Deck 16: Urbanism and Population

Question 1

A megacity refers to:

A) A megalopolis
B) A large urban area covering a number of formerly separate towns
C) A city that contains at least 1 shopping mall and 1 megachurch.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following statements accurately describes a distinctive feature of the postmodern city?

A) A geographical clustering of likeminded individuals, in their own sections.
B) Main clusters of people in the same occupation, class, or ethnic group.
C) A heterogeneous mix of racial, ethnic, and economic groups.
D) A region primarily inhabited by immigrants
E) None of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What does young writer Ethan Watters mean when he describes himself as being a part of an "urban tribe"?

A) Watters is comparing his friend's primitive living conditions to those of pre-modern aboriginal tribes.
B) Watters is describing the postmodern relationships between men and women in urban cities to ritualistic tribal relations.
C) Watters is using the term tribe to describe his network of friends who are distinguished by their cultural affinities and lifestyles.
D) Watters is part Native American, and is describing his plight to maintain his ethnic identity in a postmodern, urban world.
E) All of the above

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The historical and social process in which cities grow and become the center of social life is called:

A) Urbanization
B) Citification
C) Population density
D) Demography
E) All of the above

Question 5

Emile Durkheim used what term to describe relations that are characteristic of traditional, pre-modern social life, where social solidarity is based on the like-mindedness of individuals and there is a low degree of role specialization?

A) Pre-urbanization
B) Functional relations
C) Mechanical relations
D) Organic relations
E) None of the above

Question 6

Emile Durkheim used what term to describe relations characteristic of a modern society, where individuals perform specialized roles and their interdependence is based on exchange of specialized services?

A) Pre-urbanization
B) Functional relations
C) Mechanical relations
D) Organic relations
E) None of the above

Question 7

What did sociologist Georg Simmel describe with his concept "neurasthenia"?

A) A psychological condition, similar to multiple personality disorder, where the individual feels torn between their home life and their work life in the city, and begins to live two nearly separate lives.
B) A neurotic sense of anxiety and stress which is arguably inherent to an urban way of life.
C) A respiratory condition that is caused by overexposure to urban environmental conditions, such as increased smog and noise pollution.
D) The postmodern obsession with global warming, climate change, and environmental deterioration.
E) None of the above

Question 8

Urban decentralization refers to the movement of the middle classes out from the inner cities, and into new suburbs. Another term for this process is:

A) Gentrification
B) White flight
C) Suburbanization
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 9

Which of the following statements is not true about trends in sociologists' study of cities?

A) Sociologists' generalizations about cities and their typical cultures and mentalities were affected by the predominant demographic movement at the time.
B) Early sociologists focused on the ways increasing urbanization caused detachment and impersonality.
C) Postwar sociologists were concerned about the effects of the movement to suburbs, such as cultural conformity and the segregation of classes and ethnic groups.
D) Postwar sociologists assumed that most Americans fled for single-family houses and suburban life as soon as they could afford to do so.
E) None of the above

Question 10

Urban Sprawl refers to:

A) The process through which smaller cities and the space between smaller cities is subsumed into one megacity.
B) The current trend in which corporate headquarters are increasingly leaving the cities, and relocating to suburban areas.
C) The process by which urban lifestyles are subsuming all other lifestyles, even in suburban and rural areas.
D) The postmodern tendency of individuals to purchase and own more property, thus taking up more physical space in cities.
E) None of the above

Question 11

Urban researcher Richard Florida found a large gay population to be the leading indicator of high-tech success in major cities. What might explain this finding?

A) Gay households tend to have the spending power of two earners without the expense of children.
B) The presence of gays is a sign of diverse and tolerant city culture.
C) This was not his finding. Richard Florida found that a city's proximity to a natural body of water was the leading indicator of high-tech success.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 12

According to Chapter 16, there seem to be two co-existing urban images-one positive and one negative. Which of the following is an example of the negative image?

A) The booming downtown is not far from depressed ghettos.
B) Some have argued that characteristics of cities make it more likely that a certain type of city will be vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
C) Communities come to feel at risk, and may feel the need to separate or protect their territory.
D) International cities play an important role in eroding borders, making urban threats, such as terror and crime, 'borderless.'
E) All of the above

Question 13

Blakely and Snyder identify three major types of gated communities. Which of the following is not one of these types?

A) Lifestyle-communities based on shared consumption and a new leisure class, such as retirement communities or golf communities.
B) Luxury-communities with large houses that provide luxury benefits, such as cleaning services, childcare, and limo services to the wealthy residents.
C) Prestige-communities that express a desire for upward mobility, where individuals seek to distinguish themselves from the surrounding areas (particularly poorer areas).
D) Security zone-communities that are socially constructed and symbolized by walls, gates and closed streets, with high security systems as protections against fear of crime and outsiders.
E) None of the above

Question 14

Edge Cities are:

A) Synonymous with suburbs
B) Cities that lie on coasts or at state borders
C) Industrial and commercial centers located just outside the old downtown.
D) Cities whose populations are just barely high enough to be considered cities
E) None of the above

Question 15

What is re-globalization?

A) When an ethnic group reconnects itself to its society of origin, and begins to affirm its original culture and values.
B) A synonym for globalization
C) The shift back to globalization after a twenty year period of isolationist policy.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 16

What is de-globalization?

A) A process that moves society away from pluralistic, diverse society
B) A process that moves society toward a common, national identity and culture.
C) The opposite process of globalization
D) A process that entails the assimilation of recent immigrant groups.
E) All of the above

Question 17

A people who believe they have a common origin, but who have been scattered outside of their place of origin are called:

A) Diaspora
B) Subpopulations
C) Enclaves
D) Ghettos
E) None of the above

Question 18

The study of growth, size, composition, distribution and movement in human population is called:

A) Census taking
B) Demography
C) Universalism
D) Anthropology
E) All of the above

Question 19

According to the data presented in Chapter 16, which of the following generalizations is true about the United States?

A) The population of the United States is growing at a far faster rate than most other MDCs.
B) The United States comprises more than 5 percent of the world's population.
C) The population of the United States has stagnated.
D) The United States has the largest population, surpassing even China and India.
E) None of the above

Question 20

Which of the following is a possible explanation for the United States' demographic trends?

A) The United States has a relatively high rate of immigration.
B) Many immigrants who come to the United States come from countries whose cultures encourage larger families.
C) Many immigrants come to the United States from countries that discourage birth control.
D) Women in the United States give birth to more than two children on average, which is much higher than other MDCs.
E) All of the above

Question 21

Growth in population size is the single most important issue in defining cities and determining the world's largest city.

Question 22

According to Chapter 16, one of the most attractive features of the postmodern city is that it appears to give the individual more choices of lifestyle.

Question 23

The increase in agricultural production has been the most important factor underlying the growth of cities.

Question 24

Happiness trends in countries across the world have been positively correlated with economic growth.

Question 25

Changes in happiness trends have stayed consistent in most countries of the world over the last 80 years.

Question 26

The modern city is characterized by organic relations.

Question 27

Urban decentralization was largely driven by the decline of the Northeast and Midwest manufacturing industries due to economic changes, such as increased global competition from newly industrialized countries.

Question 28

Megacities are notable for the contrasts within their expanding borders. The inner cities include some of the poorest and most troubled sections of the population, as well as the affluent singles and the wealthy empty nesters.

Question 29

Though megacities expand to include other small cities and space between cities, there is only one city center.

Question 30

Most contemporary sociologists believe that ethnic cultures will be assimilated and disappear in megacities.

Question 31

Accessible technology, such as the Internet, email, and cheaper air travel, mean that globalization and immigration no longer have to erode local cultures.

Question 32

Although the United States has certain advantages due to its relatively balanced population, it is not immune to the effects of global population pressures.