Chapter 19: Population and Urbanization

Table of Contents

1. Demography: The Study Of Population
2. Population Growth In Global Context
3. Urbanization And The Growth Of Cities
4. Perspectives On Urbanization And The Growth Of Cities
5. Michelson, Fischer, And Urban Choices
6. Population And Urbanization In The Future

I. Demography: The Study Of Population

1. Demography is a subfield of sociology that examines population size, composition, and distribution.
   
   
2. Fertility is the actual level of childbearing for an individual or a population; fecundity is the potential number of children that could be born if every woman reproduced at her maximum biological capacity.
   1. The crude birth rate is the number of live births per 1000 people in a population in a given year; a more precise measure is the age-specific birth rate-the number of live births per 1000 women in a specific age group.

2. In most areas of the world, women are having fewer children; women who have six or more children tend to live in agricultural regions where children's labour is essential to the family's economic survival and child mortality rates are very high (e.g., Somalia).
   
   
3. A decline in mortality-the incidence of death in a population-has been the primary cause of world population growth in recent years.
   1. The crude death rate is the number of deaths per 1000 people in a population in a given year.
      
      
   2. Although mortality rates have declined dramatically in industrialized nations, infectious diseases remain the leading cause of death in lesser-developed nations.
      
      
   3. The infant mortality rate-the number of deaths of infants under 1 year of age per 1000 live births in a given year-is an important reflection of a society's level of medical care and nutrition.
      
      
4. Migration is the movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of changing residency.
   1. Migration may be either international or internal (movement within national boundaries).
      
      
   2. While immigration is the movement of people into a geographic area to take up residency, emigration is the movement of people out of a geographic area to take up residency elsewhere.

3. The crude net migration rate is the net number of migrants (total in-migrants minus total out-migrants) per 1000 people in a population in a given year.
   
   
5. Population composition is the biological and social characteristics of a population, including age, sex, race, marital status, education, occupation, and income.
   1. The sex ratio is the number of males for every 100 females in a given population; a sex ratio of 100 indicates an equal number of males and females.
      
      
   2. A population pyramid is a graphic representation of the distribution of a population by sex and age.

3. As societies modernize, there is a time lag between the decrease in the death rate and a corresponding decrease in the birth rate, and populations often grow very rapidly.
   
   
6. The baby boom was the dramatic increase in births that occurred between 1946 and 1966. Young couples who married young and began having babies after the end of the Second World War caused the boom. The boom was followed by the baby bust; a steady decline in birth rates from 1967 to the present. The boom and bust created a very unique age structure, which has had a wide range of consequences for Canadian society.

II. Population Growth In Global Context

1. The Malthusian Perspective
   1. According to Thomas Robert Malthus, the population (if left unchecked) would exceed the available food supply; population would increase in a geometric progression (2, 4, 8, 16 ...) while the food supply would increase only by an arithmetic progression (1, 2, 3, 4 ...).
      
      
   2. This situation could end population growth and perhaps the entire population unless positive checks (such as famines, disease, and wars) or preventive checks (such as sexual abstinence and postponement of marriage) intervened.
      
      
2. The Marxist Perspective
   1. According to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, food supply does not have to be threatened by overpopulation; through technology, food for a growing population can be produced.
      
      
   2. Overpopulation occurs because capitalists want a surplus of workers (an industrial reserve army) to suppress wages and force employees to be more productive.

3. Overpopulation will lead to the eventual destruction of capitalism; when workers become dissatisfied, they will develop class consciousness because of shared oppression.
   
   
3. The Neo-Malthusian Perspective
   1. Neo-Malthusians (or "New Malthusians") reemphasized the dangers of overpopulation and suggested that an exponential growth pattern is occurring.
      
      
   2. Overpopulation and rapid population growth result in global environmental problems, and people should be encouraging zero population growth-the point at which no population increase occurs from year to year because the number of births plus immigrants is equal to the number of deaths plus emigrants.
      
      
4. Demographic Transition Theory
   1. Demographic transition is the process by which some societies have moved from high birth and death rates to relatively low birth and death rates as a result of technological development.
      
      
   2. Demographic transition is linked to four stages of economic development:
      1. Stage 1: Preindustrial societies-little population growth occurs, high birth rates are offset by high death rates.
         
         
      2. Stage 2: Early industrialization-significant population growth occurs, birth rates are relatively high while death rates decline.
         
         
      3. Stage 3: Advanced industrialization and urbanization-very little population growth occurs, both birth rates and death rates are low.

4. Stage 4: Postindustrialization-birth rates continue to decline as more women are employed full-time and raising children becomes more costly; population growth occurs slowly, if at all, due to a decrease in the birth rate and a stable death rate.
   
   
3. Critics suggest that demographic transition theory may not accurately explain population growth in all societies; this theory may best explain growth in Western societies.
   
   
5. Demography and Public Policy
   1. Demography is a very important tool in state planning. Perhaps the most significant population-driven policy change is China's one-child-per-family policy, which was implemented to check a massive population increase that would have resulted if population continued to grow at a high level.
      
      
   2. Quebec's language legislation was precipitated by demographic trends. Very low birth rates in Quebec meant that population growth would come from immigration. However, most immigrants chose to learn English and the Quebec government was afraid this would result in the marginalization of the French language and culture in Quebec.

III. Urbanization And The Growth Of Cities

1. Urban sociology is a subfield of sociology that examines social relationships and political and economic structures in the city-a relatively dense and permanent settlement of people who secure their livelihood primarily through non-agricultural activities.
   
   
2. Emergence and Evolution of the City
   1. Cities are a relatively recent innovation as compared with the length of human existence. According to Gideon Sjoberg, three preconditions must be present in order for a city to develop:
      1. A favourable physical environment-climate and soil favourable to the development of plant and animal life and an adequate water supply to sustain both;
         
         
      2. An advanced technology (for that era) that could produce a social surplus in both agricultural and nonagricultural goods;

3. A well-developed political system to provide social stability to the economic system.
   
   
2. Sjoberg places the first cities in the Mesopotamian region or areas immediately adjacent to it at about 3500 B.C.E.; however, not all scholars agree on this point. (Note that B.C.E. refers to Before Common Era and C.E. refers to Common Era.)
   
   
3. Preindustrial Cities
   1. The largest preindustrial city was Rome; with the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E., the nature of European cities changed.
      
      
   2. Preindustrial cities were limited in size because of crowded housing conditions, lack of adequate sewage facilities, limited food supplies, and lack of transportation to reach the city.
      
      
   3. Many preindustrial cities had a sense of community-a set of social relationships operating within given spatial boundaries that provide people with a sense of identity and a feeling of belonging.
      
      
4. Industrial Cities
   1. The nature of the city changed as factories arose and new forms of transportation and agricultural production made it easier to leave the countryside and move to the city.
      
      
   2. Toronto and Montreal were Canada's first metropolises-one or more central cities and their surrounding suburbs that dominate the economic and cultural life of a region.

3. People lived in close proximity to factories so that they could walk to work; many lived in overcrowded conditions that lacked sanitation and a clean water supply.
   
   
5. Postindustrial Cities
   1. Since the 1950s, postindustrial cities have emerged as the Canadian economy has gradually shifted from secondary (manufacturing) to tertiary (service and information processing) production.
      
      
   2. Postindustrial cities are dominated by "light" industry, such as computer software manufacturing, information-processing services, educational complexes, medical centres, retail trade centres, and shopping malls.

3. Most families do not live in close proximity to a central business district or to factories; technological advances make it possible for those with middle and upper incomes to live a greater distance from the workplace.

IV. Perspectives On Urbanization And The Growth Of Cities

1. Functionalist Perspectives: Ecological Models
   1. Robert Park based his analysis of the city on human ecology-the study of the relationship between people and their physical environment-and found that economic competition produces certain regularities in land-use patterns and population distributions.
      
      
   2. Concentric Zone Model
      1. Based on Park's ideas, Ernest W. Burgess developed a model that views the city as a series of circular zones, each characterized by a different type of land use, that developed from a central core: (1) the central business district and cultural centre; (2) the zone of transition-houses where wealthy families previously lived that have now been subdivided and rented to persons with low incomes; (3) working-class residences and shops, and ethnic enclaves; (4) homes for affluent families, single-family residences of white-collar workers, and shopping centres; and (5) a ring of small cities and towns composed of estates owned by the wealthy and houses of commuters who work in the city.
         
         
      2. Two important ecological processes occur: invasion is the process by which a new category of people or type of land use arrives in an area previously occupied by another group or land use; succession is the process by which a new category of people or type of land use gradually predominates in an area formerly dominated by another group or activity.

3. Gentrification is the process by which members of the middle- and upper-middle classes, especially whites, move into the central city area and renovate existing properties.
   
   
3. Sector Model
   1. Homer Hoyt's sector model emphasizes the significance of terrain and the importance of transportation routes in the layout of cities.
      
      
   2. Residences of a particular type and value tend to grow outward from the centre of the city in wedge-shaped sectors, with the more expensive residential neighbourhoods located along the higher ground near lakes and rivers, or along certain streets that stretch from the downtown area.
      
      
   3. Industrial areas are located along river valleys and railroad lines; middle-class residences exist on either side of wealthier neighbourhoods; lower-class residential areas border the central business area and the industrial areas.
      
      
4. Multiple-Nuclei Model
   1. According to Chauncey Harris and Edward Ullman, cities have numerous centres of development; as cities grow, they annex outlying townships.
      
      
   2. In addition to the central business district, other nuclei develop around activities such as an educational institution or a medical complex; residential neighbourhoods may exist close to or far away from these nuclei.
      
      
5. Differences Between Canadian and U.S. Cities. The models discussed above were developed to fit American cities. They probably have less application to Canadian cities, which differ from U.S. cities in the following ways:
   1. Canadian cities are higher in density, which means they have less urban sprawl.
      
      
   2. The core areas in Canadian cities are much healthier than those in the United States.
      
      
   3. Urban Canadians rely on public transit more than do Americans.
      
      
   4. Racial tension has been far less pronounced in Canada than in the United States.
      
      
   5. Canadian and U.S. public housing policies have been very different. Public housing in Canada has taken the form of small, infill projects in established neighbourhoods.
      
      
6. Contemporary Urban Ecology
   1. Amos Hawley viewed urban areas as complex social systems in which growth patterns are based on advances in transportation and communication.

2. Social area analysis examines urban populations in terms of economic status, family status, and ethnic classification (e.g., middle- and upper-middle class parents with school-aged children tend to cluster together in a "good" school district).
   
   
2. Conflict Perspectives: Political Economy Models
   1. According to Marx, cities are arenas in which the intertwined processes of class conflict and capital accumulation take place; class consciousness is more likely to occur in cities where workers are concentrated.
      
      
   2. Three major themes are found in political economy models:
      1. Patterns of urban growth and decline are affected by: (1) economic factors such as capitalist investments; and (2) political factors, including governmental protection of private property and promotion of the interests of business elites and large corporations.
         
         
      2. Urban space has both an exchange value and a use value: exchange value refers to the profits industrialists, developers, and bankers make from buying, selling, and developing land and buildings; and use value is the utility of space, land, and buildings for family life and neighbourhood life.
         
         
      3. Structure and agency are both important in understanding how urban development takes place: structure refers to institutions, such as state bureaucracies and capital investment circuits, that are involved in the urban development process; and agency refers to human actors who participate in land use decisions, including developers, business elites, and activists protesting development.
         
         
   3. According to political economy models, urban growth is influenced by capital investment decisions, power and resource inequality, class and class conflict, and government subsidy programs.
      1. A small number of developers and financial institutions determine what will be built.
         
         
      2. These decisions contribute to uneven development-the tendency of some neighbourhoods, cities, or regions to grow and prosper while others stagnate and decline.
         
         
   4. Gender Regimes in Cities
      1. According to feminist perspectives, urbanization reflects the workings of the political economy and patriarchy.
         
         
      2. Different cities have different gender regimes-prevailing ideologies of how women and men should think, feel, and act; how access to positions and control of resources should be managed; and how women and men should relate to each other.
         
         
      3. Gender intersects with class and race as a form of oppression, especially for lower-income visible minority women who live in central cities.
         
         
3. Feminist Perspectives
   1. Feminist perspectives suggest that urbanization is organized by patriarchy.
      
      
   2. Feminist theories of urbanization argue that our environment provides different gender regimes-prevailing ideologies of how women and men should think, feel, and act, and how access to social positions and control of resources between men and women should be conducted.
      
      
   3. The higher density and greater diversity of urban life serves as a challenge to patriarchy, by offering a greater variety of lifestyle choices, some of which do not involve traditional patriarchal family structures.
      
      
4. Interactionist Perspectives: The Experience of City Life
   1. Simmel's View of City Life
      1. According to Georg Simmel, urban life is highly stimulating; it shapes people's thoughts and actions.
         
         
      2. However, many urban residents avoid emotional involvement with each other and try to ignore events taking place around them.
         
         
      3. City life is not completely negative; urban living can be liberating-people have opportunities for individualism and autonomy.
         
         
   2. Urbanism as a Way of Life
      1. Louis Wirth suggested that urbanism is a "way of life." Urbanism refers to the distinctive social and psychological patterns of city life.
         
         
      2. Size, density, and heterogeneity result in an elaborate division of labour and in spatial segregation of people by race/ethnicity, class, religion, and/or lifestyle. A sense of community is replaced by the "mass society"-a large-scale, highly institutionalized society in which individuality is supplanted by mass media, faceless bureaucrats, and corporate interests.
         
         
   3. Gans's Urban Villagers
      1. According to Herbert Gans, not everyone experiences the city in the same way; some people develop strong loyalties and a sense of community within central city areas that outsiders may view negatively.

2. Five major categories of urban dwellers are: (1) cosmopolites-students, artists, writers, musicians, entertainers, and professionals who choose to live in the city because they want to be close to its cultural facilities; (2) unmarried people and childless couples who choose to live in the city because they want to be near jobs and entertainment; (3) ethnic villagers who live in ethnically segregated neighbourhoods; (4) the deprived-individuals who are very poor and see few future prospects; and (5) the trapped-those who cannot escape the city, including downwardly mobile persons, older persons, and persons with addictions.
   
   
4. Gender and City Life
   1. According to Elizabeth Wilson, some men view the city as sexual space in which women, based on their sexual desirability and accessibility, are categorized as prostitutes, lesbians, temptresses, or virtuous women in need of protection.
      
      
   2. More affluent, dominant group women are more likely to be viewed as virtuous women in need of protection while others are placed in less desirable categories.
      
      
   3. Cities offer a paradox for women: cities offer more freedom than rural, suburban, and domestic isolation, but women face the gendered aspects of city life.
      
      
   4. Michelson has noted another dimension of vulnerability in cities: women are more likely to be in the paid workforce than previously, so they face the risks of commuting and being with others in the work setting.

V. Michelson, Fischer, And Urban Choices

1. Claude Fischer studied the way in which the size of cities and their structural differentiation provided opportunities for the development of urban subcultures. William Michelson argued that the physical environment of cities (buildings, roads, etc.) also has an impact on behaviour. There is a diversity in the life experience of urban dwellers that depends on a wide variety of factors such as age, class, gender, marital status, and type of residence.
   
   
2. Divided Interests: Cities, Suburbs, and Beyond
   1. Since World War II, the population has shifted dramatically as many people have moved to the suburbs.
      
      
   2. Postwar suburban growth has been attributed to the need to accommodate the large baby boom families, aggressive land developers, inexpensive real estate and construction methods, better transportation, abundant energy, and liberalized mortgage policies.

3. Mass suburbanization has created a territorial division of interests between cities and suburban areas. While many suburbanites rely on urban centres for their employment, entertainment, and other services, they pay their property taxes to suburban governments and school districts.

VI. Population And Urbanization In The Future

1. Rapid global population growth is inevitable: although death rates have declined in many developing nations, there has not been a corresponding decrease in birth rates.
   1. As the world's population doubles, the urban population will triple as people migrate from rural to urban areas in search of food, water, and jobs.

2. Latin America is developing four megacities-Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Lima, and Santiago. Many people will live in a megalopolis-a continuous concentration of two or more cities and their suburbs that form an interconnected urban area.
   
   
2. At the macrolevel, we can do little about population and urbanization; at the microlevel, we may be able to exercise some degree of control over our communities and our own lives. In the best-case scenario for the future, the problems brought about by rapid population growth in developing nations will be remedied by new technologies that make goods readily available to people. More liberal international trade will allow people to benefit by gaining jobs and opportunities to purchase goods more cheaply. Of course, the opposite may also occur: people may be exploited as inexpensive labour, and their country's natural resources may be depleted as transnational corporations buy up raw materials without contributing to the long-term stability of the nation.

Back to Chapter Resources