Population, Urbanization, and the Environment

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• Population, Urbanization, and the Environment
• World population levels
• -Historically the Malthus Theorem
• -Arguments against Malthus human
  intelligence/technology will fix it
• -Arguments in support of Malthus there are
  other variables
• 1. availability of natural resources
• 2. costs of industrialization
• 3. global food distribution
• 1. 2. Impact of overpopulation on these
• -resource depletion in the 1st world
• -costs of energy use in the 1st world
• -create new resource/energy sources?
• -logic to growth theory
• -limits to growth theory
• -One example deforestation
• -1st world, 3rd world

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• -3. Global food distribution (not production)
• -increases in food production
• -problem your place in world economy
• -commercialization of agriculture
• -Attempts to help Green Revolution
• -costs of industrialized production
• -real benefits the wealthy
• -land loss for the poor to the cities
• -Urbanization
• -1st world ok
• -3rd world megacities
• -overwhelming social problems
• -alienation
• -crime depression

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Explaining population growth

• Malthusian theory- population will increase
  exponentially unless checks are imposed
• Since population increases geometrically but food
  supplies only increase arithmetically food
  shortages will result
• Positive checks on population- wars, diseases,
  food shortages and famines
• Malthus also suggested delayed marriage and
  abstinence until one could afford a family

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• Main criticisms of Malthus
• New agricultural techniques allowed food
  production to increase geometrically
• Malthus did not realize that contraception was a
  possibility
• Poverty does not inevitably result from
  population growth
• Critics point to demographic transition in Europe

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Demographic transition theory- countries are
believed to go through three stages of
population, from high birth and death rates to
low birth and death rates.

• Stages in the demographic transition theory
  (Anti- Malthusians)
• Stage 1- high births, high deaths
  pre-industrial, non-urban societies births may
  outpace deaths until disaster occurs
• Stage 2- high births, declining deaths
  less-developed countries improvements in health,
  sanitation, and food availability
• Stage 3- low births, low deaths industrial and
  post-industrial societies mostly small, nuclear
  families

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• Anti-Malthusians human intelligence/technology
  will fix overpopulation
• As in Europes demographic transition
• Much less of a agriculturally-based economy
• So people will have fewer kids
• Criticism Europes demographic transition
  resulted from
• The industrial revolution (more storable food)
• Improved health and sanitation measures
• Where did many Europeans go at that time?
• Assumes that modernization between stages 2 and 3
  result in rational choice about family size

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Changes in patterns of population growth

• (Malthusians) Demographic transition theory fails
  to consider that social religious norms vary
  around the world
• Age at marriage/family norms
• Contraceptive availability/beliefs
• A countrys land and resources
• Economy, religious beliefs, political
  philosophies, etc.
• And . Changes in norms take time
• Malthusians And we also have to take into
  consideration a global population that is already
  high and growing . . .
• So, There are other variables to consider
• 1. availability of natural resources
• 2. costs of industrialization
• 3. global food distribution

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Arguments in support of Malthus there are other
variables

• 1. availability of natural resources
• 2. costs of industrialization
• 3. global food distribution
• 1. 2. Impact of overpopulation on these
• -resource depletion in the 1st world
• -costs of energy use in the 1st world
• -create new resource/energy sources?
• -logic to growth theory
• -limits to growth theory

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Arguments in support of Malthus there are other
variables, continued . . .

• -One example deforestation
• -1st world, 3rd world
• -erosion, water loss, O2

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Aral Sea
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Aral Sea
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Arguments in support of Malthus there are other
variables

• 3. Global food distribution (not production)
• -increases in food production
• -problem your place in world economy
• -commercialization of agriculture

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Mortality rates and national health care
organizations

• Infant mortality rates are indicators of a
  countrys status in the world
• Differences caused by national exploitation,
  poverty, poor health care, malnutrition, etc.
• Even in the United States, minorities, those
  under 18, unmarried, the poor, and less-educated
  women have less access to prenatal care

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commercialization of agriculture
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-Attempts to help Green Revolution

• -costs of industrialized production
• -real benefits the wealthy
• -land loss for the poor to the cities

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Urbanization Large-Scale Movement from rural to
urban areas

• Urbanization accompanies
• transformation from traditional, mostly agrarian
  societies, to contemporary bureaucratized states
• transformation from an agricultural base and
  handmade goods to manufacturing industries

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Urbanization

• -1st world ok
• -3rd world megacities
• -overwhelming social problems
• -another impact of urban life
  alienation
• -crime depression

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Urbanization, the environment, and social policy
(A macro-level perspective)

• Megacities- cities with over 10 million people
• Rural migrants and overcrowding
• Environment, infrastructure, and urban ecosystems
• Poverty
• Crime and delinquency

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Megacities- cities with over 10 million people
Mumbai (Bombay)
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World Megacities - Population in Millions
For comparison Pop of TN - 6 or 7 mil Pop of
Germany 33 mil Canada 33 mil
Source State of the World Population 200,1
Chapter 3, UNFPA
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Mexico City Dhaka, Bangladesh Lagos,
Nigeria
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Mumbai (India) - housing
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Affluence Indicators

• How many resources does a country consume?
• How much space does each person have?
• How much pollution/garbage is produced?

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Countries by Population Density