After reading Chapter Fourteen the student should be able to:
Explain the reasons for the changes in the world's population growth commencing in the 18th century.
Discuss the Malthus theorem and identify key issues in the debate between New Malthusians and Anti-Malthusians regarding the specter of overpopulation.
Compare and contrast the principle element of the Malthus theory (exponential growth) to the principle elements of demographic transition.
Explain why there is starvation around the world.
Explain why people in the Least Industrialized Nations have so many children and note the implications of different rates of population growth.
Outline the key demographic variables used in estimating population growth.
Apply the basic demographic equation to world population growth.
Discuss urbanization and how and why cities developed.
Identify the characteristics of metropolises, megalopolises, megacities, and metropolitan statistical areas. .
Discuss urbanization in the U.S. including population shifts since the dominance of the agricultural society.
Compare and contrast the three models of urban growth.
Explain why some people living in large urban areas feel a sense of alienation while others find community.
Describe the five different types of people who live in the city as identified by sociologist Herbert Gans.
Describe ways in which city people create a sense of intimacy for themselves in large urban areas.
Explain why the norm of noninvolvement and the diffusion of responsibility which help urban dwellers get through everyday city life may be dysfunctional in some situations.
Discuss the major changes facing U.S. cities regarding suburbanization, disinvestment, and deindustrialization.
Identify "push" and "pull" factors behind the rural rebound.
State the guiding principles for developing solutions to urban problems.
