CHAPTER 15: Urbanization, Population, and the Environment
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which country has the fastest growing urban areas?
a. India
b. United States
c. China
d. South Africa
Answer: C
2. The combined populations of India and China account for ________ people on earth.
a. 1 of 2
b. 1 of 3
c. 1 of 4
d. 1 of 5
Answer: B
3. Which country is NOT known for having the earliest cities?
a. South Africa
b. Egypt
c. Iraq
d. Pakistan
Answer: A
4. The central area of most cities in the ancient world contained:
a. a religious temple
b. farms
c. warehouses
d. homeless people
Answer: A
5. In most ancient cities:
a. an outer wall offered military defense and separation from the countryside
b. the central area was primarily where the poor lived
c. the elite lived inside the city walls
d. the military lived outside the city walls
Answer: A
6. In the ancient world, cities were the main centers for:
a. agriculture
b. science
c. farm goods
d. pasturing livestock
Answer: B
7. Conurbation describes:
a. cities surrounded by rural areas
b. small suburban areas separated by small farms
c. very large farming areas
d. a cluster of cities and towns forming a continuous network
Answer: D
8. A megalopolis is:
a. the term for Greek cities
b. a very large conurbation
c. a city with a population of over 3 million people
d. a farm or ranch over 2,000 acres
Answer: B
9. Urbanization is the:
a. development of cities and towns
b. development of suburbs
c. planning of city parks
d. planning of towns next to a forest
Answer: A
10. Which country was the first to industrialize?
a. United States
b. Britain
c. Spain
d. Germany
Answer: B
11. At the beginning of the twentieth century, which city was the largest in the world?
a. London
b. New York
c. Tokyo
d. Madrid
Answer: A
12. Today, what percentage of Americans live in metropolitan areas?
a. 50 percent
b. 65 percent
c. 80 percent
d. 90 percent
Answer: C
13. From 1900 to 1950, world urbanization increased by:
a. 50 percent
b. 123 percent
c. 239 percent
d. 327 percent
Answer: C
14. Industrialization generated ________, the movement of the population from the country
into towns and cities.
a. conurbation
b. urbanization
c. gentrification
d. metropolitanization
Answer: B
15. Urbanization in the twenty-first century is a ________ process.
a. First World
b. Second World
c. Third World
d. global
Answer: D
16. From 1950 to 1986, most of the world’s urbanization occurred in:
a. developed countries
b. developing countries
c. oil-rich nations
d. Third World countries
Answer: B
17. In 1950, 39 percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas. What was the
percentage in 2000?
a. 40 percent
b. 50 percent
c. 57 percent
d. 61 percent
Answer: B
18. The United Nations predicts that in 2050, the percentage of the world’s population living
in urban areas will be:
a. 35 percent
b. 45 percent
c. 60 percent
d. 80 percent
Answer: D
19. According to United Nations data, which area of the world will be home to half of the
world’s population by 2050?
a. North America
b. South America
c. Central America
d. East and South Asia
Answer: D
20. Which is a theory of urbanization developed at the University of Chicago from the 1920s
to the 1940s?
a. ecological approach
b. political economy model
c. environmental approach
d. population change
Answer: A
21. Large urban areas develop:
a. along the shores of rivers
b. in fertile plains
c. at the intersections of trading routes and railways
d. all of the above
Answer: D
22. According to Robert Park, cities are similar to nature in that they are ordered through:
a. competition
b. invasion
c. succession
d. human ecology
Answer: D
23. Inner cities are characterized by:
a. decay
b. thriving stores
c. wealthy people
d. middle-class people
Answer: A
24. When picturing cities as concentric rings, what is NOT in the center ring?
a. the inner city, a mixture of prosperous businesses and decaying private homes
b. old, established neighborhoods housing blue-collar workers
c. the suburbs, where higher-income people live
d. farms
Answer: D
25. The traditional layout of cities is starting to change in what way?
a. young and wealthy people are moving to the city
b. older wealthy people are moving out of the city
c. upper-income people are moving away from cities and suburbs to rural areas
d. the poor are staying in the city
Answer: A
26. Urban ecology is:
a. an agglomeration of cities or towns into an unbroken urban environment
b. a very large conurbation
c. the development of cities and towns
d. the theory that neighborhoods and zones within cities are a natural process caused by the
population competing for resources
Answer: D
27. Louis Wirth was the first sociologist to address the “urban interaction problem.” What is
the urban interaction problem?
a. People are so congested in the city that they get involved in others’ personal lives.
b. People in cities do not care about their neighbors.
c. Since cities are always congested with people, people respect the boundaries of others.
d. People in cities fight more often than in the suburbs.
Answer: C
28. Tim, a gay male, moves from the small town he grew up in to New York City. He is more
comfortable and feels more accepted in New York than his hometown. Which of the
following best explains why?
a. Cities allow for more subcultures than small towns.
b. Cities are impersonal and this allows for more personal space.
c. Small towns allow for more subcultures than cities.
d. A large city has a larger pool of eligible partners.
Answer: A
29. Mary moves from Boston to a small New England village. She notices people seem nice
and yet she does not feel accepted. Which of the following best explains why?
a. She is used to the fast pace of city life and not the slower pace of village life.
b. People in the village are displaying public politeness and it could take years to be accepted.
c. Because of the smallness of the village, it is hard to meet people.
d. People in large cities are friendlier than those in small towns and villages.
Answer: B
30. Who developed the concept of “eyes and ears upon the street”?
a. Robert Park
b. Ernest Burgess
c. Louis Wirth
d. Jane Jacobs
Answer: D
31. Joe lives in East Boston, MA, a city populated by side-to-side three-decker apartment
houses. Many retired people sit by their window watching the streets. Sociologically, what
function are they serving?
a. none
b. eyes and ears upon the streets
c. respecting social boundaries
d. gatekeeper
Answer: B
32. According to recent theories, what is most threatening to urban dwellers?
a. strangers on the street
b. banks and real estate companies
c. drug dealers
d. gangs
Answer: B
33. According to David Harvey, industrial capitalism continually restructures spaces in its
pursuit of profits. This theoretical approach is:
a. the created environment approach to urban analysis
b. urbanism as a way of life
c. collective consumption
d. the ecological approach to urban analysis
Answer: A
34. Space is continually restructured. Which is NOT in the determinization process for
restructuring?
a. where large firms determine to put their factories and research and development centers
b. governmental control over land and industrial production
c. activities private investors have over buying and selling property and land
d. abandoned old buildings
Answer: D
35. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, out of 100 counties with the highest child poverty
rate, what percentage is in rural areas?
a. 35 percent
b. 58 percent
c. 73 percent
d. 95 percent
Answer: D
36. Which of the following is NOT a social problem in rural areas?
a. high levels of child poverty
b. high rates of motor vehicle fatalities and other accidental deaths
c. low levels of health and educational services
d. poor nutrition
Answer: D
37. Child poverty rates are highest in:
a. rural areas
b. inner cities
c. suburbs
d. where a child lives does not affect whether he or she is poor
Answer: A
38. What made increased suburbanization possible in the 1950s and 1960s in the United
States?
a. World War II was being fought
b. the massive highway program
c. farming became big business
d. airline travel became accessible
Answer: B
39. In 2000, minority Americans accounted for what percentage of the suburbanization?
a. 15 percent
b. 25 percent
c. 35 percent
d. 40 percent
Answer: B
40. What is the main reason people move?
a. employment
b. purchase a better house
c. transition from renting to owning
d. attending better schools
Answer: B
41. My brother, like many Americans, recently moved to another house in the same county.
What is the number one reason Americans give for doing this?
a. to move closer to work
b. to improve their housing
c. to be closer to relatives
d. to stop renting and buy a house
Answer: B
42. Americans tend to move more than people do in the industrialized country of:
a. Japan
b. France
c. the United Kingdom
d. all of the above
Answer: D
43. Why have jobs shifted from the U.S. Northeast to the South and West?
a. Globalization and the mobility of capital allow firms to move to areas where labor costs are
lower, unions are weaker, and tax breaks are larger.
b. Jobs follow the population shift and more people are migrating to these regions.
c. These areas are considered less liberal and intellectual and therefore, there are fewer
personnel problems.
d. The Northeast is congested, while the South and West have warmer climates and more
room for companies to expand, which translates to lower energy costs.
Answer: A
44. In what way has globalization affected the migration patterns of Americans?
a. With the Internet, Americans can buy products from around the globe so there is no need to
live in big cities with stores that import foreign goods.
b. Because of global warming and the environmental problems it is causing, Americans are
moving to cooler environments with adequate rainfall and plenty of plant life.
c. With the new global economy, more and more Americans are telecommuting so they can
live wherever they want and are not tied to an area because of work.
d. Globalization and the mobility of capital allow firms to move to areas where labor costs
are lower, unions are weaker, and tax breaks are larger.
Answer: D
45. Why have inner cities in the United States decayed in the last 50 years?
a. Segregation contributed to the social isolation of the ghetto poor, causing an increase in
social problems.
b. Businesses, jobs, and middle-class residents have moved to the suburbs.
c. Manufacturing industries have disappeared, taking away many of the blue-collar jobs the
lower class are qualified for.
d. all of the above
Answer: D
46. Why have jobs in the United States shifted from manufacturing to service?
a. natural evolution of the economy
b. globalization
c. service jobs are easier
d. farming is now big business and requires less equipment manufacturing
Answer: B
47. When affluent groups move into cities and renovate dilapidated buildings and
neighborhoods, the process is called:
a. gentrification
b. urbanization
c. conurbation
d. metropolitanization
Answer: A
48. White families who move into gentrified communities usually profess liberal attitudes
toward people of color. Why does gentrification often fail to increase the dialogue between
the new white residents and the former black residents?
a. Both groups spend most of their time at work and have little time for socializing with their
neighbors.
b. The black residents left for the suburbs when the whites moved in.
c. There is a social class barrier that divides the two groups.
d. Most of the whites rent their property to people who do not stay in the area long enough to
develop relationships with neighbors.
Answer: C
49. The Northeast Corridor of the United States is an area covering 450 miles from north of
Boston to Washington, DC, and has a population of 44 million people. This breaks down to a
density of over 700 people per square mile. A population as large and dense as this is called:
a. a conurbation
b. a megalopolis
c. urbanization
d. demographic transition
Answer: B
50. What term does Saskia Sassen use to define urban centers that host the headquarters of
large, transnational corporations and extensive financial, technological, and consulting
services?
a. transnational capital
b. transnational technological centers
c. global cities
d. megalopolis
Answer: C
51. Presently, which of the following has the highest rate of urbanization?
a. oil-rich nations
b. developed nations
c. developing nations
d. undeveloped nations
Answer: B
52. In coming decades, it is predicted that ________ will urbanize more rapidly than other
nations.
a. Mexico
b. Canada
c. Africa and Asia
d. United States and England
Answer: C
53. Urban growth in less developed regions is high because of:
a. high rates of internal migration
b. high rates of migration from other countries
c. high crime in rural areas
d. government mandates to move people to the city
Answer: A
54. How many jobs are estimated to be needed to sustain the population growth in cities in
the developing world by 2025?
a. 5 million
b. 100 million
c. 500 million
d. 1 billion
Answer: D
55. Which job most closely illustrates an informal economy?
a. an administrative assistant for an oil company
b. a housekeeper in a suburban community
c. a unionized trash collector
d. a retail employee
Answer: B
56. Which is NOT a chronic problem in less developed countries?
a. pollution
b. unsafe water
c. inadequate sanitation
d. fertility rates
Answer: D
57. Which is an acute problem in less developed countries?
a. housing shortages
b. unsafe water
c. inadequate sanitation
d. pollution
Answer: A
58. Why is Mexico City one of the most polluted cities in the world?
a. It burns too many fossil fuels.
b. There are no government regulations against dumping toxic wastes in rivers.
c. Almost 95 percent of the land has buildings on it.
d. It is overpopulated.
Answer: C
59. As developing countries become industrialized, the birthrate will:
a. become higher
b. remain the same
c. become lower
d. industrialization has nothing to do with birthrate
Answer: C
60. Demography is the study of:
a. democracies
b. population
c. liberal Democratic policies
d. rule by the people
Answer: B
61. The number of live births per thousand in a population is called:
a. the crude birthrate
b. fertility
c. fecundity
d. the rate of population growth or decline
Answer: A
62. Crude birthrates are useful for comparisons between different:
a. groups
b. regions
c. societies
d. all of the above
Answer: D
63. What is the term for the number of live-born children the average woman gives birth to?
a. crude birthrate
b. fertility
c. fecundity
d. rate of population growth or decline
Answer: B
64. What is the term for the potential number of children women are biologically able to
bear?
a. crude birthrate
b. fertility
c. fecundity
d. rate of population growth or decline
Answer: C
65. The number of deaths per thousand of the population per year is called:
a. the crude birthrate
b. fertility
c. fecundity
d. the crude death rate
Answer: D
66. What is the term for the number of babies per thousand who die before their first
birthday?
a. crude death rate
b. crude birthrate
c. infant mortality rate
d. fecundity
Answer: C
67. Which is NOT a cause of the very high death rate in Sierra Leone?
a. AIDS
b. war
c. high infant mortality
d. frequent catastrophic weather
Answer: D
68. What is the term for the number of years an average person can expect to live?
a. life expectancy
b. life span
c. crude death rate
d. fecundity
Answer: A
69. Which factor does NOT influence life expectancy?
a. natural disasters
b. nutrition
c. illness
d. ethnicity
Answer: D
70. What is the term for the maximum number of years a person could possibly live?
a. life expectancy
b. life span
c. crude death rate
d. anticipated death rate
Answer: B
71. A key factor underlying the population explosion is:
a. a reduction in infant mortality rates
b. cleaner water
c. safer work environments
d. more people having many children
Answer: A
72. What demographic is calculated by subtracting the number of deaths per thousand by the
number of births per thousand?
a. crude birthrate
b. crude death rate
c. rate of population growth or decline
d. fecundity
Answer: C
73. Population growth rates are:
a. linear
b. exponential
c. usually negative
d. usually positive
Answer: B
74. The period it takes a population to double is:
a. double time
b. the crude birthrate
c. the crude death rate
d. the rate of population growth
Answer: A
75. Which of the following regions has the lowest population growth?
a. Europe
b. North America
c. South America
d. Asia
Answer: A
76. The belief that population growth outstrips the expansion of food production leading to
natural curbs on population growth such as famine and war is:
a. demographic transition
b. Malthusianism
c. economism
d. population balancing
Answer: B
77. Thomas Malthus was one of the earliest writers to show concern for population growth.
Demographers, economists, politicians, sociologists, and others have continued to debate his
ideas for more than 200 years. Which of the following quotes would most likely come from a
Malthusian supporter?
a. “Artificial food production will facilitate population growth.”
b. “Industrial production will create an abundance of goods that, in turn, will encourage the
procreation process.”
c. “In order to control population growth, people should abstain from sexual intercourse.”
d. “I am confident that the earth’s resources will increase to accommodate a growing
population.”
Answer: C
78. According to demographic transition theory, in which stage does population growth take
place?
a. Stage 1—preindustrial, traditional
b. Stage 2—partial industrial
c. Stage 3—full industrial
d. Stage 4—postindustrial
Answer: B
79. Which theory postulates that economic development generated by industrialization leads
to population stability?
a. demographic transition
b. Malthusianism
c. economism
d. population balancing
Answer: A
80. Have population controls worked in China?
a. Yes, the government provides disincentives for families to have more than one child.
b. Yes, parents who murder their children are not prosecuted, especially if the murdered
children are girls.
c. No, most children in China are born outside of marriage and the government cannot control
this trend.
d. No, the decentralized structure of the Chinese government impedes any social change.
Answer: A
81. Dependency ratio is the number of:
a. old people to young people
b. people on welfare to working people
c. working people to unemployed people
d. children and elderly to economically active people
Answer: D
82. As the dependency ratio increases in developed countries, older people may have:
a. more political power
b. less political power
c. the same amount of political power
d. no political power at all
Answer: A
83. Today, global hunger and malnourishment affects millions of people. This problem is
likely to:
a. diminish
b. disappear
c. get worse
d. get better
Answer: C
84. The solution to the environmental crisis will require:
a. global changes
b. social changes
c. technological changes
d. all of the above
Answer: D
85. Environmental ecology is:
a. concerned with preserving the physical environment from the impact of modern industry
and technology
b. the policy of placing toxic wastes in certified toxic waste dumps
c. the practice of organic farming
d. the policy and practice of recycling discarded electronic and toxic waste
Answer: A
86. One way biodiversity is most important is that it:
a. provides people with new medicines
b. creates jobs
c. cuts down unneeded vegetation
d. cuts down on hazardous waste
Answer: A
87. When the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere acts like glass on a greenhouse and
causes the average temperature of the earth to rise, the process causes:
a. depletion of the ozone layer
b. global warming
c. toxic waste development
d. recycling of the air
Answer: B
88. Gases previously used in aerosol cans and refrigerants have caused:
a. depletion of the ozone layer
b. global warming
c. toxic waste development
d. recycling of the air
Answer: A
89. What does global warming NOT affect?
a. the world’s water supply
b. the world’s weather
c. agriculture in some parts of the world
d. where manufacturing facilities are located
Answer: D
90. If we blame a group for global environmental problems, which group would be held most
responsible?
a. hunters in Africa who are destroying animals
b. Eskimos who are killing whales and seals
c. middle-class Americans who rely on paper goods, disposable goods, and fast food
d. people in developing countries who are thriving in an agricultural economy
Answer: C
91. Mary rides her bike to school, shops at a local farmer’s market, brings her own canvas
bags when shopping, and recycles waste. Her carbon footprint is:
a. minimal
b. nonexistent
c. medium
d. high
Answer: A
92. Where in the world is the most energy used?
a. Europe
b. India and Southeast Asia
c. United States and China
d. Africa
Answer: C
93. The term for the notion that economic growth should be carried on in such a way so as to
recycle resources instead of depleting them and keep pollution levels to a minimum is:
a. urban renewal
b. Malthusianism
c. sustainable development
d. environmental ecology
Answer: C
94. Which group consumes the most meat, fish, and cereals in the world?
a. poorest 20 percent
b. richest 20 percent
c. middle 60 percent
d. richest 25 percent
Answer: C
95. Of the total consumption in the world, what group consumes the most?
a. poorest 20 percent
b. richest 20 percent
c. middle 60 percent
d. richest 25 percent
Answer: B
96. For some people, the number of children they have is strongly influenced by their
religious beliefs. Which religious groups are opposed to birth control and/or encourage
people to have many children?
a. followers of earth-based religions, such as Wicca
b. Catholics and Muslims
c. Jews and Spiritualists
d. Lutherans and Baptists
Answer: B
97. In traditional Chinese culture, the oldest son is responsible for the family and couples
want to have a son. Social critics of China’s population control policy are concerned because
this policy is in conflict with a very strong traditional belief and leads to a variety of social
issues. Which of the following is NOT one of those issues?
a. widespread infanticide of female infants
b. highly skewed sex ratio
c. violation of the Chinese normative belief that a two-child family is the proper size
d. violation of the Chinese normative belief that children are a blessing and family size
should not be limited
Answer: D
98. Greenhouse gases that the U.S. produces and releases into the atmosphere affect:
a. only the United States
b. only the United States, Canada, and Mexico
c. only North America and South America
d. the entire world
Answer: D
99. Of the nearly 200 countries attending the Kyoto conference on climate control, which
industrialized country did NOT sign the Kyoto Accord promising to reduce its emissions
levels?
a. China
b. India
c. former Soviet Union
d. United States
Answer: D
100. Which group has been an outspoken opponent of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming
and has refused to participate in the program?
a. leaders of developing countries who recognize that they are the major violators of
environmental harmony
b. all leaders of developing countries who see the problem in terms of economics
c. American conservative Republicans who believe it would cost too much money
d. the French who see the restrictions as a problem for the wine industry
Answer: C
TRUE/FALSE
1. Sixteen of the most polluted cities in the world are in China.
Answer: True
2. China uses modern technology in their coal-burning power plants.
Answer: False
3. China is known as the world’s factory.
Answer: True
4. Cities first appeared around 5000 B.C.E.
Answer: False
5. Cities first appeared in river valleys.
Answer: True
6. In the ancient world, less privileged people lived in the center of the city.
Answer: False
7. In the ancient world, people were segregated by religion and ethnicity.
Answer: True
8. Industrialization leads to urbanization.
Answer: True
9. Britain was the first country to industrialize.
Answer: True
10. In the twenty-first century, the developing world is moving away from urbanization.
Answer: False
11. The traditional pattern of lower income people living in the city and wealthier people
living in the suburbs is starting to change.
Answer: True
12. Different neighborhoods develop through inhabitants struggling to make a living.
Answer: True
13. Most interactions people have with others in a city are personal and not because they
want something from the other person.
Answer: False
14. Recent theories of the city stress urbanization as a natural process.
Answer: False
15. Rural America contains over 75 percent of the nation’s land and 17 percent of the nation’s
total population.
Answer: True
16. In the 1960s, more of the U.S. population commuted to cities than to suburbs for work.
Answer: False
17. When there is urban renewal, poor inner-city residents benefit.
Answer: False
18. In global cities, salaries and bonuses of the affluent increase and so does the income of
the poor.
Answer: False
19. Social and cultural factors limit the actual number of children a woman gives birth to.
Answer: True
20. China’s population control policy has failed to control the rapid growth of its population.
Answer: False
Test Bank for Essentials of Sociology
Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P Appelbaum, Deborah Carr
9780393932379, 9780393674088, 9780393937459, 9780393918830
