SOC103H1 Lecture Notes - Normal Accidents, World3, Some Cities
Document Summary
Lecture 2 population, urban life and the environment. Several demographic variables have an effect on the environment, the first of which is population size. A large population puts more pressure on the natural environment than a small population. However, a large population is almost more likely to innovate to invent new technologies and new ways of producing food and wealth. The larger the population gets, the more social differentiation (specialization kind we"re accumosted to in modern, urban societies) there is. In hunter-gartherer societies there isn"t much differentiation (with the exceptions of gender and age). Different kinds of communities with different compositions of people that effect the kinds of experiences people face in these communities. Issue due to population growth vs. the natural envrionment. Thomas malthus (1766-1834) was the first to suggest that population problems could threaten human existence. Malthus was certain that, without preventive checks, population would always outgrow its food supply.
