Chapter 20. Population, Urbanization, and the Environment
Chapter 20. Population, Urbanization, and the Environment
Chapter 20 Resources and Activities
Key Terms
Anthropocene: The current geologic era of the planet initiated by the impact of human activity on the biosphere.
appropriate technology: A technology suited and fit to its ecological and social context.
automobility: A self-perpetuating system encompassing actors, materials, technologies, policies and practices that make up and reinforce private vehicle usage.
bioregion: A geographical area that is determined not by political or administrative boundaries but by ecological systems, such as a watershed, a river estuary, a coastal environment, a mountain range or plain.
capital accumulation: The reinvestment of profit in order to increase private capital assets and future profits.
carrying capacity: How many people can live in a given area considering the amount of available resources.
climate change: Long-term shifts in temperature and climate due to human activity.
commons: Collective resources that humans share in common.
concentric zone model: A model of human ecology that views cities as a series of circular rings or zones.
cornucopian theory: Theory which asserts that human ingenuity will rise to the challenge of providing adequate resources for a growing population.
corporate city: A city form based economically on corporate management and financial services.
deep ecology: An environmental social movement based on the principle that the eco-system and members of the natural world are not resources to be used because all beings have intrinsic value.
demographic transition theory: Theory that describes four stages of population growth, following patterns that connect birth and death rates with stages of industrial development.
demography: The study of population dynamics.
dual city: Cities that are divided into wealthy, high-tech, information-based zones of urban development and poorer, run-down, marginalized zones of urban underdevelopment and informal economic activity.
ecological modernization theory: Theoretical framework that describes human pressure on environmental systems as temporary because, as society modernizes, the ecological rationality underpinning the need to protect the environment from the strains of human development will become evident, leading to necessary reforms, innovations and environmental sustainability.
edge city: Urban formations based on clusters of shopping malls, entertainment complexes, and office towers at major transportation intersections.
emigration: The movement of people out of an area to another place of permanent residence.
environmental inequality: The condition in which low-income and marginalized people are disproportionately likely to experience various environmental problems.
environmental racism: The unequal access to a clean environment and basic environmental resources based on racialized distinctions.
environmental sociology: The sociological subfield that addresses the relationship between hu