Chapter 20

Question 1

The current geologic era of the planet initiated by the impact of human activity on the biosphere

Answer 1

Anthropocene

Question 2

A technology suited and fit to its ecological and social context

Answer 2

appropriate technology

Question 3

A self-perpetuating system encompassing actors, materials, technologies, policies and practices that make up and reinforce private vehicle usage

Answer 3

automobility

Question 4

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

Answer 4

bioregion

Question 5

The reinvestment of profit in order to increase private capital assets and future profits

Answer 5

capital accumulation

Question 6

How many people can live in a given area considering the amount of available resources

Answer 6

carrying capacity

Question 7

Long-term shifts in temperature and climate due to human activity

Answer 7

climate change

Question 8

Collective resources that humans share in common

Answer 8

commons

Question 9

A model of human ecology that views cities as a series of circular rings or zones

Answer 9

concentric zone model

Question 10

Theory which asserts that human ingenuity will rise to the challenge of providing adequate resources for a growing population

Answer 10

cornucopian theory

Question 11

A city form based economically on corporate management and financial services

Answer 11

corporate city

Question 12

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

Answer 12

deep ecology

Question 13

Theory that describes four stages of population growth, following patterns that connect birth and death rates with stages of industrial development

Answer 13

demographic transition theory

Question 14

The study of population dynamics

Answer 14

demography

Question 15

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

Answer 15

dual city

Question 16

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

Answer 16

ecological modernization theory

Question 17

Urban formations based on clusters of shopping malls, entertainment complexes, and office towers at major transportation intersections

Answer 17

edge city

Question 18

The movement of people out of an area to another place of permanent residence

Answer 18

emigration

Question 19

The condition in which low-income and marginalized people are disproportionately likely to experience various environmental problems

Answer 19

environmental inequality

Question 20

The unequal access to a clean environment and basic environmental resources based on racialized distinctions

Answer 20

environmental racism

Question 21

The sociological subfield that addresses the relationship between humans and the environment

Answer 21

environmental sociology

Question 22

The degree to which a human activity can be sustained without damaging or undermining basic ecological support systems

Answer 22

environmental sustainability

Question 23

The accelerated extraction of natural resources to satisfy a global demand for minerals and energy with the idea that this sustains national economic growth

Answer 23

extractivism

Question 24

Communities that arise farther out than the suburbs and are typically populated by residents of high socioeconomic status

Answer 24

exurbs

Question 25

Cities that choose to transform themselves into Disneyland-like theme parks or sites of mega-events to draw international tourists

Answer 25

fantasy city

Question 26

A measure noting the actual number of children born

Answer 26

fertility rate

Question 27

When upper- and middle-class residents renovate and live in properties in certain city areas or communities that have been historically less affluent

Answer 27

gentrification

Question 28

A unique development based on the new role of cities in the circuits of global information and global capital circulation and accumulation

Answer 28

global city

Question 29

Coalitions of politicians, real estate investors, corporations, property owners, urban planners, architects, sports teams, and cultural institutions, for example, who work together to intensify land usage, attract private capital to the city and lobby government for subsidies and tax breaks for investors

Answer 29

growth machine

Question 30

How much the population of a defined area grows or shrinks in a specific time period, calculated as the current population minus the initial population divided by the initial population

Answer 30

growth rate

Question 31

A functional perspective that looks at the relationship between people and their built and natural environment

Answer 31

human ecology

Question 32

The movement of people into an area to take up permanent residence

Answer 32

immigration

Question 33

A city in which the major business and employment activities revolve around manufacturing, building, and machining

Answer 33

industrial city

Question 34

Theory which asserts that population is controlled through positive checks (war, famine, disease) and preventive checks (measures to reduce fertility)

Answer 34

Malthusian theory

Question 35

A large urban corridor that encompasses several cities and their surrounding suburbs and exurbs

Answer 35

megalopolis

Question 36

The area that includes a city and its suburbs and exurbs

Answer 36

metropolis

Question 37

A form of social life distinguished from rural life and produced by the effect of the external features of the metropolis (population size, density, anonymity, and diversity, for example) on the psyche or subjective experience of the urban dweller

Answer 37

metropolitan way of life

Question 38

The movement of people into and out of an area

Answer 38

migration

Question 39

A measure of the number of people who die

Answer 39

mortality rate

Question 40

A “not in my back yard” movement or protest, describing the tendency of people to protest development when it impacts them directly

Answer 40

NIMBY

Question 41

An exaggerated expression of masculinity tied to a backlash against climate change discourse

Answer 41

petro-masculinity

Question 42

A snapshot of the demographic profile of a population based on fertility, mortality, and migration rates

Answer 42

population composition

Question 43

Graphic representation that depicts population distribution according to age and sex

Answer 43

population pyramid

Question 44

A city defined by its orientation to circuits of global consumption, the fragmentation of previously homogeneous cultures, and the emergence of multiple centres or cores

Answer 44

postmodern city

Question 45

The ratio of men to women in a given population

Answer 45

sex ratio

Question 46

The development on the outskirts of cities of unplanned shantytowns or squats with no access to clean water, sanitation, or other municipal services

Answer 46

slum city

Question 47

A sociological model in which human communities, like biotic communities, are bound together by complex relations of competition for resources and mutual dependence

Answer 47

social ecology

Question 48

The uncontrolled growth of urban areas with a low population density, high dependence on automobiles, and poor planning

Answer 48

sprawl

Question 49

The communities surrounding cities, typically close enough for a daily commute

Answer 49

suburbs

Question 50

The collective destruction of collective or shared resources as a product of individual cost/benefit decision making

Answer 50

tragedy of the commons

Question 51

Theoretical framework that describes human pressure on environmental systems as a product of capitalism, which prioritizes economic growth over social inequality and environmental protection

Answer 51

treadmill of production theory

Question 52

The subfield of sociology that focuses on the study of urbanization

Answer 52

urban sociology

Question 53

The way of life characteristic of cities and towns

Answer 53

urbanism

Question 54

The process of the formation of cities

Answer 54

urbanization

Question 55

A theoretical goal in which the number of people entering a population through birth or immigration is equal to the number of people leaving it via death or emigration

Answer 55

zero population growth

Question 56

Transitional, economically deprived zones within a city, where there is a high rate of flux in population as different groups of people move in and out

Answer 56

zones of transition