nearly 95 percent of the land has buildings on it. Based on what you read about urbanism, this is likely one of the characteristics that makes Mexico City:

A) one of the most polluted cities in the world.
B) one of the strongest economic centers.
C) one of the most sustainable cities in the world.
D) one of the cheapest places to live in the world.

Question 39

Fertility rates are often much lower than fecundity rates because:

A) social and cultural practices limit the number of children women have.
B) modern fertility technology is not as advanced as it should be.
C) women are more likely to be sterile today because of environmental pollution.
D) women are pressured to have more children than they desire.

Question 40

In 2014, women of childbearing age in Afghanistan had an average of 4.8 live-born children. This number is known as:

A) the crude birth rate.
B) fertility.
C) fecundity.
D) the crude fertility rate.

Question 41

Thomas Malthus was one of the original writers to show concern for population growth. Demographers, economists, politicians, sociologists, and others have continued to debate his ideas for more than two hundred years, but many do not share his concern for the natural limits to population growth. Which of the following challenged Malthus's predictions?

A) increases in food production due to new technologies such as machinery and genetics
B) increases in the rate of population growth in developed countries
C) worries about population growth in countries such as the United States
D) using up all the earth's natural resources

Question 42

David Biello, curator of science for TED Talks, recently told the New York Times that humans' impact on the earth is "deep and pervasive, and probably permanent." Based on what you read in the textbook, which concept does Biello's statement best exemplify?

A) conurbation
B) anthropocene
C) mortality
D) fecundity

Question 43

According to demographic transition theory, in which stage do birth rates and death rates remain high?

A) Stage 1 (preindustrial, traditional)
B) Stage 2 (partial industrialization)
C) Stage 3 (full industrialization)
D) Stage 4 (postindustrial)

Question 44

Natasha's organization helps companies design projects that will generate profit but also have minimal impact on the environment. Their focus is on recycling physical resources and keeping pollution to a minimum. Her company focuses on:

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

Question 45

In 2015, eighty-seven babies per one thousand died before reaching one year of age. This figure is called the:

A) infant mortality rate.
B) fertility-death ratio.
C) fecundity.
D) crude death rate.

Question 46

Why is rural America on the decline? In a short paragraph, explain at least one problem facing rural America today.

Question 47

In a short paragraph, assess the ways in which globalization has affected the process of urbanization in societies.

Question 48

Developed countries that have already undergone the demographic transition are going to experience a growth in the number of older people relative to younger people. This is called the:

A) generation ratio.
B) dependent-worker ratio.
C) birth-death ratio.
D) dependency ratio.

Question 49

Malthusianism is the belief that population growth tends to outstrip expansion of food production and that population growth can only be controlled by:

A) natural curbs on population, such as famine and war.
B) birth control methods, such as contraceptive pills.
C) advances in medical technology.
D) government policies that limit how many children women can have.

Question 50

The number of deaths per one thousand people per year is known as crude death rate or:

A) the rate of population decline.
B) mortality rate.
C) anti-fertility.
D) anti-fecundity.

Question 51

Countries whose populations have access to good healthcare and adequate nutrition generally have populations with:

A) longer life expectancies.
B) higher rates of fertility.
C) higher rates of fecundity.
D) higher rates of mortality.

Question 52

The increase in life expectancy has been most significantly influenced by:

A) crude longevity.
B) declining fertility rates.
C) increased fecundity.
D) declining infant death rates.

Question 53

Why is gentrification considered an urban problem? In three to five sentences, explain what happens to residents of a neighborhood when it goes through the process of gentrification.

Question 54

In a short paragraph, use China as an example to explain some of the issues that countries face today regarding population growth, economic growth, and environmental issues. How are these issues intertwined?

Question 55

The formula used to calculate the time it takes a population to double is 70 divided by:

A) crude birth rate.
B) current rate of growth.
C) fertility rate.
D) crude death rate.

Question 56

In your opinion, which strand of urban studies developed by the Chicago School-urban ecology or urbanism-is more convincing to you, and why? Explain your answer in three to five sentences.

Question 57

Reducing population growth around the world faces which of the following challenges?

A) Few people still see a large family as desirable.
B) Some religions still forbid the use of contraception.
C) Contraception is widely available around the world.
D) Some populations are genetically predisposed to higher birth rates.

Question 58

In a short paragraph, describe the process of suburbanization as it has occurred in the United States, and explain the role of the U.S. government in shaping the process and the outcomes of suburbanization.

Question 59

In 2016, scientists warned that the world's giraffe population dropped 40 percent over the past thirty years and is threatened with extinction. Based on what you read in the textbook, how would contemporary sociologists most likely understand this phenomenon?

A) They would take the human domination of nature for granted.
B) They would attempt to understand how humans are not exempt from the "web of nature."
C) They would ignore the problem since it concerns animals, not humans.
D) They would use the "human exceptionalism paradigm" to find a solution.

Question 60

Population growth rates are:

A) usually negative.
B) exponential.
C) linear.
D) rational.

Question 61

According to one popular website, Global Footprint, seven planets would be required for all people on earth to somehow achieve the standard of living of the average American. Given that we only have one planet, what do you think will be required to make the transition from current processes of environmental degradation to sustainable development? Explain your answer in three to five sentences.

Question 62

Demographic transition and Malthusianism are two theories of population change. In a short paragraph, describe which you think best explains the issues of population growth today and why.

Question 63

Outline Saskia Sassen's concept of the global city. Which of the four key traits of these urban centers seems most significant to understanding urban life, and why?

Question 64

In a short paragraph, explain why developing countries are experiencing urbanization at such a rapid pace.