Deck 7: The Context of Cities

Question 1

Which of the following areas contains the highest concentrations of poverty?

A) Central cities
B) Suburban areas
C) Nonmetropolitan areas
D) Rural areas

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The world-system perspective

A) suggests capitalism exists only in Western countries.
B) supports the idea that soon all cities will be part of the "core."
C) links changes in cities to the development of a global economy.
D) suggests that cities in poor countries benefit greatly from globalization.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Because the government owns most of the urban land and uses it for fire, police, government buildings, parks, and roads, as well as holds zoning and tax violation rights over the rest, the government applies over urban land.

A) space theory
B) social control
C) capitalist hold
D) socialist pull

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The fact that many industries absorbed their competitors and formed oligopolies

A) illustrates horizontal integration.
B) illustrates vertical disintegration.
C) contributed to the dismantling of agglomeration economies.
D) is a phenomenon that began only in the late 1970s.

Question 5

Which of the following statements describes "welfare capitalism"?

A) It is a market system in which the government provides workers with subsidies.
B) It exists when private corporations administer welfare programs.
C) It eliminates the conflicts between the working class and the different levels of government.
D) It decides which workers and which administrators receive higher rates of pay.

Question 6

In Lefebvre's theory, "abstract space"

A) is the same as "social space."
B) is the type of space considered by government and businesses.
C) is the most important type of space.
D) is not connected to economic activity.

Question 7

According to Logan and Molotch, urban growth coalitions

A) are formed by local residents.
B) emphasize the need to create a social space view.
C) were created to fight environmental degradation in cities.
D) focus on ways to increase profits and economic activities.

Question 8

Claiming that space is used to construct our surroundings to meet particular needs and objectives, which then affects our behavior, is to say that space is

A) a key part of social life.
B) not socialized by individuals.
C) related to personal politics.
D) declining in significance.

Question 9

Henri Lefebvre

A) argued that urban development is a product of the capitalist economic system.
B) emphasized the role of the primary circuit of capital.
C) argued that investment in real estate guarantees successful urban growth.
D) suggested that individual forces determine urban development.

Question 10

When city residents fight to protect the character of their neighborhood, including preserving older buildings, limiting traffic flow, and maintaining parks and other open spaces, they are making a case for

A) urban growth.
B) Sunbelt growth.
C) social space.
D) social limits.

Question 11

Which of the following best illustrates an urban area as a theme park?

A) Disney's Main Street
B) BosWash
C) Cedar Point, Ohio
D) New York's Coney Island

Question 12

According to the "new urbanists,"

A) the distribution of wealth and power are important determinants for cities.
B) geography and regional affiliation are the main factors shaping urban life.
C) cities tend to evolve on their own as a natural progression.
D) the growth of a city is determined by the number of large corporations invested.

Question 13

The "new urban sociology"

A) promotes new theoretical ideas.
B) draws on Marxism.
C) is rooted in urban ecology.
D) emerged in the late 1950s.

Question 14

Which of the following best describes David Harvey's research?

A) It suggests that urban growth occurs evenly.
B) It is based on Lefebvre's ideas about the second circuit of capital.
C) It focuses on Chicago.
D) It ignores the role of government.

Question 15

According to David Harvey,

A) real estate investment takes place in a free market.
B) governments shape a city's use of space.
C) all neighborhoods are characterized by similar real estate buying and selling patterns.
D) capitalists and government agencies are opposed to each other.

Question 16

While his approach was drawn from previous research, is credited with the application of the critical perspective to studying the city.

A) Karl Marx
B) Friedrich Engels
C) Henri Lefebvre
D) Adam Scott

Question 17

Which of the following statements describes Castells's concept of the mode of development?

A) It is based on Simmel's concept of mode of production.
B) It can be used to understand industrial growth in suburbs.
C) It emphasizes today's need to discover and apply new sources of energy.
D) It is formed using the best theories presented by Marx and Engels.

Question 18

The structural context of the last decade includes all but which of the following?

A) A decline in industrial jobs
B) An increase in manufacturing jobs
C) A movement of people from cities to suburbs
D) Increasing financial problems in many cities

Question 19

In a capitalist system, the main flow of money is from investors into materials and labor costs. These sales generate profits for still more manufacturing ventures. This is related to the

A) primary circuit of capital.
B) second circuit of capital.
C) additional circuit of capital.
D) socialist circuit of capital.

Question 20

Apply the goals of the U.S. economic system to the following statements and determine which describes economic restructuring.

A) A decline in employment opportunities for manufacturing jobs
B) A rise in entry-level jobs aimed at lower-skilled workers
C) A rising skills match between low and highly trained employees
D) A growing rate of high-level positions for skilled workers

Question 21

Manuel Castells never maintained a Marxist approach toward the study of cities.

Question 22

Governments focus on social space while businesses focus on abstract space.

Question 23

Michael Sorkin and Mark Gottdiener point out that private themed environments are benign imitations.

Question 24

The purpose of welfare capitalism is for the government to provide subsidies to workers.

Question 25

Core cities in the United Nations Development Program include Calcutta, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City, and Cairo.

Question 26

In comparison with Karl Marx, Manuel Castells maintained a less orthodox approach to the study of cities.

Question 27

Economic restructuring is linked to a rapid growth in manufacturing.

Question 28

Local economies can impact national economies.

Question 29

World system theory operates as a hierarchy so that countries at various stages of development constitute (1) the "core," (2) the "semiperiphery," and (3) the "periphery."

Question 30

Manuel Castells introduced the concept of the mode of development.

Question 31

Scott argues that individual competition over territory determines urban growth patterns.

Question 32

Henri Lefebvre was interested in how political capital influences behavior and set out to form a new approach to the study of the city.

Question 33

Harvey argues that actions taken by real estate investors can lead to urban decay and abandonment.

Question 34

By the end of the 1940s, most social scientists agreed the traditional economic model accounted for many important changes in cities.

Question 35

John Logan and Harvey Molotch employed political economy theory in an effort to identify who the central decision-makers in North American cities are and to determine why they do what they do.

Question 36

According to Lefebvre, space affects our behavior.

Question 37

Urban theoretical models, in general, put emphasis on the fragmented nature of urban growth, development, and life.

Question 38

The theoretical arguments of "the new urban sociology" are quite old.

Question 39

New generations of social scientists dismiss the notion that natural processes shape the social life of cities.

Question 40

Henri Lefebvre was heavily influenced by Karl Marx.

Question 41

Poverty results in the serious problem of homelessness in more developed countries.