GEO 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Demographic Transition, Urban Species, Clarence Stein
18 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
CGEO106
Lecture 9
Demographic Transition
The Process of Becoming Urban
- Urban areas aren’t just a matter of the form they take but also of the processes that give rise to them
- Urban areas are also not just collections of people but points of economic and demographic transformation, nodes
in the global network for interaction
- They also evolve over time in response to economic and technological transformations
- We humans weren’t always an urban species – we became such in response to major transformations in the way
we convert resources into lifestyles
Urban Growth vs. Urbanization
Urbanization Stages
Industrialization, Urbanization, Demographic Transition
- Interrelationships between industrialization, urbanization and demographic change are very important in
shaping societies
- Processes are linked in a cause/effect cycle where all elements have to stay synchronized for economic
development to occur
- For western nations (the developed world) these synchronized processes have occurred over the past 100+ years
- For developing nations, they have occurred over a much shorter period of time – about 20-30 years – or are in the
process of occurring
- This has led to developmental problems for virtually all newly industrializing nations
The Demographic Transition Model
- Postulates 4 stages of demographic change premised upon the interplay of birth and death rates and resulting
population change
Economic Changes
- Reflects the changing employment profile for sectors of the economy and how people earn a living
Urbanization (Urban Transition)
- The process wherein a predominantly rural population migrates to cities to become predominantly urban one
- End up with problems (e.g. slums) if not
Document Summary
Urban areas aren"t just a matter of the form they take but also of the processes that give rise to them. We humans weren"t always an urban species we became such in response to major transformations in the way. Urban areas are also not just collections of people but points of economic and demographic transformation, nodes in the global network for interaction. They also evolve over time in response to economic and technological transformations we convert resources into lifestyles. Interrelationships between industrialization, urbanization and demographic change are very important in shaping societies. Processes are linked in a cause/effect cycle where all elements have to stay synchronized for economic development to occur. For western nations (the developed world) these synchronized processes have occurred over the past 100+ years. For developing nations, they have occurred over a much shorter period of time about 20-30 years or are in the process of occurring.
