Chapter 17
Population and Urbanization
By Boundless
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/2607/square/slum-in-india.jpeg)
Different rates of growth can lead to overpopulation or underpopulation, both of which have potential consequences.
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The basics of demographic population growth depend on the rate of natural increase (births versus deaths) and net migration.
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Population growth is difficult to predict because unforeseen events can alter birth rates, death rates, migration, or resource limitations.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/1313/square/ness-98-cityscape-in-cairo.jpeg)
Malthus believed that if a population is allowed to grow unchecked, people will begin to starve and will go to war over increasingly scarce resources.
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Demographic transition theory outlines five stages of change in birth and death rates to predict the growth of populations.
Early cities arose in a number of regions, and are thought to have developed for reasons of agricultural productivity and economic scale.
Preindustrial cities had important political and economic functions and evolved to become well-defined political units.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/1314/square/slum-in-glasgow-2c-1871.jpeg)
During the industrial era, cities grew rapidly and became centers of population growth and production.
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Urban structure is the arrangement of land use, explained using different models.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/8489/square/rld-population-urban-rural.jpg)
Urbanization is the process of a population shift from rural areas to cities, often motivated by economic factors.
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The U.S. Census Bureau classifies areas as urban or rural based on population size and density.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/8493/square/800px-southlake-suburb.jpeg)
During the 1970s and again in the 1990s, the rural population rebounded in what appeared to be a reversal of urbanization.
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Models of urban growth try to balance the advantages and disadvantages of cities' large sizes.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/5979/square/harper-midway-chicago.jpeg)
Urban sociology is the study of social life and interactions in urban areas, using methods ranging from statistical analysis to ethnography.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/2608/square/forbidden-city1.jpeg)
Social scientists have focused on social interactions in urban areas because cities bring together many cultural strands.
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Neighborhoods are small units of social organization within a larger social area, such as a city or town.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/5981/square/pruitt-igoeusgs02.jpeg)
Urban decline is the process whereby a previously functioning city or neighborhood falls into disrepair.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/8496/square/eeper-2-by-david-shankbone.jpeg)
Homelessness is a social problem, caused by structural inequalities and lack of resources, where certain individuals are at higher risk.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/8500/square/hk-towerblock-sj.jpeg)
Alienation refers to the distancing of people from each other, from what is important and meaningful to them, or from themselves.
The term community refers to a group of interacting people, living in some proximity, either in space, time, or relationship.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/8501/square/assalto-av-atlantica-rio.jpeg)
Diffusion of responsibility is a phenomenon in which a person is less likely to take responsibility for an action when others are present.
Suburbanization is a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/5985/square/l-mfctrg-jobs-change-54-02.jpg)
Deindustrialization refers to the process of social and economic change ignited by the removal or reduction of industrial activity.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/5986/square/ne-docklands-urban-renewal.jpeg)
Urban revitalization involves redeveloping blighted urban areas for new uses.
Gentrification occurs when wealthier people buy or rent property in a low-income or working class neighborhood, displacing residents.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/1315/square/more-inner-harbor-panorama.jpeg)
Counterurbanization is movement away from cities, including suburbanization, exurbanization, or movement to rural areas.