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12.5: Key Terms

  • Page ID
    241727
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    sustainable development
    development that occurs without depleting or damaging the natural environment
    asylum-seekers
    those whose claim to refugee status have not been validated
    cancer cluster
    a geographic area with high levels of cancer within its population
    carrying capacity
    the amount of people that 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
    concentric zone model
    a model of human ecology that views cities as a series of circular rings or zones
    cornucopian theory
    a theory that asserts human ingenuity will rise to the challenge of providing adequate resources for a growing population
    demographic transition theory
    a 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
    e-waste
    the disposal of broken, obsolete, and worn-out electronics
    environmental racism
    the burdening of economically and socially disadvantaged communities with a disproportionate share of environmental hazards
    environmental sociology
    the sociological subfield that addresses the relationship between humans and the environment
    exurbs
    communities that arise farther out than the suburbs and are typically populated by residents of high socioeconomic status
    fertility rate
    a measure noting the actual number of children born
    fracking
    hydraulic fracturing, a method used to recover gas and oil from shale by drilling down into the earth and directing a high-pressure mixture of water, sand, and proprietary chemicals into the rock
    gentrification
    the entry of upper- and middle-class residents to city areas or communities that have been historically less affluent
    human ecology
    a functional perspective that looks at the relationship between people and their built and natural environment
    internally displaced person
    someone who fled his or her home while remaining inside the country’s borders
    Malthusian theory
    a theory asserting that population is controlled through positive checks (war, famine, disease) and preventive checks (measures to reduce fertility)
    megalopolis
    a large urban corridor that encompasses several cities and their surrounding suburbs and exurbs
    metropolis
    the area that includes a city and its suburbs and exurbs
    mortality rate
    a measure of the number of people in a population who die
    NIMBY
    “Not In My Back Yard,” the tendency of people to protest poor environmental practices when those practices will affect them directly
    pollution
    the introduction of contaminants into an environment at levels that are damaging
    population composition
    a snapshot of the demographic profile of a population based on fertility, mortality, and migration rates
    population pyramid
    a graphic representation that depicts population distribution according to age and sex
    refugee
    an individual who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster
    sex ratio
    the ratio of men to women in a given population
    suburbs
    the communities surrounding cities, typically close enough for a daily commute
    urban sociology
    the subfield of sociology that focuses on the study of urbanization
    urbanization
    the study of the social, political, and economic relationships of cities
    white flight
    the migration of economically secure white people from racially mixed urban areas toward the suburbs
    zero population growth
    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

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