Title

Code
Credit
Semester
Year
Program
School
Lecturer

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Integrated Study of Major World Environments 2

1641
:
16
Two
2016
Geography
Environmental Sciences
DR. N.V. Mudau

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module the students should be able to do the following:

Identify human induced factors responsible for environmental deterioration

Apply theories linking human beings and the environment in order to solve
environmental problems
To identify and study problems of major cities of the world.
Impact of the environment on population dynamics
Analysis of interprets development problems over space and through time.
Understand relationship between gender social development and economic
growth.

Competencies Promoted
Critical thinking through comparative, constructing approaches in the study of
human geography.
Integrative skills between human and physical processes.
Analysis of impacts of human beings on the physical environment.
Application of knowledge acquired in the course to solve food sufficiency
problems at the household and regional levels.
ASSESMENT
2 x assignments
2 x tests
1 x presentation in groups
1 x project report in groups

CHAPTER 1
HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS
Geographers have long studied the dynamics of both social systems and physical systems,
making our discipline a natural arena for the study of interactions between humans and the
environment. Geographers are engaged in research that focuses on many sub-fields of humanenvironment

research

including

air

quality, climate

change,

resource

management,

deforestation/reforestation, globalization, and sustainability. The study of these coupled humannatural systems (or social-ecological systems) leverages methodological traditions in geography
such as GIS, remote sensing, spatial analysis, and field work. The fundamental goals of these
studies are to better understand the impact of humans on the environment and the impact of
environmental changes on society. We also seek to identify what actions can help mitigate the
negative consequences of local, regional, and global environmental change.
Human Geographers are engaged in research that focuses on several key sub-fields of the
discipline including transportation, economic geography, regional development, urban-economic
restructuring, globalization, tourism, and landscape. Combining both quantitative (e.g. spatial
statistics and network modeling) and qualitative approaches (e.g. ethnography and participant
observation), the fundamental goal of these studies is to better understand how humans organize
and participate in their economic, political, cultural, and social environment.
Human Environmental Interactions can be defined as interactions between the human social
system and (the rest of) the ecosystem.Human social systems and ecosystems are complex
adaptive systems. Complex because ecosystems and human social systems have many parts and
many connections between these parts. Adaptive because they have feedback structures that
promote survival in a constantly changing environment. Human-environment interaction looks at
the relationships between people and their environment; how people adapt to the environment
and how they change it.How do people depend on the environment? (Example: In ancient times,
the annual flooding of the Nile River produced good soil for growing crops.)How to people adapt
to the environment? (Example: The ancient Egyptians rebuilt their homes each year, after the
annual flooding. As time went on, they built their homes above the flood plain.) How do people
modify the environment? (Example: The ancient Egyptians built irrigation ditches to help water
the crops. In modern times, Egypt built a dam to control the flood waters of the Nile River.)

In order to analyse Human Environmental Interactions it is important to be aware of specific

characteristics of the human social system. The type of society strongly influences peoples
attitude towards nature, their behaviour and therefore their impact on ecosystems. Important
characteristics of human social systems are population size, social organization, values,
technology, wealth, education, knowledge and many more. Especially values and knowledge
strongly influence peoples view of life and consequently define the way people act. The choice
of possible actions is then limited by the available technology
People modify the environment for their purposes and obtain benefits (Ecosystem Services) from
it. These Ecosystem Services are essential for human well-being and include for example the
provision of resources like water, timber, food, energy, information, land for farming and many
more. Obviously by using these resources people affect the environment in a lot of ways.
Furthermore people often reorganize existing ecosystems to achieve new ones that seem to be
more effective in serving their needs.
The Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) analysed how Ecosystem Services and constituents
of human well-being are interlinked. The MA research programme was launched with support
from the United Nations in 2001.

Coevolution and Coadaptation

The terms coevolution and coadaptation describe the never-ending process of mutual adjustment
and change between human social systems and the environment. Peoples actions have
consequences on the environment. But also the environment influences human activities. Human
social systems have to adapt to their specific environment. Natural phenomena like storms,
earthquakes force people to react. These natural phenomena can either be directly or not
primarily caused by human actions and again influence human behaviour as people have to
respond to a new situation.
Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response
The Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model was originally developed by the
European Environmental Agency (EEA) and is used to assess and manage environmental
problems. Many national and European institutions adopted this conceptual framework. It
identifies the various causal chains of links between human activities and environmental
degradation. The model distinguishes several categories of indicators in order to explain how the
state of the environment is changed due to human activities. Human activities increase or
4

mitigate pressure on the environment. The driving forces which initiate human activities are
mainly socio-economic and socio-cultural forces.

The following graphic explains the DPSIR process:

Unit Two: Studying Africa through the Social Studies

Anthropogenic effects, processes, objects, or materials are those that are derived from human
activities, as opposed to those occurring in natural environments without human influences.
The term is often used in the context of environmental externalities in the form of chemical or
biological wastes that are produced as by-products of otherwise purposeful human activities.
5

For instance, a scientific consensus holds that man-made carbon dioxide is the primary factor
driving climate change.
Sources
Anthropogenic sources include industry, agriculture, mining, transportation, construction,
habitations and deforestation.

Industry

Release of gases and dust into the atmosphere.

Waste disposal practices.
Air pollution, water pollution.

Agriculture

Conversion of woodlands into fields and pastures including slash-and-burn techniques.

Diversion of surface and groundwater.
Ground water salinization due to inadequate drainage.
Pollution of soil and water by chemicals found in fertilizer and pesticides.
dirty or unclean water

Mining

Removal of topsoil and creation of spoil piles.

Diversion of groundwater by mine shafts.
Surface runoff bearing mining wastes.
Release of air pollution by refining processes.

Transportation

Diversion of surface water flow by roadways.

Vehicular air pollution.
Roadway noise, aircraft noise and transit noise.

Construction

Removal of natural habitats by grading and building

Diversion of groundwater.
Filling in marshes, baylands, swamps, ponds, stream beds.

Habitations

One of the most important themes in geography is the relationship between the natural
environment and human beings. Land, natural resources, climate, and vegetation are basic tools
necessary to human life. The environment in which people live impacts the way they live and the
ways they make a living. So, to give a simple if extreme example, people who live in deserts
develop societies and ways of making a living that fit with the realities of the desert
environment.
However, it is also most important to remember that human-environmental interaction is not a
one-way affair. The histories of human societies in Africa, as in all other areas of the world, are
in part the story of our use and exploitation of resources in our environment, land, minerals,
water, plants, animals, and air. The use of the natural environment through cultivation, hunting,
grazing, mining, building villages, cities, roads, and through countless forms of pollution can
permanently impact the environment
As in your own home areas, a wide variety of environmental issues confront different areas,
including:

Soil erosion

Water pollution

Toxic waste

Air pollution

Waste management

Endangered species/wild-life management

THE INFLUENCE OF HUMAN ACTIVITY ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Human activities, which have harmed ecosystems, have resulted in a loss of diversity in both
living things and the nonliving environment. Examples of these changes include land use, the
cutting of vast areas of forest, and pollution of the soil, air, and water. Another way humans have
changed ecosystems in a harmful way is by adding or removing specific organisms to these
ecosystems.

Our ever increasing demand for energy has impacted ecosystems negatively as

well. Man environmental risks are associated with our use of fossil and nuclear fuels. Land is an
7

indispensable commodity for all living organisms.the survival of all organisms depends entirely
on the ability of the land to support life. Due to population growth it is very difficult to stop
people from utilising fragile ecosystems.
Therefore it is important to teach people to work together on the correct utilisation of resources
and to care for their environment. Sustaining the environment in which people live may in a way
improve the quality of the environment, which in turn, is like improving the quality of life.

Soil - over-cultivation, soil erosion, land degradation

Forest deforestation for different purposes
Air - air pollution, industries, emmision of greenhouse gases
Water water pollution, siltation

Improvements in agriculture health and medicine have produced a dramatic rise in the
human population
This increase in population size leads to an increase in pollution and higher demand for

the worlds resources

Humans are using up the earths resources, including fossil fuels.
Burning fossil fuels in cars and power stations produces carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide

and other greenhouse gases

carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere and causes the temperature of the earth to

rise.
This leads to disruption of the weather patterns eg drought, floods
Some weeds may thrive on the extra carbon dioxide while other plants are killed
Sulphur dioxide will dissolve in rain producing Acid Rain
Acid rain damages trees and pollutes rivers and lakes.
Acid
rain
causes
erosion
of
buildings
and statues particularly if they are made of limestone

Deforestation

In may countries people are chopping down forests to provide timber or space for
agriculture for the growing population

This causes several problems

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Burning the timber increases the level of carbon dioxide in the air
Less trees means less carbon dioxide absorbed for photosynthesis
Soil is eroded as it is exposed to the wind and rain
Less water is transpired into the atmosphere
Many animal and plant habitats are destroyed causing extinction of species

Intensive Farming
8

Farming has become more intensive to provide a higher % yield from land
Many people regard intensive farming of animals to be cruel
In order to produce more food from the land farmers have to use more fertilisers and

pesticides\
Problems with Fertilisers
Fertilisers enable farmers to grow more food as they are replacing the nutrients removed

from the soil by plants

However, if too much fertiliser is added and it then rains, the fertiliser finds its way into

rivers and lakes

This causes the water plants to grow and as there is competition for light, some will die
Bacteria decay the dead plants and in so doing use up oxygen from the water
This means the fish suffocate and die
This process is called Eutrophication
Raw sewage pumped into rivers has the same effect
Pesticides
Pesticides kill insects that will damage crops
They also kill harmless insects or can get washed into rivers and pollute the water
They may even end up in the food chain

SECTION 5: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Build homes in such a way that they are warm in winter and cool in summer
Energy efficient devices
Use the right energy source for the right activity
Composting toilets
Biogas digesters
Grey waste water system
Rain water harvesting
Landscaping
Waste recycling

Build homes in such a way that they are warm in winter and cool in summer

Traditional homes made from mud brick are much more thermally efficient than cement

brick homes.
We should encourage this type of building in rural areas where cement is not readily

available and clay is abundant.

Cont.
9

By installing a ceiling and putting insulation in the roofs of houses , there can be savings

made on heating homes.

Build homes facing the sun
We can start off winters evening with a warm home already.
Large windows on the north side allow more sun in

Energy efficient devices

Energy efficient light bulbs last for up to 30% less electricity.

Old fridges use a lot of electricity.
As much as 50% of your energy bill is from an electric geyser.
Put your heater upright
Buy geyser blanket to insulate the geyser
Remember to switch off all appliances when not in use.
Use right energy source for the right activity
Gas is better for space heating and cooking than electricity.
It gives an immediate heat and you do not lose money while heating appliances.
Wind energy is especially useful along coastlines.
Solar energy is good in most of South Africa, mostly in rural areas.
Biogas has great potential in South Africa , particularly in rural and farming areas.

Composting toilets

S.A is one of 25 countries in a water crisis.

Waterborne sanitation is hugely costly in terms of water use, money and pollution
Flush toilets cost between R3500-R5000 per household plus R100m upwards for

sewerage treatment
By contrast , composting toilets are a dry , non-flush , zero discharge system.
Composting toilets are based on a simple system: air is brought into the waste chamber,

preventing the smell bacteria from growing.

It is the bacteria that cause the methane smell of the commonly used pit latrines.
Compost toilets require little maintenance, clean out compost every few years. The
system is good in rural areas where water supply is limited

Biogas digester

Essentially a biogas digester is a septic tank , a closed sanitation system existing in a

particular area and not linked to a complicated sanitation system requiring treatments

works. 11 million biogas digester in China

Sewage waste gets fed into the biogas digester where it gets broken down and enables

methane gas to collect.

Methane gas is a very useful source of energy for heating and cooking.
There is no need to install bulk infrastructure nor build wastewater treatments plants.
An additional benefit of the biogas digester is that the effluent water can be used for
irrigation .
10

Everybody wins and the water resources are protected and enhanced.

Grey waste water system

Grey waste water is the water that comes from basins and baths as opposed to black water

, which comes from toilets.

Grey water can be used again to flush toilets , or it can be filtered to irrigate gardens.

Rainwater harvesting

Allowing rainwater to soak into the soil is very important to help replenish groundwater

levels.
Harvesting rainwater can be used for --------A good place to harvest water is the roof .
A local community can also manufacture tin systems quite simply.
If tin is used however ,the water MUST NOT be used for drinking.

Landscaping

Plants create a more hospitable climate around houses or buildings so well planned

gardens are an excellent tool in sustainable living.

Indigenous plants are the best to use for water conservation ,as they require very little

water compared to alien ones.

Mulching should be done on all the bare soil and around plants.
Swales can be created to ensure that any run-off water filtrates into the ground.

Water recycling

A lot of what we throw away actually has value.

Let set up waste recycling schemes and we will:
Reduced need for rubbish dump sites and landfill space that is expensive to establish
Create a few jobs where people sort and recycle.
Community waste recycling schemes are wonderful opportunities for people to get
involved in helping their community and also improving the local environment.

CHAPTER 2
THEORIES LINKING POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS IN HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTER-RELATIONSHIP

Environmental determinism
Environmental possibilism
Environmental probabilism

Environmental determinism
11

Also known as climatic determinism or geographical determinism, is the view that the physical
environment, rather than social conditions, determines culture. Those who believe this view say
that humans are strictly defined by stimulus-response (environment-behavior) and cannot
deviate.
Physical geography, particularly climate, influenced the psychological mind-set of individuals,
which in turn defined the behaviour and culture of the society that those individuals formed.

Environmental possibilism

Possibilism emphasizes the range of possible strategies of cultural adaptation to given

environmental conditions and the resulting impossibility of speaking of strict
environmental determinism . Societies, possibilists argue, do not merely reflect their
environmental ... Possibilism in cultural geography is the theory that the environment
sets certain constraints or limitations, but culture is otherwise determined by man's
actions.

Environmental probabilism

Environmental probabilism is a thought that considers the probabilistic relationship

between physical environments and behavior. For example, an warm, and welcoming
entrance to a campus building will increase the probability of it being entered more so
than if it is cold and unwelcoming. The welcoming entrance does not cause entry, but the
probability of entry can be increased with proper design.

ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY

The human species has prospered but only by placing increasing demands on the earth. Ecology
is the study of the interaction of living organisms and the natural environment. Often we have
compromised the natural environment in order to meet our own interests and desires.
The Global Dimension
The ecosystem is composed of the interaction of all living organisms and their natural
environment. What happens in Brazil has an impact on Canada.
Technology and the Environmental Deficit

12

Increasingly industrial technology has impacted the environment such that we are running up an
environmental deficit, profound and negative long-term harm to the natural environment caused
by human focus on short-term material affluence. We make social decisions which have
environmental effects. Presumably we can make social decisions to undo those effects.
Culture: Growth and Limits
The Logic of Growth
This is an optimistic view of the future where technology improves our lives. Critics of this
optimism suggest that improving our lives uses up finite resources.
The Limits to Growth
This is a thesis which suggests that we are quickly consuming the earths finite resources, and the
future holds starvation and industrial decline. Either we change the way we live, or calamity will
force change upon us.
Solid Waste: The Disposable Society
The average North American disposes two kilograms of materials daily. We consume a
disproportionate share of the planets natural resources and we throw huge portions away. More
efficient use and systematic recycling is in order.
Water and Air
Water Supply
Water is the lifeblood of the global ecosystem but soaring population and complex technology
has reduced our global ready supply of water. Water consumption needs to be curbed.
Water Pollution
Not only water must be protected but also the quality of that water is a concern. Pollution, such
as acid rain, can devastate forests and lakes.
Air Pollution
The deadly mix of automobile exhaust and coal-fired plants can plague the environment. Rich
nations have reduced noxious outputs but poorer nations that rely on dirty fuels will increasingly
pollute the air. The Applying Sociology Box (p. 566-567) indicates that Canada appears to be
environmentally friendly, but in reality it is not.
The Rain Forests
These regions of dense forestation help to cleanse the atmosphere of carbon dioxide which, we
think, leads to global warming. We are, however, losing rain forests at an accelerating rate. This
13

suggests that both global warming and declining biodiversity will compromise our future life on
this planet.

CARRYING CAPACITY
The carrying capacity of a biological species in an environment is the maximum population size
of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and
other necessities available in the environment. In population biology, carrying capacity is defined
as the environment's maximal load, which is different from the concept of population
equilibrium.For the human population, more complex variables such as sanitation and medical
care are sometimes considered as part of the necessary establishment. As population density
increases, birth rate often decreases and death rate typically increases. The difference between
the birth rate and the death rate is the "natural increase". The carrying capacity could support a
positive natural increase, or could require a negative natural increase. Thus, the carrying capacity
is the number of individuals an environment can support without significant negative impacts to
the given organism and its environment. Below carrying capacity, populations typically increase,
while above, they typically decrease. A factor that keeps population size at equilibrium is known
as a regulating factor. Population size decreases above carrying capacity due to a range of factors
depending on the species concerned, but can include insufficient space, food supply, or sunlight.
The carrying capacity of an environment may vary for different species and may change over
time due to a variety of factors, including: food availability, water supply, environmental
conditions and living space.

The carrying capacity is the size of a population that can live indefinitely using the resources
available where that population lives. For example, consider an island onto which is dropped a
group of rabbits. As long as there is an adequate supply of food and water, the rabbits will not
only survive but they will reproduce and the group will get larger. The rabbit population can

14

continue to grow as long as food and water are adequate. However, if at some point, there are
more rabbits than food to feed them, then the rabbit population will start to decline.
This limit is called the carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is not a fixed number; it depends
upon factors such as how much each rabbit eats, how fast the food grows, and how well the
natural systems of the island can handle the waste produced by the rabbits. Obviously, in a
drought year less food would grow and the island would support fewer rabbits. In good years, the
island would support more rabbits.
The earth is our island. We have an advantage over the rabbits in that we have developed
technology to grow, process, and store food so that we can survive the bad years. We have also
developed technologies for handling wastes that we create. However, there is still a carrying
capacity that the earth can support. That carrying capacity is a function of the number of people,
the amount of resources each person consumes and the ability of the earth to process all the
wastes produced. Sustainability is about finding the balance point among population,
consumption, and waste assimilation.
LIMIT TO GROWTH (CLUB OF ROME)
Our world model was built specifically to investigate five major trends of global concern accelerating industrialization, rapid population growth, widespread malnutrition, depletion of
nonrenewable resources, and a deteriorating environment.
Furthermore, the basic behavior modes we have already observed in this model appear to be so
fundamental and general that we do not expect our broad conclusions to be substantially altered
by further revisions.
Our conclusions are :
1. If the present growth trends in world population, industrialization,
pollution, food production, and resource depletion continue unchanged,
the limits to growth on this planet will be reached sometime within the
15

next one hundred years. The most probable result will be a rather sudden
and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity.
2. It is possible to alter these growth trends and to establish a condition of
ecological and economic stability that is sustainable far into the future.
The state of global equilibrium could be designed so that the basic
material needs of each person on earth are satisfied and each person has
an equal opportunity to realize his individual human potential.
If the worlds people decide to strive for this second outcome rather than the first, the sooner
they begin working to attain it, the greater will be their chances of success.
All five elements basic to the study reported here - population, food production, and
consumption of nonrenewable natural resources - are increasing. The amount of their increase
each year follows a pattern that mathematicians call exponential growth.
A quantity exhibits exponential growth when it increases by a constant percentage of the whole
in a constant time period. Such exponential growth is a common process in biological,
financial, and many other systems of the world.
Exponential growth is a dynamic phenomenon, which means that it involves elements that
change over time. (...) When many different quantities are growing simultaneously in a system,
however, and when all the quantities are interrelated in a complicated way, analysis of the
causes of growth and of the future behavior of the system becomes very difficult indeed.
Over the course of the last 30 years there has evolved at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology a new method for understanding the dynamic behavior of complex systems.
The method is called System Dynamics. The basis of the method is the recognition that the
structure of any system - the many circular, interlocking, sometimes time-delayed relationships
among its components - is often just as important in determining its behavior as the individual
components themselves.

16

The world model described in this section is a System Dynamics model Extrapolation of present
trends is a time-honored way of looking into the future, especially the very near future, and
especially if the quantity being considered is not much influenced by other trends that are
occurring elsewhere in the system. Of course, none of the five factors we are examining here is
independent.
Each interacts constantly with all the others. We have already mentioned some of these
interactions.

population cannot grow without food

food production is increased by growth of capital

more capital requires more resources

discarded resources become pollution

pollution interferes with the growth of both population and food

Furthermore, over long time periods each of these factors also feeds back to influence itself.
In this first simple world model, we are interested only in the broad behavior modes of the
population-capital system. By behavior modes we mean the tendencies of the variables in the
system (population or pollution, for example) to change as time progresses.
A major purpose in constructing the world model has been to determine which, if any, of these
behavior modes will be most characteristic of the world system as it reaches the limits to
growth. This process of determining behavior modes is prediction only in the most limited
sense of the word.
Because we are interested at this point only in broad behavior modes, this first world model
needs not be extremely detailed. We thus consider only one general population, a population
that statistically reflects the average characteristics of the global population.
We include only one class of pollutants - the long-lived, globally distributed family of
pollutants, such as lead, mercury, asbestos, and stable pesticides and radioisotopes - whose

17

dynamic behavior in the ecosystem we are beginning to understand. We plot one generalized
resource that represents the combined reserves of all nonrenewable resources, although we
know that each separate resource will follow the general dynamic pattern at its own specific
level and rate.
This high level of aggregation is necessary at this point to keep the model understandable. At
the same time it limits the information we can expect to gain from the model.
Can anything be learned from such a highly aggregated model? Can its output be considered
meaningful? In terms of exact predictions, the output is not meaningful. On the other hand it is
vitally important to gain some understanding of the causes of growth in human society, the
limits to growth, and the behavior of our socio-economic systems when the limits are reached.
All levels in the model (population, capital, pollution, etc.) begin with 1900 values. From 1900
to 1970 the variables agree generally with their historical value to the extent that we know
them. Population rises from 1.6 billion in 1900 to 3.5 billion in 1970. Although the birth rate
declines gradually, the death rate falls more quickly, especially after 1940, and the rate of
population growth increases. Industrial output, food and services per capita increase
exponentially.
The resource base in 1970 is still about 95 percent of its 1900 value, but it declines dramatically
thereafter, as population and industrial output continue to grow.
The behavior mode of the system is that of overshoot and collapse. In this run the collapse
occurs because of nonrenewable resource depletion.

The industrial capital stock grows to a level that requires an enormous input of
resources.

In the very process of that growth it depletes a large fraction of the resource
reserves available.

As resource prices rise and mines are depleted, more and more capital must be
used for obtaining resources, leaving less to be invested for future growth.
18

Finally investment cannot keep up with depreciation, and the industrial base
collapses, taking with it the service and agricultural systems, which have become
dependent on industrial inputs (such as fertilizers, pesticides, hospital
laboratories, computers, and especially energy for mechanization).

For a short time the situation is especially serious because population, with the
delays inherent in the age structure and the process of social adjustment, keeps
rising.

Population finally decreases when the death rate is driven upward by lack of food and health
services.
The exact timing of these events is not meaningful, given the great aggregation and many
uncertainties in the model. It is significant, however, that growth is stopped well before the year
2100. We have tried in every doubtful case to make the most optimistic estimate of unknown
quantities, and we have also ignored discontinuous events such as wars or epidemics, which
might act to bring an end to growth even sooner than our model would indicate.
In other words, the model is biased to allow growth to continue longer than it probably can
continue in the real world. We can thus say with some confidence that, under the assumption of
no major change in the present system, population and industrial growth will certainly stop
within the next century, at the latest.
To test the model assumption about available resources, we doubled the resource reserves in
1900, keeping all other assumptions identical to those in the standard run. Now industrialization
can reach a higher level since resources are not so quickly depleted.
The larger industrial plant releases pollution at such a rate, however, that the environmental
pollution absorption mechanisms become saturated. Pollution rises very rapidly, causing an
immediate increase in the death rate and a decline in food production. At the end of the run
resources are severely depleted in spite of the doubled amount initially available.

19

Is the future of the world system bound to be growth and then collapse into a dismal, depleted
existence?
Only if we make the initial assumption that our present way of doing things will not change. We
have ample evidence of mankinds ingenuity and social flexibility. There are, of course, many
likely changes in the system, some of which are already taking place. The Green Revolution is
raising agricultural yields in non industrialized countries. Knowledge about modern methods of
birth control is spreading rapidly.
Although the history of human effort contains numerous incidents of mankinds failure to live
within physical limits, it is success in overcoming limits that forms the cultural tradition of
many dominant people in todays world.
Over the past three hundred years, mankind has compiled an impressive record of pushing back
the apparent limits to population and economic growth by a series of spectacular technological
advances.
Since the recent history of a large part of human society has been so continuously successful, it
is quite natural that many people expect technological breakthrough to go on raising physical
ceilings indefinitely.
Will new technologies alter the tendency of the world system to grow and collapse?

Let us assume, however, that the technological optimists are correct and that
nuclear energy will solve the resource problems of the world.

Let us also assume a reduction in pollution generation all sources by a factor of

four, starting in 1975.

Let us also assume that the normal yield per hectare of all the worlds land can be
further increased by a factor of two.

Besides we assume perfect birth control, practiced voluntarily, starting in 1975.

20

All this means we are utilizing a technological policy in every sector of the world model to
circumvent in some way the various limits to growth.
The model system is producing nuclear power, recycling resources, and mining the most remote
reserves; withholding as many pollutants as possible; pushing yields from the land to
undreamed-of heights; and producing only children who are actively wanted by their parents.
The result is still an end to growth before the year 2100.
Because of three simultaneous crises.

Overuse of land leads to erosion, and food production drops.

Resources are severely depleted by a prosperous world population (but not as

prosperous as the present US population).

Pollution rises, drops, and then rises again dramatically, causing a further
decrease in food production and a sudden rise in the death rate.

The application of technological solutions alone has prolonged the period of population and
industrial growth, but it has not removed the ultimate limits to that growth.
Given the many approximations and limitations of the world model, there is no point in
dwelling glumly on the series of catastrophes it tends to generate. We shall emphasize just one
more time that none of these computer outputs is a prediction. We would not expect the real
world to behave like the world model in any of the graphs we have shown, especially in the
collapse modes.
The model contains dynamic statements about only the physical aspects of mans activities. It
assumes that social variables - income distribution, attitudes about family size, choices among
goods, services, and food - will continue to follow the same patterns they have followed
throughout the world in recent history.
These patterns, and the human value they represent, were all established in the growth phase of
our civilization.
21

They would certainly be greatly revised as population and income began to decrease. Since we
find it difficult to imagine what new forms of human societal behavior might emerge and how
quickly they would emerge under collapse conditions, we have not attempted to model such
social changes. What validity our model has holds up only to the point in each output graph at
which growth comes to an end and collapse begins.
The unspoken assumption behind all of the model runs we have presented in this chapter is that
population and capital growth should be allowed to continue until they reach some natural
limit. This assumption also appears to be a basic part of the human value system currently
operational in the real world.
Given that first assumption, that population and capital growth should not be deliberately
limited but should be left to seek their own levels, we have not been able to find a set of
policies that avoids the collapse mode of behavior.
The hopes of the technological optimists center on the ability of technology to remove or
extend the limits to growth of population and capital. We have shown that in the world model
the application of technology to apparent problems of resource depletion or pollution or food
shortage has no impact on the essential problem, which is exponential growth in a finite and
complex system.
Our attempts to use even the most optimistic estimates of the benefits of technology in the
model did not prevent the ultimate decline of population and industry, and in fact did not in any
case postpone the collapse beyond the year 2100.
Unfortunately the model does not indicate, at this stage, the social side-effects of new
technologies. These effects are often the most important in terms of the influence of a
technology on peoples lives. Social side-effects must be anticipated and forestalled before the
large-scale introduction of a new technology.

22

While technology can change rapidly, political and socialinstitutions generally change very
slowly. Furthermore, they almost never change in anticipation of social need, but only in
response to one. We must also keep in mind the presence of social delays - the delays necessary
to allow society to absorb or to prepare for a change. Most delays, physical or social reduce the
stability of the world system and increase the likelihood of the overshoot mode.
The social delays, like the physical ones, are becoming increasingly more critical because the
processes of exponential growth are creating additional pressures at a faster and faster rate.
Although the rate of technological change has so far managed to keep up with this accelerated
pace, mankind has made virtually no new discoveries to increase the rate of social, political,
ethical, and cultural change.
Even if societys technological progress fulfills all expectations, it may very well be a problem
with no technical solution, or the interaction of several such problems, that finally brings an end
to population and capital growth. Applying technology to the natural pressures that the
environment exerts against any growth process has been so successful in the past that a whole
culture has evolved around the principle of fighting against limits rather than learning to live
with them.
Is it better to try to live within that limit by accepting a self-imposed restriction on growth? Or
is it preferable to go on growing until some other natural limit arises, in the hope that at that
time another technological leap will allow growth to continue still longer?
For the last several hundred years human society has followed the second course so consistently
and successfully that the first choice has been all but forgotten.
There may be much disagreement with the statement that population and capital growth must
stop soon. But virtually no one will argue that material growth on this planet can go on forever.
At this point in mans history, the choice posed above is still available in almost every sphere of
human activity. Man can still choose his limits and stops when he pleases by weakening some
23

of the strong pressures that cause capital and population growth, or by instituting counterpressures, or both. Such counter-pressures will probably not be entirely pleasant.
They will certainly involve profound changes in the social and economic structures that have
been deeply impressed into human culture by centuries of growth. The alternative is to wait
until the price of technology becomes more than society can pay, or until the side-effects of
technology suppress growth themselves, or until problems arise that have no technical
solutions. At any of those points the choice of limits will be gone.
Faith in technology as the ultimate solution to all problems can thus divert our attention from
the most fundamental problem - the problem of growth in a finite system - and prevent us from
taking effective action to solve it.
On the other hand, our intent is certainly not to brand technology as evil or futile or
unnecessary.
We strongly believe that many of the technological developments mentioned here - recycling,
pollution-control devices, contraceptives - will be absolutely vital to the future of human
society if they are combined with deliberate checks on growth. We would deplore an
unreasoned rejection of the benefit of technology as strongly as we argue here against an
unreasoned acceptance of them.
Perhaps the best summary of our position is the motto of the Sierra Club :
Not blind opposition to progress, but opposition to blind
progress.
We would hope that society will receive each technological advance by establishing the answers
to three questions before the technology is widely adopted. The questions are:
What will be the side-effects, both physical and social, if this
development

is

introduced

on

large

scale?

What social changes will be necessary before this development

can be implemented properly, and how long will it take to achieve
24

them?
If the development is fully successful and removes some
natural limits to growth, what limit will the growing system meet
next? Will society prefer its pressures to the ones this
development is designed to remove?
We are searching for a model that represents a world system that is:
1. sustainable without sudden and uncontrollable collapse
2. capable of satisfying the basic material requirements of all of
its people
The overwhelming growth in world population caused by the positive birth-rate loop is a recent
phenomenon, a result of mankinds very successful reduction of worldwide mortality.
The controlling negative feedback loop has been weakened, allowing the positive loop to
operate virtually without constraint.
There are only two ways to restore the resulting imbalance. Either the birth rate must be
brought down to equal the new, lower death rate, or the death rate must rise again. All of the
natural constraints to population growth operate in the second way - they raise the death.
Any society wishing to avoid that result must take deliberate action to control the positive
feedback loop - to reduce the birth rate.
But stabilizing population alone is not sufficient to prevent overshoot and collapse; a similar
run with constant capital and rising population shows that stabilizing capital alone is also not
sufficient. What happens if we bring both positive feedback loops under control
simultaneously? We can stabilize the capital stock in the model by requiring that the investment
rate equal the depreciation rate, with an additional model link exactly analogous to the
population-stabilizing one.
The result of stopping population growth in 1975 and industrial capital growth in 1985 with no
other changes is that population and capital reach constant values at a relatively high level of
food, industrial output and services per person. Eventually, however, resource shortages reduce
25

industrial output and the temporally stable state degenerates. However, we can improve the
model behavior greatly by combining technological changes with value changes that reduce the
growth tendencies of the system.
Then the stable world population is only slightly larger than the population today. There is more
than twice as much food per person as the average value in 1970, and world average lifetime is
nearly 70 years. The average industrial output per capita is well above todays level, and
services per capita have tripled.
Total average income per capita (industrial output, food, and services combined) is about half
the present average US income, equal to the present average European income, and three times
the present average world income.
Resources are still being gradually depleted, as they must be under any realistic assumption, but
the rate of depletion is so slow that there is time for technology and industry to adjust to
changes in resource availability.
If we relax our most unrealistic assumption - that we can suddenly and absolutely stabilize
population and capital, replacing them with the following:
1. The population has access to 100 percent effective birth
control.
2.

The average desired family size is two children.

3. The economic system endeavors to maintain average industrial

output per capita at about the 1975 level.
Excess industrial capability is employed for producing consumption goods rather than
increasing the industrial capital investment rate above the depreciation rate.
We do not suppose that any single one of the policies necessary to attain system stability in the
model can or should be suddenly introduced in the world by 1975. A society choosing stability
as a goal certainly must approach that goal gradually. It is important to realize, however, that

26

the longer exponential growth is allowed to continue, the fewer possibilities remain for the final
stable rate.
Many people will think that the changes we have introduced into the model to avoid the growth
and collapse behavior mode are not only impossible, but unpleasant, dangerous, even disastrous
in themselves. Such policies as reducing the birth rate and diverting capital from production of
material goods, by whatever means they might be implemented, seem unnatural and
unimaginable, because they have not, in most peoples experience, been tried, or even seriously
suggested.
Indeed there would be little point even in discussing such fundamental changes in the
functioning of modern society if we felt that the present pattern of unrestricted growth were
sustainable into the future. All the evidence available to us, however, suggests that of the three
alternatives - unrestricted growth, a self-imposed limitation to growth, or a nature-imposed
limitation to growth - only the last two are actually possible.
Achieving a self-imposed limitation to growth would require much effort. It would involve
learning to do many things in new ways. It would tax the ingenuity, the flexibility, and the selfdiscipline of the human race.
Bringing a deliberate, controlled end to growth is a tremendous challenge, not easily met.

Would the final result be worth the effort?

What would humanity gain by such a transition, and what would it, lose?

Let us consider in more detail what a world of non-growth might be like.

We have after much discussion, decided to call the state of constant population and capital, by
the term equilibrium.
Equilibrium means a state of balance or equality between opposing forces. In the dynamic
terms of the world model, the opposing forces are those causing population and capital stock to
increase (high desired family size, low birth control effectiveness, high rate of capital
27

investment) and those causing population and capital stock to decrease (lack of food, pollution,
high rate of depreciation or obsolescence).
The word capital should be understood to mean service, industrial, and agricultural capital
combined. Thus the most basic definition of the state of global equilibrium is that population
and capital are essentially stable, with the forces tending to increase or decrease them in a
carefully controlled balance.
There is much room for variation within that definition. We have only specified that the stocks
of capital and population remain constant, but they might theoretically be constant at a high
level or a low level - or one might be high and the other low. The longer a society prefers to
maintain the state of equilibrium, the lower the rates and levels must be.
By choosing a fairly long time horizon for its existence, and a long average lifetime as a
desirable goal, we have now arrived at a minimum set of requirements for the state of global
equilibrium.
They are:
1. The capital plant and the population are constant in size. The
birth rate equals the death rate and the capital investment rate
equals

the

depreciation

rate.

2. All input and output rates - birth, death, investment, and

depreciation

are

kept

to

minimum.

3. The levels of capital and population and the ratio of the two
are set in accordance with the values of the society. They may be
deliberately revised and slowly adjusted as the advance of
technology creates new options.
An equilibrium defined in this way does not mean stagnation.
Within the first two guidelines above, corporations could expand or fail, local populations could
increase or decrease income could become more or less evenly distributed. Technological
28

advance would permit the services provided by a constant stock of capital to increase slowly.
Within the third guideline, any country could change its average standard of living by altering
the balance between its population and its capital.
Furthermore, a society could adjust to changing internal or external factors by raising or
lowering the population or capital stocks, or both, slowly and in a controlled fashion, with a
predetermined goal in mind.
The three points above define a dynamic equilibrium, which need not and probably would not
freeze the world into the population Capital configuration that happens to exist at present
time. The object in accepting the above three statements is to create freedom for society, not to
impose a straitjacket.
What would life be like in such an equilibrium state? Would innovation be stifled? Would
society be locked into the patterns of inequality and injustice we see in the world today?
Discussion of these questions must proceed on the basis of mental models, for there is no
formal model of social conditions in the equilibrium state.
No one can predict what sort of institutions mankind might develop under these new
conditions.
There is, of course, no guarantee that the new society would be much better or even much
different from that which exists today. It seems possible, however, that a society released from
struggling with the many problems caused by growth may have more energy and ingenuity
available for solving other problems. In fact, we believe, that the evolution of a society that
favors innovation and technological development, a society based on equality and justice, is far
more likely to evolve in a state of global equilibrium than it is in the state of growth we are
experiencing today
Population and capital are the only quantities that need be constant in the equilibrium state. Any
human activity that does not require a large flow of irreplaceable resources or produce severe
29

environmental degradation might continue to grow indefinitely. In particular, those pursuits that
many people would list as the most desirable and satisfying activities of man - education, art,
music, religion, basic scientific research, athletics, and social interactions - could flourish.
All of the activities listed above depend very strongly on two factors. First, they depend upon
the availability of some surplus production after the basic human needs of food and shelter have
been met. Second, they require leisure time. In any equilibrium state the relative levels of
capital and population could be adjusted to assure that human material needs are fulfilled at any
desired level.
Since the amount of material production would be essentially fixed, every improvement in
production methods could result in increased leisure for the population - leisure that could be
devoted to any activity that is relatively non-consuming and nonpolluting, such as those listed
above
Technological advance would be both necessary and welcome in the equilibrium state.
The picture of the equilibrium state we have drawn here is idealized, to be sure. It may be
impossible to achieve in the form described here, and it may not be the form most people on
earth would choose. The only purpose in describing it at all is to emphasize that global
equilibrium need not mean an end to progress or human development. The possibilities within
an equilibrium state are almost endless.
An equilibrium state would not be free of pressures, since no society can be free of pressure.
Equilibrium would require trading certain human freedoms, such as producing unlimited
numbers of children or consuming uncontrolled amounts of resources, for other freedoms, such
as relief from pollution and crowding and the threat of collapse of the world system. Is possible
that new freedoms might also arise - universal and unlimited education, leisure for creativity
and inventiveness, and, most important of all, the freedom from hunger and poverty enjoyed by
such a small fraction of the worlds people today.
30

We can say very little at this point about the practical, day by-day steps that might be taken to
reach a desirable, sustainable state of global equilibrium. Neither the world model nor our own
thoughts have been developed in sufficient detail to understand all the implications of the
transition from growth to equilibrium.
Before any part of the worlds society embarks deliberately on such a transition, there must be
much more discussion, more extensive analysis, and many new ideas contributed by many
different people.
The equilibrium society will have to weigh the trade-offs engendered by a finite earth not only
with consideration of present human values but also with consideration of future generations.
Long-term goals must be specified and short term goals made consistent with them.
We end on a note of urgency. We have repeatedly emphasized the importance of the natural
delays in the population-capital system of the world. These delays mean, for example, that if
Mexicos birth rate gradually declined from its present value to an exact replacement value by
the year 2000, the countrys population would continue to grow until the year 2060. During that
time the population would grow from 50 million to 130 million.
We cannot say with certainty how much longer mankind can postpone initiating deliberate
control of its growth before it will have lost the chance for control. We suspect on the basis of
present knowledge of the physical constraints of the planet that the growth phase cannot
continue for another one hundred years. Again, because of the delays in the system, if the global
society waits until those constraints are unmistakably apparent, it will have waited too long.
If there is cause for deep concern, there is also cause for hope.
Deliberately limiting growth would be difficult, but not impossible. The way to proceed is clear,
and the necessary steps, although they are new ones for human society, are well within human
capabilities.
31

Man possesses, for a small moment in his history, the most powerful combination of
knowledge, tools, and resources the world has ever known. He has all that is physically
necessary to create a totally new form of human society - one that would be built to last for
generations.
The two missing ingredients are a realistic, long-term goal that can guide mankind to the
equilibrium society and the human will to achieve that goal.
Without such a goal and a commitment to it, short-term concerns will generate the exponential
growth that drives the world system toward the limits of the earth and ultimate collapse.
With that goal and that commitment, mankind would be ready now to begin a controlled,
orderly transition from growth to global equilibrium

32

CHAPTER 3
POPULATION GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY
Population Geography is the study of spatial variations in distribution, density, composition and
growth of human numbers on earth. It is important because it links all other aspects of geography
together. Population is based on the natural increase. This is defined as the birthrate minus the
deathrate. The birthrate is the number of babies born per 1000 people per year and similarly, the
deathrate is the number of people who died per 1000 people per year. This then gives us the
natural increase of a population
DEMOGRAPHY
Static aspects include characteristics at a point in time such as composition by:

Age
Sex
Race
Marital status
Economic characteristics

Dynamic aspects are:

Fertility
Mortality
Nuptiality
Migration
Growth

DEFINITIONS
Demographic Analysis: The study of components of variation and change in demographic
variables and the relationships between them. This is also called formal demography or
demographic methods
Population Studies: The study of the relationships between demographic variables and other
variables such as social and economic variables
Migration: geographic movement of people across a specified boundary for the purpose of
establishing a new permanent or semi - permanent residence. Refugees and Internally Displaced
Persons are not considered as migrants.
33

Circular migration: regular pattern of short term migration i.e. home to office/school
International migration - moves between countries
(a) Immigration - move into a new country
(b) Immigrant - an international migrant who enters the area from a place outside the country.
(c) Emigration - move out of home country
(d) Emigrant - an international migrant departing to another country by crossing the international
boundary.
Internal migration - moves within a country.
(a) In migration - movement into a new political/geographically/administratively defined area
within the same country.
(b) In migration - a person who moves into a new area within the same country.
(c) Out migration - movement out a geographically/administratively defined area within the
same country.
(d) Out migrant - a person who moves out of an area within the same country.
POPULATION GROWTH RATE
Introduction
The population growth rate measures how populations change in size over time. The units of
population growth rate are individuals per time. Population size can only be changed by four
factors. Births add new individuals to a population whereas deaths remove individuals from
a population. Similarly, immigration into a population adds new individuals whereas
emigration out of a population removes individuals. Population growth rates are positive
when more individuals are added to a population than are removed, negative when more
individuals are removed than are added, and are equal to zero when an equal number of
individuals are added and removed. This population size is known as the carrying capacity and is
the size beyond which no significant increase can occur due to limitations of some type, e.g.,
food, water, space, etc.
Effects of birth and death rates on population growth rate
Although immigration and emigration can be important factors influencing patterns of
population growth in some human populations, for simplicity, most population growth models
34

focus on how population growth rates are affected by birth and death rates. In population
ecology, the population growth rate (dN/dt, units - individuals/time) is the product of the
population size (N, units - individuals) and the per capita growth rate (r, units - individuals/time
individual). The per capita growth rate, which can be calculated by subtracting the per capita
death rate (d the number of deaths/time/individual) from the per capita birth rate (b- the
number of births/time/individual), is a variable that integrates the effects of birth and death rates.
HUMAN MIGRATION
What is Human Migration?
Migration (human) is the movement of people from one place in the world to another for the
purpose of taking up permanent or semipermanent residence, usually across a political boundary.
An example of "semipermanent residence" would be the seasonal movements of migrant farm
laborers. People can either choose to move ("voluntary migration") or be forced to move
("involuntary migration").
Migrations have occurred throughout human history, beginning with the movements of the first
human groups from their origins in East Africa to their current location in the world.
Migration occurs at a variety of scales: intercontinental (between continents), intracontinental
(between countries on a given continent), and interregional (within countries). One of the most
significant migration patterns has been rural to urban migrationthe movement of people from
the countryside to cities in search of opportunities.
Types of Migration
Internal Migration: Moving to a new home within a state, country, or continent.
External Migration: Moving to a new home in a different state, country, or continent.
Emigration: Leaving one country to move to another (e.g., the Pilgrims emigrated from
England).
Immigration: Moving into a new country (e.g., the Pilgrims immigrated to America).
Population Transfer: When a government forces a large group of people out of a region, usually
based on ethnicity or religion. This is also known as an involuntary or forced migration.

35

Impelled Migration (also called "reluctant" or "imposed" migration): Individuals are not forced
out of their country, but leave because of unfavorable situations such as warfare, political
problems, or religious persecution.
Step Migration: A series of shorter, less extreme migrations from a person's place of origin to
final destinationsuch as moving from a farm, to a village, to a town, and finally to a city.
Chain Migration: A series of migrations within a family or defined group of people. A chain
migration often begins with one family member who sends money to bring other family
members to the new location. Chain migration results in migration fieldsthe clustering of
people from a specific region into certain neighborhoods or small towns.
Return Migration: The voluntary movements of immigrants back to their place of origin.
This is also known as circular migration.
Seasonal Migration: The process of moving for a period of time in response to labor or climate
conditions (e.g., farm workers following crop harvests or working in cities off-season;
"snowbirds" moving to the southern and southwestern United States during winter).
People Who Migrate
Emigrant: A person who is leaving a country to reside in another.
Immigrant: A person who is entering a country from another to take up new residence.
Refugee: A person who is residing outside the country of his or her origin due to fear of
persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
Internally Displaced Person (IDP): A person who is forced to leave his or her home region
because of unfavorable conditions (political, social, environmental, etc.) but does not cross any
boundaries.
Migration Stream: A group migration from a particular country, region, or city to a certain
destination.
Why Do People Migrate?
People move for a variety of reasons. They consider the advantages and disadvantages of staying
versus moving, as well as factors such as distance, travel costs, travel time, modes of
transportation, terrain, and cultural barriers.
36

Push Factors: Reasons for emigrating (leaving a place) because of a difficulty (such as a food
shortage, war, flood, etc.).
Pull Factors: Reasons for immigrating (moving into a place) because of something desirable
(such as a nicer climate, better food supply, freedom, etc.).
Several types of push and pull factors may influence people in their movements (sometimes at
the same time), including:
1. Environmental (e.g., climate, natural disasters)
2. Political (e.g., war)
3. Economic (e.g., work)
4. Cultural (e.g., religious freedom, education)
Place Utility: The desirability of a place based on its social, economic, or environmental
situation, often used to compare the value of living in different locations. An individuals idea of
place utility may or may not reflect the actual conditions of that location.
Intervening Opportunities: Opportunities nearby are usually considered more attractive than
equal or slightly better opportunities farther away, so migrants tend to settle in a location closer
to their point of origin if other factors are equal.
Distance Decay: As distance from a given location increases, understanding of that location
decreases. People are more likely to settle in a (closer) place about which they have more
knowledge than in a (farther) place about which they know and understand little.
Laws of Migration
Geographer E.G. Ravenstein developed a series of migration 'laws' in the 1880s that form the
basis for modern migration theory. In simple language, these principles state:

Most migrants travel only a short distance.

Migrants traveling long distances usually settle in urban areas.
Most migration occurs in steps.
Most migration is rural to urban.
Each migration flow produces a movement in the opposite direction ("counterflow").
Most migrants are adults.
Most international migrants are young males, while more internal migrants are female.

Impacts of Migration

37

Human migration affects population patterns and characteristics, social and cultural patterns and
processes, economies, and physical environments. As people move, their cultural traits and ideas
diffuse along with them, creating and modifying cultural landscapes.
Diffusion: The process through which certain characteristics (e.g., cultural traits, ideas, disease)
spread over space and through time.
Relocation Diffusion: Ideas, cultural traits, etc. that move with people from one place to another
and do not remain in the point of origin.
Expansion Diffusion: Ideas, cultural traits, etc., that move with people from one place to another
but are not lost at the point of origin, such as language.
Cultural markers: Structures or artifacts (e.g., buildings, spiritual places, architectural styles,
signs, etc.) that reflect the cultures and histories of those who constructed or occupy them.
Measuring Migration
In-migration: people moving into one place from another place within a nation (internal
migration).
Out-migration: people moving out of one place to another place within a nation (internal
migration).
Gross migration: total number of in-migrants and out-migrants (internal migration).
Net internal migration: the difference between in-migration and out-migration.
Movers from abroad: people coming into a nation from another country or part of the world.
Net migration: the difference between net internal migration and movers from abroad.

Demographic Transition Theory

Demographic transition theory has now replaced Malthusian theory and is the thesis that
population patterns are linked to a society's level of technological development. four stages of
technological change and the related birth and death dates. Stage 1 is represented by the
preindustrial agrarian society with high birth rates and high death rates. Stage 2, represented by
industrialization, marks the beginning of the demographic transition, with high birth rates
continuing, but death rates dropping significantly. In stage 3, the fully industrialized society, birth

38

rates begin to drop significantly and death rates remain stable and low. In Stage 4, the postindustrial economy, birth rates continue to drop and death rates remain steady.
The lower birth rate in the third stage is related to a higher standard of living, resulting in
children being a greater economic burden. Smaller families are also more functional as a higher
percentage of women work outside the home. In the post-industrial society population may
actually decrease.
This view provides far more optimism than Malthusian theory. It has been incorporated into
modernization theory. Dependency theorists have therefore been critical of this view, as they
predict continued poverty in the pre-industrial world and continued high birth rates leaving the
industrialized "haves" and the non-industrialized "have-nots".
The Low-Growth North
Shortly after industrialization, the population growth in Europe and North America peaked at 3
percent annually. It has been generally declining since, and since 1970 has not been above 1
percent. The Canadian birth rate is now below 2 children per woman, a point which is called
zero population growth, a level of reproduction that maintains population at a steady state. The
rate in 2001 was 1.61, so low that without immigration, Canadas population will eventually
decline.
The High-Growth South
Most of the poor societies of the southern hemisphere have reached Stage 2 of the Demographic
Transition Theory. Birth rates remain high but mortality rates are falling dramatically because of
the importation of medical technology from the industrialized nations. The declining fertility is
seen as attached to elevated standing for women. Some progress on declining fertility is
observable but mortality continues to decline as well.
HISTORY AND THEORY OF POPULATION GROWTH
Malthusian Theory
In the late 18th century Thomas Malthus developed a theory of population growth in which he
warned of disaster. He predicted population would increase according to a geometric
progression, while food production would only increase in arithmetic progression.
Birth control he felt was immoral and abstinence unlikely.

39

For several reasons his projections have not been realized. First, the birth rate in Europe began to
drop in the 19th century as children became less of an economic asset. He also underestimated
human ingenuity, specifically in terms of technological applications in solving food production
and population related problems.
But his warnings still need to be taken seriously. Technology has caused problems for the
environment, and population growth in the low-income nations remains very high. Even if their
population growth rate is reduced, any rate of increase in the long-range can be dangerou

Demographic transition = model of economic and cultural change to explain declining death
rates, declining birth rates, and rising life expectancies in Western nations as they became
industrialized
The demographic transition consists of several stages:

40

Pre-industrial stage: high death rates and high birth rates

Transitional stage: death rates fall due to rising food production and better medical care. Birth
rates remain high, so population surges.
Industrial stage: birth rates fall, as women are employed and as children become less
economically useful in an urban setting. Population growth rate declines.
Post-industrial stage: birth and death rates remain low and stable; society enjoys fruits of
industrialization without threat of runaway population growth
FACTORS INFLUENCING POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AROUND THE WORLD
PHYSICAL FACTORS

Accessibility

Relief and soil fertility

Climate and weather

Natural vegetation and animal life

Water supplies

Minerals and energy resources

NON-PHYSICAL FACTORS

Culture and tradition

Economic preference

Religion and social beliefs

Political forces

41

POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHY: KEY POINTS

As population increases and the urban population becomes ever more dependent on
"intensive livestock operations," the environment is compromised and water pollution
becomes an increasing reality.
Demography is the study of human population, investigating the size, age, sex composition
and migration patterns of given populations. It is a quantitative discipline, however, crucial
questions about the consequences of these variables are analyzed which have great
qualitative significance. Several basic concepts central to demographic analysis are discussed
in the following sections.
Fertility
Fertility is the incidence of childbearing in a society's population. A female's childbearing
years last from the beginning of menstruation to menopause. But, fecundity, or potential
child- bearing, is greatly reduced by health and financial constraints, cultural norms, and
personal choice.
A typical measurement used for fertility is the crude birth rate, or the number of live births
in a given year for every 1000 people in a population.
Mortality
Mortality is the incidence of death in a society's population. The crude death rate refers to
the number of deaths in a given year for every 1000 people in a population. In 2001,
Canadas crude death rate was 7.5, low by world standards.
The infant mortality rate, refers to the number of deaths within the first year of life for each
1000 live births in a given year.
Life expectancy, or how long a person, on average, can expect to live, is negatively
correlated with a society's infant mortality rate. For males born in Canada in 1997, life
expectancy is 76 years and for females 81 years, one or two years longer than in the U.S. See
Figure 22-1 (p. 554).
Migration
Migration is defined as the movement of people into and out of a specified territory. Some is
involuntary, such as the historical existence of slave trading, while most is voluntary and
based on various "push-pull" factors like dissatisfaction and attraction.

42

Movement into a territory is termed in-migration, and is measured by the number of people
entering an area for every 1000 people in the total population. Movement out of an area,
termed out-migration, is measured by using the number of people leaving an area for every
1000 people in the population. The difference between the two figures is termed netmigration rate.
Population Growth
Migration, fertility, and mortality each affect a society's population size. The natural growth
rate of a society is determined by subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate.."
Population Composition :
The sex ratio refers to the number of males for every 100 females in a given population

43

CHAPTER 4: DEVELOPMENT
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Key difference: A country is deemed to be developing or developed mainly on the basis of economics, per capita
income, industrialization, literacy rate, living standards etc. A developed country has a highly developed economy
and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less developed nations.
According to Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, "A developed country
is one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment." However,
United Nations Statistics Division claims that , There is no established convention for the
designation of "developed" and "developing" countries or areas in the United Nations system
The designations "developed" and "developing" are intended for statistical convenience and do
not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the
development process.
In common parlance, a country is deemed to be developing or developed mainly on the basis of
economics, per capita income, industrialization, literacy rate, living standards etc. According to
Wikipedia, A developed country or "more developed country" (MDC), is a sovereign state that
has a highly developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less
developed nations. Most commonly the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic
development is gross domestic product (GDP), the per capita income, level of industrialization,
amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living. Which criteria are to be used
and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate
Generalized characteristics of developed countries:

Post-industrial economies

High level of industrial development

High level of affluent citizens

Low levels of unemployment

Higher education rates

44

Technological advantages

Better roads

Stable governments

Good health care

Human and natural resources are fully utilized

High level of per capita income

High Human Development Index (HDI)

Increased life expectancy

Low birth rates

Low death rates

Good housing conditions

Safe water supplies

Abundant food supplies

Easy to access advanced medical services

Generalized characteristics of developing countries:

In the process of industrialization

Low level of affluent citizens

Higher levels of unemployment

Lower education rates

Often contain undeveloped rural villages

Unstable governments

High level of birth rates

High level of death rates

High infant mortality rate

Dirty, unreliable water supplies

Poor housing conditions

Poor nutrition
45

Diets that are short in calories and/or protein

Poor access to medical services

Endemic disease in some countries

Low to medium standard of living

Limited technological capacity

Unequal distribution of income

Factors of production are not fully utilized

TRADE

Trade can take place at different scales and can be observed at local, interregional and
international levels.

Local trade was the earliest to develop

It involves relatively short distances and small quantities of goods

Point of contact may be small market place and the commodity producers usually do the
buying and selling

Exchange of goods was done usually between mountains and valleys

Interregional trade takes place across greater distances but within the confines of a single
countrys boundaries.

Traders or merchants appear at this level, responsible for buying from producers and sell
to the cosumers

International trade covers the greatest distances and takes place between countries and
continent

In world trade , raw materials move from less developed to advanced counties and

Finished goods in the opposite direction

Trade controls

46

Custom duties and tariffs ( charged on imports on point of entry)

Financial subsidies to home producers (this may increase export and decrease import)

Quotas may be fixed

Exchange controls an be used to restrict the flow of foreign currency

Physical controls occasionally eg during war tine

Unofficial control, obstruction caused by bureaucratic small print

Reasons for protection

To improve the terms of trade

To protect infant industries against the competition of larger established foreign

industries

To prevent the dumping of cheap foreign goods on the home market

To maintain home employment and to protect the standard of living

To help a country to achieve self sufficiency

To encourage the production of commodity of strategic importance

To foster closer political ties

To aid political bargaining

To promote social policies

SPATIAL ECONOMIC INTERACTION

Complementarity
Transferability
Intervening opportunity
COMPLEMENTARITY
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Complementary relationship between two areas

There is a supply (surplus) of a product (including economic goods or factors of

production) in one area AND a demand for (deficit in) that product the other area
Mere existence of a surplus is not sufficient to ensure that trade will happen
There has to be a surplus and deficiency in the production before a trade transaction can

take place
The nature and quality of the product in the Surplus area must have the potential of

satisfying the need of in the deficit area

Trade takes place if consumers can aquire the required product at a price they regard as

reasonable and if suppliers receives a sum which satisfies them

Exceptional cases is to give a deficit areas food donations, in such areas the spatial
interaction does not consist trade.

TRANSFERABILITY
Refers to the ease with which a product (or idea) can be transferred between two spaces
and the degree to which the effort of transporting the product is justified
FACTORS

THAT

CAN

AFFECT

TRANSFERABILITY

POSITIVELY

OR

NEGATIVELY
Distance, the time and cost entailed in moving the product
Quality of transportation systems (infrastructure) and information systems (info structure)
Level of technological development
Historical and cultural bonds
Cost of labour and capital
Political obstacles

DISTANCE DECAY
When distance between surplus and deficit areas can mean that transport costs increase
the price so much that it become uneconomical for a deficit area to buy goods from a

distant surplus area

The quality of the transport channels and info structure and the level of technological
development are important factors affecting the relative distance and transferability
between areas.

Time-space convergence

Technological development reduces the travelling time, and the relative distance between

two points,
Innovations in the fields of transport and communications play a major role in increasing
transferability.

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Faster, cheaper and more flexible modes of transport can convey more perishable goods

and handle bigger loads.

Large aircraft can transport perishable goods and large or heavy objects more efficiently.
Technological development is accompanied by new products, markets and possibilities.

INTERVENING OPPORTUNITY

It can reduce or halt interaction between the original points.

The figure below shows effect of an intervening opportunity on spatial interaction
Distance is not always the deciding factor in choosing what opportunities to exploit.
International trade organisations often determine which intervening opportunities are
used

TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Economic Importance of Transportation Like many economic activities that are intensive in
infrastructures, the transport sector is an important component of the economy impacting on
development and the welfare of populations. When transport systems are efficient, they provide
economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in positive multipliers effects such as
better accessibility to markets, employment and additional investments. When transport systems
are deficient in terms of capacity or reliability, they can have an economic cost such as reduced
or missed opportunities. Efficient transportation reduces costs, while inefficient transportation
increases costs. The impacts of transportation are not always intended, and can have unforeseen
or unintended consequences such as congestion. Transport also carries an important social and
environmental load, which cannot be neglected. The added value and employment effects of
transport services usually extend beyond employment and added value generated by that activity;
indirect effects are salient. For instance, transportation companies purchase a part of their inputs
from local suppliers. The production of these inputs generates additional value-added and
employment in the local economy. The suppliers in turn purchase goods and services from other
local firms. There are further rounds of local re-spending which generate additional value-added
and employment. Similarly, households that receive income from employment in transport
activities spend some of their income on local goods and services. These purchases result in
additional local jobs and added value. Some of the household income from these additional jobs

49

is in turn spent on local goods and services, thereby creating further jobs and income for local
households. As a result of these successive rounds of re-spending in the framework of local
purchases, the overall impact on the economy exceeds the initial round of output, income and
employment generated by passenger and freight transport activities. Thus, from a general
standpoint the economic impacts of transportation can be direct, indirect and related:

Direct impacts (also known as induced) the outcome of accessibility changes where
transport enables employment, added value, larger markets and enables to save time and
costs.

Indirect impacts the outcome of the economic multiplier effects where the price of
commodities, goods or services drop and/or their variety increases. Indirect value-added
and jobs are the result of local purchases by companies directly dependent upon transport
activity. Transport activities are responsible for a wide range of indirect value-added and
employment effects, through the linkages of transport with other economic sectors (e.g.
office supply firms, equipment and parts suppliers, maintenance and repair services,
insurance companies, consulting and other business services).

Related impacts the outcome of economic activities and firms partly relying on efficient
transport services for both passengers and freight. For instance, the steel industry requires
cost efficient import of iron ore and coal for the blast furnaces and export activities for
finished products such as steel booms and coils. Manufacturers and retail outlets and
distribution centers handling imported containerized cargo rely on efficient transport and
seaport operations.

Mobility is one of the most fundamental and important characteristics of economic activity as it
satisfies the basic need of going from one location to the other, a need shared by passengers,
freight and information. All economies and regions do not share the same level of mobility as
most are in a different stage in their mobility transition. Economies that possess greater mobility
are often those with better opportunities to develop than those suffering from scarce mobility.
Reduced mobility impedes development while greater mobility is a catalyst for development.
Mobility is thus a reliable indicator of development. Providing this mobility is an industry that
offers services to its customers, employs people and pays wages, invests capital and generates
income.

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The economic importance of the transportation industry can thus be assessed from a
macroeconomic and microeconomic perspective:

At the macroeconomic level (the importance of transportation for a whole economy),

transportation and the mobility it confers are linked to a level of output, employment and
income within a national economy. In many developed countries, transportation accounts
between 6% and 12% of the GDP.

At the microeconomic level (the importance of transportation for specific parts of the
economy) transportation is linked to producer, consumer and production costs. The
importance of specific transport activities and infrastructure can thus be assessed for each
sector of the economy. Transportation accounts on average between 10% and 15% of
household expenditures while it accounts around 4% of the costs of each unit of output in
manufacturing, but this figure varies greatly according to sub sectors.

Transportation links together the factors of production in a complex web of relationships

between producers and consumers. The outcome is commonly a more efficient division of
production by an exploitation of geographical comparative advantages, as well as the means to
develop economies of scale and scope. The productivity of space, capital and labor is thus
enhanced with the efficiency of distribution and personal mobility. It is acknowledged that
economic growth is increasingly linked with transport developments, namely infrastructures but
also managerial expertise is crucial for logistics. The following impacts can be assessed:

Networks. Setting of routes enabling new or existing interactions between economic

entities.

Performance. Improvements in cost and time attributes for existing passenger and
freight movements.

Reliability. Improvement in the time performance, notably in terms of punctuality, as

well as reduced loss or damage.

Market size. Access to a wider market base where economies of scale in production,
distribution and consumption can be improved.

Productivity. Increases in productivity from the access to a larger and more diverse base
of inputs (raw materials, parts, energy or labor) and broader markets for diverse outputs
(intermediate and finished goods).

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TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Transportation developments that have taken place since the beginning of the industrial
revolution have been linked to growing economic opportunities. At each stage of human societal
development, a particular transport mode has been developed or adapted. However, it has been
observed that throughout history that no single transport has been solely responsible for
economic growth. Instead, modes have been linked with the function and the geography in which
growth was taking place.

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FIVE MAJOR WAVES OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WHERE A SPECIFIC MODE

OR SYSTEM EMERGED:

Seaports. Linked with the early stages of European expansion from the 16th to the 18th
centuries. They supported the development of international trade through colonial
empires, but were constrained by limited inland access.

Rivers and canals. The first stage of the industrial revolution in the late 18th and early
19th centuries was linked to the development of canal systems in Western Europe and
North America, mainly to transport heavy goods. This permitted the development of
rudimentary and constrained inland distribution systems.

Railways. The second stage of industrial revolution in the 19th century was intimately
linked to the development and implementation of rail systems, some transcontinental,
enabling a more flexible inland transportation system.

Roads. The 20th century saw the development of road transportation systems and
automobile manufacturing. Individual transportation became a commodity available to
the masses, especially after the Second World War. This process was reinforced by the
development of national highway systems.

Airways and information. The later part of the 20th century saw the development of
global air and telecommunication networks in conjunction with the globalization of
economic activities. New organization, control and maintenance capacities were made
possible. Electronic communications have become consistent with transport functions,
especially in the rapidly developing realm of logistics and supply chain management.

TRANSPORT AS A FACTOR OF PRODUCTION

Contemporary trends have underlined that economic development has become less dependent on
relations with the environment (resources) and more dependent on relations across space. While
resources remain the foundation of economic activities, the commodification of the economy has
been linked with higher levels of material flows of all kinds. Concomitantly, resources, capital
and even labor have shown increasing levels of mobility. This is particularly the case for
multinational firms that can benefit from transport improvements in two significant markets:

Commodity market. Improvement in the efficiency with which firms have access to raw
materials and parts as well as to their respective customers. Thus, transportation expands
53

opportunities to acquire and sell a variety of commodities necessary for industrial and
manufacturing systems.

Labor market. Improvement in the access to labor and a reduction in access costs,
mainly by improved commuting (local scale) or the use of lower cost labor (global scale).

A common fallacy in assessing the importance and impact of transportation on the economy is to
focus only on transportation costs, which tend to be relatively low (5 to 10% of the value of a
good). Transportation is an economic factor of production of goods and services, implying that
relatively small changes can have substantial impacts in on costs, locations and performance. An
efficient transport system with modern infrastructures favors many economic changes, most of
them positive. It provides market accessibility by linking producers and consumers.
CATEGORIES OF THE MAJOR IMPACTS OF TRANSPORT ON ECONOMIC
PROCESSES

Geographic specialization. Improvements in transportation and communication favor a

process of geographical specialization that increases productivity and spatial interactions.
An economic entity tends to produce goods and services with the most appropriate
combination of capital, labor, and raw materials. A given area will thus tend to specialize
in the production of goods and services for which it has the greatest advantages (or the
least disadvantages) compared to other areas as long as appropriate transport is available
for trade. Through geographic specialization supported by efficient transportation,
economic productivity is promoted. This process is known in economic theory as
comparative advantages.

Large scale production. An efficient transport system offering cost, time and reliability
advantages permits goods to be transported over longer distances. This facilitates mass
production through economies of scale because larger markets can be accessed. The
concept of just-in-time has further expanded the productivity of production and
distribution with benefits such as lower inventory levels and better responses to shifting
market conditions. Thus, the more efficient transportation becomes, the larger the markets
that can be serviced and the larger the scale of production.

Increased competition. When transport is efficient, the potential market for a given
product (or service) increases, and so does competition. A wider array of goods and
54

services becomes available to consumers through competition which tends to reduce

costs and promote quality and innovation. Globalization has clearly been associated with
a competitive environment that spans the world.

Increased land value. Land which is adjacent or serviced by good transport services
generally has greater value due to the utility it confers to many activities. In some cases,
the opposite can be true if related to residential activities. Land located near airports and
highways, near noise and pollution sources, will thus suffer from corresponding
diminishing land value.

Transport also contributes to economic development through job creation and its derived
economic activities. Accordingly, a large number of direct (freighters, managers, shippers) and
indirect (insurance, finance, packaging, handling, travel agencies, transit operators) employment
are associated with transport. Producers and consumers take economic decisions on products,
markets, costs, location, prices which are themselves based on transport services, their
availability, costs and capacity.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
While many of the economic impacts of transportation are positive, there are also significant
negative impacts that are assumed by individuals or by the society in one way or another. Among
the most significant are:

Mobility gaps. Since mobility is one of the fundamental components of the economic
benefits of transportation, its variations are likely to have substantial impacts on the
opportunities of individuals. Mobility needs do not always coincide due to several
factors, namely the lack of income, lack of time, lack of means and the lack of access.
Peoples mobility and transport demands thus depend on their socioeconomic situation.
The higher the income, the higher the mobility, which may give rise to substantial
mobility gaps between different population groups. Gender gaps exist in mobility as
women tend to have lower incomes. Mobility gaps are particularly prevalent for long
distance travel. With the development of air transport, a segment of the global population
has achieved a very high level of mobility for their business and leisure activities, while
the great majority of the global population has little mobility. This issue is expected to
become more acute as the population of many of the most advanced countries is aging
55

rapidly, which implies that access to mobility will not be an income issue but an age
issue. By 2020, about 10% of the global population (719 million) will be over 65 while
by 2050 it will be 16% (1,492 million).

Costs differences. Locations that have low levels of accessibility, such as landlocked
countries, tend to have higher costs for many goods (sometimes basic necessities such as
food) as most have to be imported, often over long distances. The resulting higher
transport costs inhibit the competitiveness of such locations and limits opportunities.
Consumers and industries will pay higher prices, impacting on their welfare (disposable
income) and competitiveness.

Congestion. With the increased use of transport systems, it has become increasingly
common for parts of the network to be used above design capacity. Congestion is the
outcome of such a situation with its associated costs, delays and waste of energy.
Distribution systems that rely upon on-time deliveries are particularly susceptible to
congestion.

Accidents. The use of transport modes and infrastructure is never entirely safe. Every
motorized vehicle contains an element of danger and nuisance. Due to human errors and
various forms of physical failures (mechanical or infrastructural) injuries, damages and
even death occur. Accidents tend to be proportional to the intensity of use of transport
infrastructures which means the more traffic the higher the probability for an accident to
occur. They have important socioeconomic impacts including healthcare, insurance,
damage to property and the loss of life. The respective level of safety depends on the
mode of transport and the speed at which an accident occurs. No mode is completely safe
but the road remains the most dangerous medium for transportation, accounting for 90%
of all transport accidents on average (Statistics for OECD countries). At the global level
about 1.3 million people died in road accidents in 2010 in addition to 50 million injuries.
China has one of the highest car accident death rates in the world, with more than
110,000 fatalities per year (300 per day), a factor mainly due to recent growth in vehicle
ownership.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

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The emission of pollutants related to transport activities has a wide range of environmental
consequences that have to be assumed by the society, more specifically on four elements:

Air quality. Atmospheric emissions from pollutants produced transportation, especially

by the internal combustion engine, are associated with air pollution and, arguably, global
climate change. Some pollutants (NOx, CO, O3, VOC, etc.) can produce respiratory
troubles and aggravate cardiovascular illnesses. In urban regions, about 50% of all air
pollution emanates from automobile traffic.

Noise. A major irritant, noise can impact on human health and most often human welfare.
Noise can be manifested in three levels depending on emissions intensity; psychological
disturbances (perturbations, displeasure), functional disturbances (sleep disorders, loss of
work productivity, speech interference) or physiological disturbances (health issues such
as fatigue, and hearing damage). Noise and vibration associated with trains, trucks, and
planes in the vicinity of airports are major irritants.

Water quality. Accidental and nominal runoff of pollutants from transport such as oil
spills, are sources of contamination for both surface water and groundwater.

Land take. Transport is a large consumer of space when all of its supporting
infrastructure and equipment are considered. Furthermore, the planning associated with
these structures does not always consider aesthetic values as is often the case in the
construction of urban highways. These visual impacts have adverse consequences on the
quality of life of nearby residents

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SECTION 6: URBAN STUDIES

What is a city? Definitions of the urban
What is a city? How do we distinguish urban from non-urban settlements in ways that make
sense? Does it matter how we define cities, or is definition just a sterile typological exercise?
Definition is crucial for comparison. If we are going to compare cities, or parts of cities, then it
helps to have a clear and explicit notion of what we are talking about. In my field, archaeology,
there are two main kinds of definitions of the city, based on two of the important characteristics
of cities. The demographic definition is based on the idea that cities are big places with lots of
people, while the functional definition flows from the notion that cities have an impact on their
surroundings. Neither definition is correct or best. Rather, they are more or less useful for
various kinds of purposes.
The Demographic Definition
This definition was first codified by sociologist Louis Wirth in his influential 1938 paper,
Urbanism as a way of life (Wirth 1938). Cities, according to Wirth, are defined by four
characteristics:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Permanence
Large population size
High population density
Social heterogeneity

This sounds pretty good to most modern ears. It certainly fits contemporary cities, although there
is always room for quibbling with quantitative definitions (How many people? How much
heterogeneity?). To use the demographic definition, one looks at a settlement, makes some
measurements, and decides whether or not it is a city.
The Functional Definition of Urban
Although there may be precursors, most modern functional definitions of cities derive from mid20th century economic geography, where central place theory focused on the regional distribution
of retail market centers. Market centers provisioned a hinterland, and the larger the hinterland
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(and the more goods and services provided), the more important the center. In these models retail
marketing is an urban functionan activity or institution located within a settlement that affects
people and places beyond the settlement. Later developments in anthropology and geography
expanded the notion of urban function beyond economics to include politics and religion (Fox
1977).
Often it is inheently better than the demographic definition, only that it contributes more to
advancing research and understanding in some of the topics I work on.
One of the good things about the functional definition of urbanism is that it allows us to talk
about different kinds of cities: political capitals, religious centers, economic centers, and other
types. Sometimes the type of city differs among urban traditions. Swahili cities were trade
centers, whereas most Maya cities were political-religious centers. And sometimes a single
society has different functional types of cities. Just as the United States today has such diverse
cities as Washington, DC, New York City, and Miami, so too did Aztec central Mexico have an
imperial capital (Tenochtitlan), ritual centers (Malinalco), and city-state capitals (many
examples).
Definitions help orient us in a field, they aid comparison, and they help us understand urban
societies and their transformations. There is more to say about the topic, which I will return to in
a future post.
URBANIZATION: THE GROWTH OF CITIES
For most of human history people have lived in small, nomadic groups. Urbanization, the
concentration of humanity into cities, can be traced to three urban revolutions.
The Evolution of Cities
The first urban revolution occurred about 12,000 years ago with the emergence of permanent
settlements.
The First Cities
The enabling factor for the growth of cities was a material surplus produced by advancing
technology.

59

The first city is argued to have been Jericho, just north of the Dead Sea, coming into existence
about 10,000 years ago. By 3000 BC there were several cities within the Fertile Crescent in
present day Iraq and along the Nile in Egypt.
Preindustrial European Cities
Urbanization began in Europe about 5,000 years ago on Crete and spread throughout Greece. As
Greek civilization faded, the militaristic Roman Empire expanded throughout Europe and
Northern Africa.
Industrial European Cities
Increasing commerce in the Middle ages created an affluent urban middle-class or
"bourgeoisie" as it came to be known, which rivaled the power of the nobility. The second
urban revolution was under way by about 1750. Industrial productivity caused cities to grow
rapidly.
Besides population changes, the physical layouts of cities were transformed. Broad boulevards
for transportation dominated the urban landscape.
Urban social life began to change as well, as crowding, impersonality, inequality, and crime
became more and more characteristic of cities.
Places for people
The Governments aim is to create high quality towns and cities which people can be proud to
live in. They must be attractive, clean, safe and well cared-for, combining vitality and interest
with practicality, sensitivity to the environment and continuity with the past. They must be well
designed and planned, and make the best use of previously-developed land and existing
buildings.
The urban environment

Where we live affects how we live.

The urban environment can be harsh and intimidating or it can encourage people to feel at ease.
It can be impersonal and make contact between people difficult or it can foster a sense of
60

community. Towns and cities can be laid out so that people have little choice but to use their cars
for most journeys and as a result they can exclude those who do not have the use of a car or they
can be designed so that walking, cycling and public transport are the natural and attractive
options.
We want our towns, cities and suburbs to be places for people places that are designed, built and
maintained on the principle that people come first. They should contribute to the quality of life
and encourage healthy and sustainable lifestyles. They should be places in which we want to live,
work, bring up our children, and spend our leisure time. They should be places which promote
economic success and allow people to share in rising prosperity, attracting and retaining
successful businesses.
In England they have long had a tradition of creating towns and cities of quality and beauty
places that can bind communities together. Many of our best towns and cities retain that quality
or are recreating it today. But in other places it is a tradition they have lost.

They need to recapture this tradition. In most places this means making the most of our existing
urban fabric, maintaining it well and making incremental improvements. In some places nothing
short of a complete physical transformation will do. Where we have the opportunity of new
development they must ensure that it is of the highest quality.

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THE inevitable process of urbanisation has brought with it environmental degradation, affecting
the quality of life and striking at the root of sustainable development of cities and towns. This is
more pronounced in developing countries than the developed countries. In this context, there
could be no better theme for the World Environment Day 2005 to be hosted in San Francisco on
June 5 than "Green Cities: Plan for the Planet". Half of the world population of six billion lives
in cities and by 2030 the share will go up to 60 per cent. Hence, society's future largely depends
on how urban environmental problems are addressed.
As Klaus Toepfer, Director-General of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
points out in his message for the World Environment Day, too many of today's cities are breeding
grounds of pollution, poverty, disease and despair and, with careful planning, they can be turned
into flagships of sustainable development. The theme for the occasion is thus both a warning and
a declaration of faith in the ability of nations to turn the expansion of urban centres into an effort
that would benefit all.
More than a billion people in the developing world live in poverty and ill-health because they are
denied clean water, basic sanitation and adequate shelter that people in the developed world often
take for granted. In this context, Toepfer rightly argues that easing the burden of the world's
poorest people will yield a double dividend - giving them a foothold on the ladder to a better life
and helping to protect the environment.
He points out that providing improved sanitation to the slums will protect freshwater resources
and the sea into which all rivers flow, besides helping to save the lives of many of the 6,000
children who die every day from preventable diseases associated with the lack of safe water and
poor hygiene. Replacing wood fires with more sustainable energy sources will not only help
preserve forests but also reduce air pollution, which causes respiratory diseases. Air pollution can
be checked by cleaning up vehicle exhausts and preventing the release of toxic fumes from
burning plastic and other refuse by promoting appropriate waste collection and disposal systems
and methods.
The UNEP is working in all these areas. Its energy and sustainable transport programmes aim at
addressing the environmental consequences of energy production and use. It is working to
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promote environmentally sound technological solutions to problems associated with freshwater

use and waste disposal. Its Sustainable Cities Programme in partnership with UN-Habitat, is
designed to help cities to plan and manage their environment and share the lessons with local and
national governments worldwide. Admittedly, the challenges presented by growing urbanisation
are daunting but Toepfer feels that they are not insurmountable. His confidence has a basis. For
example, towns and cities - predominantly those in the developed world - are currently
responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions - mostly from cars, trucks and power
stations - that are causing climate change. These emissions, he says, can be drastically cut by a
combination of clean energy technologies coupled with enlightened city planning. His concept of
the city of future is one where buildings use solar power and waste less because they use powersaving lighting and are well-insulated, where public transport is affordable and efficient and
where vehicles pollute less because they are powered by electricity or hydrogen. With the
support of the community, business and, above all, government, such cities can be created even
now. He cites examples of these three sections working to redesign the metropolis. Trafficclogged city centres are being reclaimed for pedestrians, green spaces preserved and expanded,
recycling schemes promoted, environmentally friendly buildings designed. "These examples are
like seeds. The challenge is to nurture these seeds, propagate them, and spread them to the
furthest reaches of the globe. Towns and cities are humanity's home - and its future. Making that
a future of peace, dignity and prosperity is the responsibility of all. We need to look forward with
hope. That hope lies in Green Cities," Toepfer says.

Translating this hope into reality calls for a multi-pronged approach covering a wide range of
urban infrastructure sectors, which are bearing the brunt of the adverse impact of urbanisation.
Urban growth as such cannot be avoided and many view the cities as engines of growth
contributing significantly to the overall economic growth of the country. In fact, the economist
Jeffrey Sachs views the process of urbanisation as one of the most promising aspects of global
economic development. He notes that urban areas have outperformed rural areas during the last
century in almost every aspect of economic development. He is not blind to the problems created
by urbanisation but attributes them to poor urban planning, poor development strategies and
ineffective urban governance.
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Contrary to the popular impression, the pace of urbanisation in developing countries is actually
not accelerating. Experts point out that the annual growth rates have been declining and the
process has similarities with what happened in industrialised countries between 1920 and 1925.
But in developing countries today the base of urban population growth, that is, the number of
people already in urban areas, is so much bigger than what it was in the developed countries a
century ago that the absolute number of people living in urban areas will reach levels never seen
before.

The adverse impact of unregulated growth in urban population on urban infrastructure and
services is evident in worsening water quality, excessive air and noise pollution and the problems
of disposal of solid wastes and hazardous wastes. According to official figures, 90 per cent of
urban households are provided with water supply these figures hide several realities, such as the
inadequacy of the water supply system in terms of storage, treatment and distribution
arrangements, the irregularity of supply and the poor quality. Many urban centres reportedly lack
treatment facilities and where they exist, they are not often used or used without quality control.
In most cases, the urban residents have to supplement public supplies with water obtained from
more expensive private sources. The capacity utilisation of urban water supply systems is found
to be less than 50 per cent in 40 per cent of the towns.

Moreover, there is inequity in distribution and the poorer sections, who constitute one-fourth of
the urban population, and the slum-dwellers who constitute more than one-third of the urban
population in certain cities, are the worst sufferers. There is also contamination of water supply
owing to poor maintenance and the mixing with drainage and sewerage waters. A substantial
proportion of urban residents is dependent on ground water supplied through hand pumps. The
quality of ground water is found to be poor. The Central Pollution Control Board under the
Ministry of Environment and Forests has been monitoring water quality at 507 locations and the
results obtained in 1998 showed organic and bacterial contamination of water sources. The
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monitoring of water quality in wells has revealed the presence of dissolved oxygen and total
coliform at levels higher than permissible levels.
Studies by the Central Water Commission on the chemical composition of ground water have
revealed a high concentration of nitrates, potassium and even phosphates in many places. In quite
a few cities the conductivity, chloride, fluoride and the total coliform content in ground water
were found to be very high. In some places even faecal coliform was present. Increased
abstraction of groundwater has lowered the water table and increased salinity, fluoride and lead
levels in metropolitan areas.
NEXT to water supply, sanitation plays a crucial role in public health. According to official
figures, 43 per cent of urban households are without latrines or connections to septic tanks or
sewerage. Access to excreta disposal systems in urban areas varies from 48 per cent to 70 per
cent.
Out of 300 Class 1 cities about 70 have partial sewerage systems and treatment facilities. A study
by the Central Pollution Control Board in 1994-95 had shown that 15,800 million litres of
wastewater is generated in Class 1 cities every day but treatment facility is available for only
3,750 million litres. Of the total wastewater generated in the metros hardly 30 per cent is treated
before disposal. Most of the cities have only primary treatment facilities. This is a cause for
concern because the untreated and partially treated municipal waste water finds its way into
water sources like rivers, lakes and ground water leading to pollution.
On the other hand, the programme of Urban Low Cost Sanitation, launched in 1980-81 to
convert dry latrines into low-cost pour flush latrines, had made very little progress. The Planning
Commission feels that low cost sanitation is the appropriate solution not only for the majority of
urban centres but also for places where the costly option of underground drainage is not feasible.
The Tenth Plan document details the measures to be taken for rejuvenating this programme. The
poor sanitary conditions, particularly in slums, lead to outbreaks of cholera and gastroenteritis. It
is well known that water-borne diseases are a major cause of mortality. According to a case
study, water and sanitation-related diseases account for 60 per cent of the environmental health
burden and over 11 per cent of total burden of diseases in Andhra Pradesh.

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There is sufficient awareness among policymakers and administrators about the importance and
urgency of taking up measures to improve the management of urban wastewater and solid waste.
It is recognised that there is no proper system of collection, transportation, treatment and disposal
of solid waste in most towns. This has become a cause for concern because the annual generation
of solid waste in cities, which rose from 6 million tonnes in 1947 to 48 million tonnes in 1997, is
projected to touch 300 million tonnes by 2047. Most surveys have revealed 40 per cent organic
component in the waste. The average waste collection in the cities is 72 per cent and only 70 per
cent of the cities have adequate waste transport facilities. The Ministry of Environment and
Forests has taken a number of steps to remedy the situation and improve waste management
practices and systems, particularly the management of hazardous and bio-medical wastes.

AIR pollution in cities has been on the increase thanks to the increasing number of vehicles and
consequent increase in the emission of pollutants. The Central Pollution Control Board has
established a national network of 295 stations to monitor air quality in 90 cities and towns in 29
States and three UnionTerritories. Four major air pollutants, namely sulphur dioxide, oxides of
nitrogen, suspended particulate matter and respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM), are
covered under the monitoring programme. Critical levels of RSPM were reported in the
residential areas of 16 cities and high levels, exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards, were noticed in the residential areas of four cities.

To reduce vehicular pollution emission standards have been prescribed and other steps taken.
Some of the mega cities have the dubious distinction of having the worst air quality in the world.
Out of the three million premature deaths in the world occurring due to outdoor and indoor air
pollution, India accounts for the highest number. With the number of vehicles increasing the
efforts to improve urban air quality have focussed on limiting vehicular emission levels by
curbing the use of vehicles more than 15 years old and tightening the emission standards.

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Inadequate housing stock and increase in the number of slums have added to environmental
concerns in urban areas. The shortage of housing in urban areas at the beginning of the Tenth
Plan is estimated at 8.9 million units. The 2001 Census shows that the number of slum-dwellers
has risen to 40.6 million. The Planning Commission feels the need for an attitudinal change
among policymakers and the general public towards slum-dwellers in order to bring about slum
development and improvement on a sustainable basis. The Planning Commission has noted that
the effort has been more towards providing some amount of civic amenities in a non-coordinated
fashion than towards devising all-embracing programmes with participation of slum- dwellers to
ensure a decent quality of life for them and make slums redundant in urban habitations.
Admittedly, tackling the innumerable problems of urbanisation requires effective urban
governance, which is beset by problems such as fragmentation of responsibility, incomplete
devolution of functions and funds to the elected urban local bodies, unwillingness to progress
towards municipal autonomy, adherence to outmoded methods of property tax and reluctance to
levy user charges. The Planning Commission notes that State governments lack faith in the
capability of urban local bodies to meet their obligations as institutions of local self-governance.
In the present set-up, initiatives for local developmental activities rarely come from them. The
Tenth Plan document lists the measures required to help ULBs play their due role in making the
urban areas worth living in. If these are implemented effectively the observance of World
Environment Day will be meaningful.

Urban areas
Urbanization is a consequence of economic growth (World Bank 1997), which is also associated
with high population growth rates as well as industrialization. Rapid urbanization can yield
important social benefits but can also lead to negative environmental consequences.

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Growth of urban populations

Extremely rapid urban growth in the 1970s and 1980s in the Arabian Peninsula
In many countries, much urban growth has been concentrated in the one or two cities where new
investment, employment opportunities, industries, government jobs, education and health
services were concentrated.

In most cities, especially in the oil-producing countries, there has been strict land-use planning
and zoning. However, this has not always prevented chaotic physical growth. It is now the norm
to find residential zones next to industrial sites, and industries enveloped by housing estates, with
all the potential risks this implies for human health and safety. Throughout the region, cities have
encroached onto agricultural land, where the urban fringes and peripheries grow faster than the
cities themselves. Spontaneous or squatter settlements tend to grow in the poorest parts of urban
areas where local governments are short of the resources needed to provide basic services such
as road networks, health care, sanitation and wastewater treatment plants.
Cities consume natural resources from both near and distant sources. In doing so they generate
large amounts of waste that are disposed of within and outside the urban areas, causing
widespread environmental problems.

In some countries up to 50 per cent of the waste generated is left uncollected. With extremely
warm temperatures, uncollected waste tends to decompose rapidly, causing serious health risks
and an unpleasant nuisance. Another problem is the method of disposal. Several urban areas still
dispose of their waste by open dumping and burning, causing potential water and air pollution. In
some GCC countries, however, waste collection and disposal are highly efficient. Sanitary
landfills are widely used. The high content of organic matter in waste has received some interest
from municipal governments. Several composting plants are already in operation, producing
organic manure and soil conditioners (Kanbour 1997).
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While industrial growth is vital for economic development, it has also been a major cause of
environmental problems. Nor are all of these problems due to modern industry. Many of the craft
industries (such as tanneries and textiles) that are dispersed around and in cities use old and
polluting technologies. Most industrial activities are still characterized by lack of pollution
control and the absence of cleaner production technologies. In Syria, for example, industrial
waste treatment plants are poorly managed and maintained, and are often not compatible with the
production processes. In Lebanon, Syria and Jordan industrial activities suffer from inadequate
infrastructure, especially for wastewater disposal.

Pollution loads by sector

To reduce their reliance on oil revenues, many countries have now embarked on programmes of
industrial diversification. Multinational companies have invested in the development of
petrochemical complexes, fertilizer plants, refineries and chemical plants. These industrial
activities are major generators of hazardous waste. Other hazardous wastes are generated by
small and medium-sized industries such as electroplating, tanneries, workshops and garages. A
small amount of hazardous waste is also generated by hospitals, research laboratories and
transport services.

SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

Africa's rate of urbanization is the highest in the world; the number of people in the continent's
towns and cities is estimated to be doubling every 14 years. The Republic of South Africa is no
exception: 28 million of its people, about two-thirds of its population, live in urban areas. And thanks to poor planning and the apartheid system - these are in crisis.

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There is a shortage of 1.5 million houses in urban areas of South Africa alone. Seven million
people lack proper housing, 12 million do not have access to purified water and 21 million are
without adequate sanitation - at an enormous cost in environmental pollution and its impact on
human health. The housing backlog alone will take 10 years to eliminate.
A national development and urbanization strategy is needed to manage the effects of a rapidly
growing and urbanizing population and to address the problems caused by the distortions
brought about by the apartheid system. For, although the 1994 national elections brought a final
end to apartheid, the city structures created by it will influence the urban environment in South
Africa for many years to come.
Apartheid urban planning was based on a zoning concept which was extended into a form of
social engineering and racial control. Partitioning people into ethnic groups in specific areas was
one of its cornerstones. Townships were usually situated close to industrial areas or on land
considered unsuitable for other forms of development. Some developed within existing cities and
so their spatial growth was severely restricted, giving rise to high population densities. Others
grew on the periphery, forcing workers to commute long distances every day. The apartheid city
was inefficient and expensive.

Constraint and imposition

Funds for development in the townships were severely constrained. Few formal houses were
constructed, community services and schools were limited, and usually only the most basic
sewerage facilities were provided. Planning was imposed on communities: no meaningful
participation was allowed. The coming of democracy lifted restrictions on movement - which
strongly discouraged the urbanization of black people - and people have flocked to urban centres
to search for opportunities and to try to reunite families. Poverty in rural areas has led people to
move to towns and cities to seek jobs and a better quality of life. This has been aggravated by
recent droughts, by political and ethnic violence in some parts of the country - and by an
economic 'downswing' which has closed farms and small businesses in the countryside. During
apartheid about 5 million people were removed from often highly productive sustainably-used
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land and sent to smaller areas of poor productivity and few natural resources. Many South
Africans have been forced by such social engineering to crowd onto land that can no longer
support them effectively. This has resulted in extreme poverty, which has, in turn, degraded soil,
plant and water resources - the 'pollution of poverty'. Soil erosion has escalated dramatically: an
estimated 3 tonnes of topsoil is lost per hectare each year. Overstocking in highly populated rural
areas has increased desertification.

The combination of dispossession and of being forced to live in degraded environments has not
only severely reduced the quality of life and opportunities for social upliftment of many South
Africans, but has alienated some people emotionally and spiritually from the land, creating
attitudes to environmental issues ranging from apathy to downright hostility.
Cities generate and accumulate wealth and are the main centres for education, health care, new
jobs, greater economic openings, and cultural opportunities. But they are also usually immense
and wasteful consumers of natural resources, requiring enormous quantities of water, energy,
food and raw materials, much of them used unsustainably. If they are not planned properly, they
sprawl over large areas, sterilizing big tracts of land and causing a wide range of environmental
problems. They generally generate massive amounts of pollution, which contaminate water, soil
and air far beyond their boundaries and endanger and reduce the quality of life of their
inhabitants. They are major importers of necessities and major exporters of environmental
problems.
South African cities rank among the most inefficient and wasteful urban environments in the
world. This is mainly attributable to low-density urban sprawl, the fragmented nature of cities,
strong cultural divisions between residential areas, and the separation of areas where work,
shopping and public facilities are concentrated. There are wasteful technologies, underpriced
resources, and great disparities in consumption.

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People moving from overcrowded areas, or newly arriving in towns and cities, often settle on the
edge of existing settlements, causing urban sprawl. Low-density urban sprawl consumes vast
tracts of land - much of it agriculturally productive - each year: so food for an increasing
population has to be produced on a diminishing amount of land. Low-density development
requires large investments in the development and upkeep of infrastructure, which the less
affluent communities cannot afford. The efficiency of public transport is also strongly linked to
urban density; it is worse in South Africa than in most other countries. Poorly managed
industrialization and urbanization have resulted in physical hazards and biological and chemical
contamination of land, air, water and food resources. The settlement of people in mining areas,
often contaminated with such hazards as radioactivity or cyanide, also results in health problems.
There is an increase in air pollution both from industry and from burning wood, paraffin and coal
in homes. Elevated levels of indoor pollution - especially when coupled with overcrowding and
poor nutrition - contribute to a high rate of such acute respiratory infections as pneumonia:
already these are the second biggest killer of South African children under the age of five. The
top killer of young children is diarrhoea. Cholera, typhoid and other diarrhoea-related diseases
are prevalent because only a small part of the urban population has adequate water supply and
sanitation infrastructure. Besides the many infectious and chronic diseases that result from poor
urban living conditions, such psycho-social problems as depression, suicide, and drug and
alcohol abuse account for a significant proportion of sickness and death among the urban young.

Ensuring quality of life

Enormous challenges have to be faced in South Africa. Our society does not only have to solve
innumerable problems caused by previous generations, it also has to develop a system which
ensures sustainable development and improves the quality of life for urban people. Sustainable
development is not an instant cure or magic formula for all the ills of our cities. It is a pathway
leading in the right direction.
We need to engage communities in partnership with local authorities to develop their own
strategies for a better and sustainable life. Global agendas must be localized so that ordinary

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people can understand them and participate meaningfully, and the importance of education and
building local capacity should not be underestimated.
In South Africa, as in the rest of Africa, we will not succeed in creating sustainable cities if we
do not urgently address the huge problems of poverty and inequality. Nor will they be achieved
without sufficient expertise and funding within local authorities and proper democratic
participation at grassroots level.
We need cities that make provision for both high urban densities and high quality of life. We
need to adopt a compact city structure and mixed land use. At least some urban open space must
be used for agriculture and informal trading. A national electrification programme has been
initiated: solar energy for hot water and heating could realize considerable savings in electricity
and combat environmental pollution. Strong partnerships are needed with the private sector and
communities for re-use and recycling waste: recycling programmes by South African local
authorities are almost non-existent.
On the positive side, there is a growing 'green consciousness' at grassroots level, the Government
has launched key initiatives including the formulation of an integrated national environmental
policy, and three large metropolitan areas - Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg - have
initiated local Agenda 21 strategies.
The philosophy of sustainable development offers the Republic of South Africa the best prospect
for a new, just, socially equitable and environmentally sound society. It shows how the many and
varied scars of the past can be healed, and how the future social and environmental health of the
nation can be assured.
Walking in Towns and Cities

Walking and the Urban Renaissance

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Planning should aim to give higher priority to social space compared to movement space.
Heavily trafficked streets are stripped of life by noise, congestion and fumes. It is virtually
impossible to foster local social interaction and community spirit where neighbours cannot easily
or safely move and converse outside their houses. Towns and cities exist because they maximise
the opportunity for exchange. Hostile streets drive this exchange activity inside so that it
becomes more privatised and exclusive. Spontaneous encounters on the street are replaced by
planned encounters that involve a car journey. The street environment is further degraded and a
vicious cycle is established.

There are powerful forces creating car dependency that cannot be altered significantly simply by
making physical alterations to the walking environment. Action is required on a broad front
including planning policies for the location of housing, jobs and services, the taxation of
transport and measures to improve public transport.

Measures to improve the walking environment improve the general attractiveness of urban areas
as places to live, discouraging migration to the urban edge or countryside. Ease of walking is a
good proxy measure for urban health. For example, the steep decline in children walking
unaccompanied to school since the early 70s is a symptom of urban decay. A hostile walking
environment not only causes parents to restrict their children's ability to make journeys
independently, removing opportunities for physical, social and educational development, but
spurs out migration because parents want a safer and more fulfilling environment for their
children.

Encouraging Walking - Problems and Solutions

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Each route along which people want to walk must be assessed to determine whether it is
convenient, safe and comfortable. We list below a series of common problems that make routes
inconvenient, unsafe and uncomfortable. These problems need to be systematically eliminated.
The remedies we propose should help.

Convenient Routes

Problem 1 - Indirect or unclear routes through new developments

Every development should be connected to the existing street network by an obvious and
simple pavement or footpath. The use of traditional perimeter blocks with buildings that front the
street should be restored as the standard development pattern. It minimises walking distances and
windows overlooking the pavement increase feelings of personal safety. If car access to a site is
required there should be a common entrance and exit so pedestrians do not need to cross two
access roads. Car parking other than along a street should be behind a store, not in front, so
pedestrians do not have to walk across a large car park to reach the entrance.
Need a firm statement in planning policy guidance that the opportunity to create new pedestrian
routes presented by applications for development should be seized.

Problem 2 - Designated walking routes that do not go where people want

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 Short cuts across grass and dirt are often worn into the ground by people who ignore
inconveniently routed official paths. In many cases this 'desire line' should be properly surfaced
and the official path removed. The redesigned PeaceGardens in Sheffield, which won a Civic
Trust Award in 2000, allows people to use the gardens as a route from one place to another rather
than simply a place to linger.

Problem 3 - Underexploited historic routes

York's Snickleways form a fine network of picturesque walking routes that thread between
buildings and are often more direct than the road alternative. They are a tourist attraction as well
as a useful way of shortening journeys on foot. Other towns with ancient alleyways should open
and publicise them. They can be incorporated into walking trails, which are often produced by
Civic Societies and can lead to an appreciation of the local (particularly historic) environment.
There is the added advantage that these inquisitive visitors are more likely to spend money in
small shops that are hard to access by car. Walking allows people to appreciate the fine grain of a
place.

Problem 4 - Lack of linkage between open spaces

Establish urban trails such as the Green London Way that link open spaces and corridors. There
should be an equivalent trail established in all large towns. The many opportunities to link
existing open spaces to provide attractive routes for pedestrians and cyclists, often using
watercourses and tree belts, need to be exploited.

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Problem 5 - Awkward road crossings

Provide more pedestrian crossings, preferably with a quicker response to button presses and a
generous crossing time.
Many busy urban roads can only be crossed using bridges or underpasses. These are threatening
and inconvenient. They should be replaced by surface level crossings where traffic is halted or
road undergrounding. Birmingham is using this approach to repair some of the severance caused
by the inner ring road.
Crossing points are often equipped with barriers that corral pedestrians into pens and prevent
them crossing where they choose. Such arrangements should be used sparingly. The
improvements to The Strand are a good example of where barriers have been removed and
pedestrians liberated to cross the road where they want.

Problem 6 - River and railway present an obstacle to pedestrians

Bridges that are exclusively for the use of pedestrians and cyclists can provide these groups
with a distinct advantage over the car when they open up a more convenient and safe route. For
example, the Mytoncycleway has created a crossing of the River Avon between Leamington and
Warwick that links housing areas on one side of the river with 3 schools on the other thereby
cutting school traffic.

Safe Routes

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Problem 7 - Fast traffic intimidates and endangers pedestrians

The fact that pedestrians crossing side roads have the right of way over cars turning into them is
not well known and needs to be publicised.
Government guidance on road design has resulted in roads that have sweeping corners that
encourage fast driving. This is particularly problematic at junctions where side roads meet main
roads because pedestrians have a much longer distance to cover when crossing the neck of the
side road during which time they are exposed to the danger of fast turning traffic. Remedial work
should be undertaken on these junctions to create tighter radii. Another measure that helps
pedestrians is raised surfaces at the entrance to the side road. These force driver to manoeuvre
more slowly, signal to them that the status of the road has changed and allow pedestrians to cross
on a level surface.
Home Zones are residential areas where measures such as reduced speed limits, traffic calming,
reallocation of road space and changes in design have been employed to reduce the safety threat
posed by vehicles to pedestrians. They have successfully tamed traffic in the Netherlands. The
nine 2 year pilot tests have delayed the introduction of this proven concept to our streets; and the
last minute introduction of a clause into the Transport Bill giving them statutory weight was
weakened by the refusal to make motorists automatically culpable for collisions with pedestrians
as in the Netherlands.

Problem 8 - Pedestrian safety threatened by strident roadside advertising that distracts drivers

Roadside advertising designed to attract the attention of motorists is bound to lessen their
concentration on the task of driving and compete with official road signage. The proliferation of
obtrusive signage is dangerous. It appears that applications for advertisement consent are not
refused on the ground that they undermine highway safety because of the lack of empirical
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evidence of their danger. RoSPA are keen to conduct research on this subject but have been
unable to obtain funding. Adverts on traffic signal control boxes will soon be pilot tested in four
London Boroughs prior to an expected national rollout. This is a worrying development and local
authorities should resist the lure of advertising revenue in the interests of pedestrian and road
user safety. The visual impact is a further reason to halt advertising proliferation.

Problem 9 - Inappropriate road hierarchies

The DETR announced in its road safety strategy 'Tomorrow's Road - Safer for Everyone' (2000)
that it plans to examine existing road hierarchies. Any new designations should take full account
of who uses and lives beside roads and whether walking would be easier if speeds were lower.

Problem 10 - Counter-productive casualty measurement

The Government measures road accident casualties per 100 000 population. By this measure an
absolute reduction in the number of people walking leading to a reduction in the number of
pedestrian casualties can be claimed as a success. A measure that would reflect the actual level of
danger would be the number of casualties by distance walked. Accident figures that can be
'improved' by deterring vulnerable road users from venturing out are misleading and result in the
curtailment of their freedom.

Problem 11 - Fear for personal safety deterring walking

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 Community Safety Strategies required by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 should contain
policies for ensuring personal safety in the street. Adequate lighting, clear views and police
patrols are important in reassuring vulnerable groups that it is safe to walk.

Comfortable Routes

Problem 12 - Obstructions on the pavement

Streets are cluttered with inappropriately located and redundant signage, street furniture and
utility boxes. They reduce the space available for pedestrians, impair navigation and present a
hazard to people with poor sight. Local authorities need to conduct street clutter audits and
removal programmes. They can collaborate with Civic Societies as suggested in PPG15
(although audits are not only applicable to historic areas).
Sandwich boards outside shops are illegal clutter that most local authorities tolerate. Their
stance needs to toughen. We suggest that after a warning and a period of notice, local authorities
should simply confiscate them.
Phone boxes obstruct pavements. Until recently this has not mattered since phone boxes were a
well-used public facility. The popularity of mobile phones has reduced demand at a time when
competitors to BT have installed new boxes. This has resulted in a huge oversupply of phone
boxes. The reduced profitability of the business has led BT to install full-face adverts on their
boxes. We are concerned that rather than removing their redundant phone boxes, the companies
will retain them because the new advertisements are so lucrative. The removal of excess phone
boxes should be encouraged.
The problem of commercial waste left on pavements for collection has worsened as a result of
the huge increase in disposable packaging. It is hoped that waste reduction initiatives will
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mitigate the problem. In the interim waste collection authorities should increase the frequency of
collections to prevent obstructions developing.
Wheelie bins can be a problem in terraced street where the houses lack front gardens.
Householders often leave them permanently in the street to avoid hauling them through their
houses. Resident of these houses should be allowed, or even encouraged, to dispose of rubbish in
bags.
Pooling of water on the pavement after rain causes discomfort. Highway engineers can tackle it
by surveying immediately after a rainstorm. Remedial engineering work should be a greater
priority.

Problem 13 - Lack of space for pedestrians

Where pedestrian movement is constrained by lack of space on the pavement the first remedy
should be to remove any street clutter that is creating bottlenecks and obstacles. If more space is
required to facilitate smooth flow, pedestrian priority can be granted by widening pavements and
narrowing the carriageway.
The pavement should be treated an inviolable space for pedestrians. Shared use footpaths
should not be used. They pit pedestrians against cyclists, who should be natural allies. Space for
safe cycling should be taken from motorised vehicles not pedestrians. Car parking on them
should also not be tolerated.

Problem 14 - Engine noise

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 In many places it is impossible to converse with a walking companion due to engine noise. The
DETR publication, 'Encouraging Walking' should have mentioned engine noise reduction as a
contribution the motoring industry can make to the promotion of walking.

Problem 15 - Encumbrance

The need to carry purchases back from the shops is a deterrent to walking for those with an
option and a strain on frail people. Retailers selling bulky goods insist that they need a peripheral
location for their store and high levels of car parking because people cannot carry their goods
home on foot. If retailers provided goods delivery services they would have less justification for
the 'big box' retail format. LPAs should insist on a goods delivery service through S106
agreements and planning conditions.

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SECTION 7
GEOGRAPHY OF GENDER

The Geography of Gender Inequality

A great deal of human behaviour is not the result of individual preferences. Rather, it is governed
by institutional rules, norms and conventions that have powerful material effects on peoples
lives. Institutions have been defined as the rules of the game in a society. These rules may be
written or unwritten, explicit or implicit, codified in law, mandated by policy, sanctified by
religion, upheld by convention or embodied in the standards of family, community and society.
They play a powerful role in shaping human behaviour, in terms of both what is permitted and
what is prohibited. In the economy, they:
influence the gender division of labour between production and reproduction in different parts of
the world; and
give rise to distinctive regional patterns in labour force participation and economic activity by
women and men.
A great deal of human behaviour is not the result of individual preferences. Rather, it is governed
by institutional rules, norms and conventions . . .
While institutions themselves are abstract concepts, they take concrete form in organisations
the teams that play the game. There are four key categories of institutions, each with a
particular domain (or area of influence) in society and each associated with a different set of
organisations and groups. These are states, markets, civil society/community, and kinship/family
(see box 3.1).
These institutions govern the processes of production, reproduction and distribution in a society.
The way they are set up varies by level of economic development, structure of economy and
extent of commodification (i.e. the extent to which a market value has been given to previously
non-commercial goods and services). In terms of the productive pyramid shown in Fig. 2.1, there
are likely to be differences across the world in the extent both of formal markets and state
regulation and of subsistence production.
States: The state is responsible for the overall governance of society. It enforces the rules and
procedures that regulate how the different institutional domains interact. Access to state
resources, including employment, is through its legislation, policies and regulations. Examples of
state organisations include those associated with the bureaucracy, the police, the legislature, the
judiciary and local government.

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Markets: Markets are organised around a commercial logic the maximisation of profit and
resources are exchanged on the basis of contract-based entitlements. Market-based organisations
include firms, commercial farms, micro-enterprises, trade networks and multinational
corporations.

Civil society/community: Civil society refers to a range of associations whose members pursue a
variety of interests. The membership and goals are usually chosen, and members determine
how resources and responsibilities will be distributed on the basis of some agreed set of
principles. Such organisations include trade unions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and
professional associations. Community is used here to refer to associations and groups based on
what sociologists call primordial ties. Membership of these groups is ascribed rather than
chosen. Individuals access to their resources depends on how they are positioned in the group by
these ascribed identities. Examples of community include caste, tribe and patron-client
relationships.

Kinship/family: Kinship and family refer to forms of social organisation, including lineages and
clans, that are based on descent, marriage and various forms of adoption or fostering. One of the
key organisations associated with kinship and family is the household, usually based on shared
residence and/or shared budgets. Elson calls households the site par excellence of provisioning,
that is, the activity of supplying people with what they need to thrive, including care and
concern as well as material goods.
Four key categories of institutions in society are: states, markets, civil society/community and
kinship/family.
Institutions provide a structure, and hence a degree of stability, to everyday life. They reduce
uncertainty, make certain forms of behaviour more predictable and allow individuals to cooperate with others to produce results that they would not be able to achieve on their own. At the
same time, however and whatever their official ideologies institutions rarely operate in
egalitarian ways. Rather, they tend to support hierarchical relationships organised around:
inequalities of ownership or access to the means of production (land, capital, finance,
equipment);
achieved or acquired attributes (education, skills, contacts); and
various socially-ascribed attributes (gender, age, caste, etc.).
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A variety of explanations and justifications are given for these hierarchies, including merit,
capacity, aptitude, biology, nature or divine will. Institutions rules of access and exclusion
also intersect and overlap (see box 3.2).
Societys institutional framework its rules, norms, beliefs and practices means that
individuals and social groups not only start from different places, but also have different
opportunities to improve their situation in the course of their lives.

Institutional inequalities in one area can be offset or worsened by access or exclusion in another.
For example, inequalities in a community on the basis of caste, race or gender can be countered
by anti-discrimination laws in employment or by the ability of subordinate groups to take
advantage of new opportunities in the market place. On the other hand, prejudice by employers
or exclusionary practices by trade unions and professional associations can make these
inequalities worse. Societys institutional framework its rules, norms, beliefs and practices
means that individuals and social groups not only start from different places, but also have
different opportunities to improve their situation in the course of their lives. Given its importance
in the overall governance of society, the state can play a critical role in maintaining, reinforcing
or countering inequalities in other domains.
Institutions and Gender Inequality
Gender inequality, the main focus of this book, is one of the most pervasive forms of inequality.
This is not just because it is present in most societies, but also because it cuts across other forms
of inequality (see introduction to Chapter 1). It is constructed through both:
the formal laws and statutes that make up the official ideologies of a society and its institutions;
and
the unwritten norms and shared understandings that help shape everyday behaviour in the real
world.
Gender inequality . . . is one of the most pervasive forms of inequality . . . not just because it is
present in most societies, but also because it cuts across other forms of inequality.
Although gender inequality is thus found throughout society, institutional analyses of it generally
start by looking at kinship and family. This is because these are the primary forms of
organisation that are inherently gendered. Womens and mens roles and responsibilities in the
domestic domain also reveal how the wider society views their natures and capabilities and
hence constructs gender difference and inequality. In addition, a great deal of productive, as well
as reproductive, activity is organised through kinship and family. This is particularly the case
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among the poor in poorer parts of the world. Consequently, even when women and men
participate in the wider economy, their participation is partly structured by relations in the
household.
Families and kinship are different from other institutions because of the nature of the
relationships within them. These are usually based on intimate ties of blood, marriage and
adoption (in contrast to the more impersonal relationships of contract and statute found in the
market and state). They are also generally gender-ascriptive. In other words, to be a husband,
wife, brother or daughter is to be a male or a female. In most societies, women are associated
with the functions of care and maintenance. These include bearing and rearing children and the
wider range of activities necessary to the survival and well-being of family members on a daily
basis. While men may participate in some of these activities, particularly in training boys how to
be men or sharing in certain household chores, they tend to have far less involvement than
women.
Women thus play a key role in unpaid processes of social
reproduction (i.e. reproducing societys human resources on a daily and intergenerational basis).
They may also predominate when these activities are shifted into the market, for example,
nursing, teaching and social work. However, the part they play in production and accumulation
and the form that their involvement takes varies considerably across cultures. Different rules,
norms and values govern the gender division of labour and the gender distribution of resources,
responsibilities, agency and power. These are critical elements for understanding the nature of
gender inequality in different societies. Ideas and beliefs about gender in the domestic sphere
often get reproduced in other social relations, either consciously as gender discrimination or
unconsciously as gender bias. Rather than being impersonal, state or market institutions thus
become bearers of gender. They position women and men unequally in access to resources and
assign them unequal value in the public domain.

Regional Perspectives on Gender Inequality

Gender inequality varies at the regional level, suggesting a geography of gender. This
geography reflects systematic regional differences in:
the institutions of kinship and family;
the household patterns they have given rise to; and
the associated gender division of resources and responsibilities.
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These have in turn given rise to regional differences in the gender division of labour between
production and reproduction, paid and unpaid work, and the domestic and public domains.
[The] different rules, norms and values [that] govern the gender division of labour and the
gender distribution of resources, responsibilities, agency and power . . . are critical elements for
understanding the nature of gender inequality in different societies.
Regional differences mean not only that women and men participate in their national economies
differently from each other, but also that these differences are not uniform across the world. Two
factors are particularly important for the extent to which women play a role in the wider
economy, the scope of their agency and their access to socially valued resources:
1. how corporate the unit is around which the household economy is organised (i.e. the extent to
which resources and efforts are managed and allocated on a joint basis); and
2. how rigid the public-private divide is, and hence womens degree of public mobility and
opportunities for direct economic participation.
Research from a variety of social science disciplines suggests that there are a range of household
types associated with distinct regional patriarchies. These have particular patterns of land
inheritance, marital practices, economic activity and welfare outcomes.
There are a range of household types associated with distinct regional patriarchies. These have
particular patterns of land inheritance, marital practices, economic activity and welfare
outcomes.

Asia
Despite variations in womens public mobility and labour force participation across the region,
Asian households are generally organised along corporate lines, usually centred on the conjugal
relationship.
Western Asia, South Asia and East Asia
The most marked forms of gender inequality in the region are associated with regimes of
extreme forms of patriarchy. These include the belt stretching from North Africa and western
Asia across the northern plains of South Asia, including Bangladesh and Pakistan. They also take
in the countries of East Asia China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Taiwan. These countries
clearly have widely differing economies, histories, cultures and religions. However, they have

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certain historical similarities in how family, kinship and gender relations are organised and in
patterns of female economic activity.
Kinship structures in these regions are predominantly patrilineal: descent is traced and property
transmitted through the male members. Marriage tends to be exogamous and patrilocal: women
marry outside their kin and often outside their village community, leaving their own homes at
marriage to join their husbands family. Households are organised along highly corporate lines,
with strong conjugal bonds and cultural rules that emphasise male responsibility for protecting
and provisioning women and children. Household resources and income are pooled under the
management and control of the male patriarch. The payment of dowry by the brides family to
the groom is the norm in the northern plains of India, though not necessarily elsewhere in East or
western Asia.
Female chastity is emphasised (with severe penalties for any transgression). This is considered
essential to ensure that property is transmitted based on biological fatherhood. Female sexuality
is controlled through a strong public-private divide, with women secluded in the private domain.
While the practice of purdah is usually associated with Muslim societies, female seclusion
based on norms of honour and shame is also practiced by Hindus, particularly the upper castes.
Restrictions on female mobility, patrilineal inheritance and patrilocal marital practices have
meant the economic devaluation of women and their overall dependence on men in much of this
region. Son preference is also marked.
Boserup pointed to the extremely low percentages of women in agriculture and trade in western
Asia, North Africa and Pakistan, which she called male farming systems. Female family labour
did not exceed 15 per cent of the total agricultural labour force (with the exception of Algeria,
Tunisia and Turkey). Women made up less than 10 per cent of the labour force in trade in South
and western Asia, and less than one- third in East Asia and areas of Chinese influence (Hong
Kong, Singapore, Republic of Korea and Taiwan). In China, too, prior to the revolution, only 7
per cent of the Chinese labour force in trade were women. However, Boserup also noted
variations to the pattern within the region. In South Asia, for example, womens participation in
trade varied from 26 per cent in Bangladesh, the northern plains of India and Pakistan to around
17 per cent in the southern states of India.
Somewhat less rigid gender relations are found in the way kinship and family are organised in
South-East Asia . . . and, to some extent, the southern states of India and Sri Lanka.
South-East Asia
Somewhat less rigid gender relations are found in the way kinship and family are organised in
South-East Asia (Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand
and Vietnam) and, to some extent, the southern states of India and Sri Lanka. The structure of
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households is still along corporate lines, but with important differences. For example, a child is
considered equally related to both its parents and a persons most important social grouping
comprises relatives from both sides. Son preference is moderate or non-existent.
There are more cases of women as well as men being able to inherit property, and a greater
incidence of matrilineal kinship, where property and descent are traced through women. While
income is likely to be pooled in these households, women are often responsible for managing the
household budget. A greater number of newly married couples set up their own households and
more wives retain links with their natal families. The exchange of wealth at marriage tends to be
reciprocal between the families of bride and groom, or else greater on the part of the latter in the
form of bride-wealth. Most South-East Asian countries have traditionally been more tolerant of
sexual freedom for both women and men, although colonialism brought in more restrictions,
particularly for women.
Boserup noted that female family labour made up around 50 per cent of the total agricultural
force in Thailand and 75 per cent in Cambodia, both areas of female farming. Women also made
up around half of the labour force engaged in trade and commerce in Burma, Cambodia, Lao
PDR, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam (see box 3.3).
Despite the strong influence of Confucianism among the ruling elite in pre-revolutionary
Vietnam, most rural women worked daily in the fields and were largely responsible for trade.
Vietnamese women were not only involved in managing the household budget, but also in direct
production such as transplanting rice and, importantly, in marketing the produce. Husbands could
not dispose of harvested rice without their wives consent. Although there was patrilocalpatrilineal marriage and some evidence of son preference, women were not regarded as helpers
to men but as their equals.
However, the absence of any marked restrictions on womens mobility, and some degree of
symmetry in the division of labour in the household, should not be taken to imply an absence of
gender inequality in general in these societies. For example, even though Filipino women may
have high status relative to women in some other countries, this needs to be assessed in relation
to Filipino men to be meaningful. It should also be noted that it is in the relatively more
egalitarian regimes of South-East Asia Thailand and the Philippines that sex tourism has
emerged as a key source of income for women. Clearly, labour markets continue to reproduce
gender disadvantage. Bearing this in mind, it is still clear that gender regimes in this part of the
world do not result in the very marked gender inequalities in survival and well-being which, as
shown in the next chapter, continue to characterise regions marked by extreme patriarchy.
Sub-Saharan Africa

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Research on household arrangements in sub-Saharan Africa point to the wide prevalence of

highly complex, lineage-based homesteads with considerable gender segmentation. Women and
men from the same homestead may work in separate groups, in different economic crops or on
separate fields, and spouses may maintain individual accounting units. This presents a different
challenge to mainstream economic portrayals
of the household (as a unified entity whose members pool and share their resources in order to
maximise their joint welfare) to that posed elsewhere. Where households are organised on a
corporate basis, as described earlier, the challenge has consisted of noting the existence of gender
and other inequalities in the distribution of household welfare. There, certain members are
systematically discriminated against in the distribution of the gains to household production.
Here, however, household goods and incomes are generally not even meant to be held in
common. Instead, cultural ideas and practices require that male and female income and resources
belong to different spheres and are intended for different uses. Hence the need for a complex set
of transactions in the household through which labour and incomes are used and needs met.
Along with [some] similarities there are important differences in the social organisation of
kinship and gender relations across the African sub-continent, and even in the same country.
Much of sub-Saharan Africa is patrilineal. Womens access to land is usually through
usufructuary rights (i.e. rights to farm the land and profit from the produce but not to ownership)
through their husbands lineage group. Since womens obligations to the family include food
provisioning and caring for their children, they are granted this access to enable them to carry out
these responsibilities. Female seclusion is uncommon, although it does occur among some
communities such as the Muslim Hausa in Nigeria. However, such seclusion occurs in
segmented households and Hausa women retain considerable economic autonomy. They manage
their own enterprises and engage in internal market transactions with their husbands. Marriage
in the region usually involves the contractual payment of bride-wealth to the lineage of the
woman by the husbands family.
As might be expected, along with these similarities there are important differences in the social
organisation of kinship and gender relations across the African sub-continent, and even in the
same country. The organisation of gender relations in Uganda varies from region to region, but is
generally strongly patrilineal and patriarchal structures predominate, with womens economic
autonomy and independent access to land being relatively more constrained than elsewhere in
East Africa. Under customary law and practice in Uganda, women were minors without adult
legal status or rights. In general, in much of eastern and southern Africa, womens labour
contribution tends to be subsumed in the cultivation of household fields over which men have
ultimate control. However, studies from Zambia report evidence of jointly managed fields as
well as fields individually managed by both sexes.

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In parts of West Africa on the other hand (e.g. Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria),
women generally have usufruct rights to separate holdings through their husbands lineage. Both
women and junior men also provide labour on household fields that are controlled by the
compound head. These domestic groups are characterised by strong lineage ties and weak
conjugal ties. Moreover, women enjoy direct access to land in matrilineal areas, many of which
are also in West Africa (including Cte dIvoire, southern Ghana, Malawi and Zambia), as well
as in areas of Muslim influence. Matrilineality means married women are able to retain links
with their families of origin and gain access to land as members of their own lineage groups. As
a result, their obligations are not limited to the conjugal unit but extend to natal family networks.
Women enjoy direct access to land in matrilineal areas, many of which are also in West
Africa . . . , as well as in areas of Muslim influence.
In addition, there are more polygamous marriages in West and central Africa (with over 40 per
cent of currently married women in such unions). The equivalent figures are 2030 per cent in
East Africa and 20 per cent or less in southern Africa. Polygamy contributes to a pattern of
separate (rather than pooled) spousal budgets, assets and income flows and may include separate
living arrangements. Women exercise considerable economic agency in the family structure and
are not dependent on their husbands in the way that they are in much of South Asia.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have experienced very different histories and
patterns of economic development within three broad cultural traditions: indigenous, Hispanic
and Afro-Caribbean. This has led to considerable diversity in their household arrangements.
Nevertheless, many of the countries share certain features in common, including the intersection
of colonialism and slavery, and large urban populations (around 70 per cent).
The region belongs to the weaker corporate end of the spectrum. The Spanish and Portuguese
colonisers introduced their own version of the public-private divide into Latin America,
associating men with the calle (street) and women with the casa (home). However, this division
is far stronger among the upper classes in areas with Hispanic, and hence Roman Catholic,
influence. It is far less often found among the black and indigenous populations. While legal
marriage may be the social ideal, as well as the norm in many parts of the region, there is a high
incidence of consensual or visiting unions. In some areas of Latin America, this appears to reflect
partly indigenous antecedents and partly the precariousness of marriage when male mobility is
an integral part of economic strategies. In the Caribbean, it reflects the impact of slavery, which
weakened ties between children and their fathers as slave children became the property of their
mothers owner. One result of this is a high number of female-headed households, as well as
complex extended households made up of children from different unions.
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Boserup noted that womens economic activity in the public domain varied across the [Latin
American and Caribbean] region. There were higher rates in populations with a strong African
or Asian presence than in countries on the Atlantic coast where the Spanish influence is stronger.
Boserup noted that womens economic activity in the public domain varied across the region.
There were higher rates in populations with a strong African or Asian presence than in countries
on the Atlantic coast where the Spanish influence is stronger. The region as a whole is
characterised by low levels of female economic activity in rural areas and higher levels in urban
areas. Women tend to be more active in agriculture in the Caribbean region, where there are more
smallholder farms, than in Latin America. Large-scale plantation agriculture, and the fact that
commoditisation and mechanisation have gone further in Latin American agriculture than
elsewhere in the Third World, explain why it is less significant as a source of overall as well as of
female employment. However, women are active in trade throughout the region and also
dominate in the flows of migration into urban areas. This is an indication of the lack of strict
restrictions on womens mobility.
Updating the Geography of Gender
There have been significant changes since the period that informed Boserups analysis,
including:

the oil shocks of the 1970s and subsequent debt crisis and recession;

the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) of the 1980s;

the collapse of some socialist societies and the managed transition to the market economy
of others; and

the acceleration of the forces of economic deregulation, liberalisation and globalisation.

Most economies today are far more oriented to the market, far more open to international
competition and far more integrated on a global basis than they were in the 1960s. The rest of
this chapter looks at the extent to which changes in the wider economic environment have
influenced the gender division of labour in different regions and modified the geography of
gender described above.
Most economies today are far more oriented to the market, far more open to international
competition and far more integrated on a global basis than they were in the 1960s.
Globalisation and the rise of flexible labour markets

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Two factors have been particularly significant in driving the pace of globalisation:
the changing technology of transport and telecommunications, which served to compress time
and space across the world; and
the dismantling of the regulatory frameworks that had provided some degree of national stability
in markets for labour and capital in the post-war decades.
There has been a massive increase in world trade flows. Trade now accounts for 45 per cent of
world Gross National Product (GNP) compared to 25 per cent in 1970. Much of this increase is
in manufacturing, which accounts for 74 per cent of world merchandise exports (compared to 59
per cent in 1984). Developing countries have performed well in this sector. The share of
manufactured goods in developing country exports tripled between 1970 and 1990 from 20 to 60
per cent. Exports in labour-intensive manufacturing have grown particularly rapidly, the most
important and fastest growing being electronic components and garments. These accounted
respectively for 10 and 6 per cent of total developing country exports in 199091.
There has also been a dramatic increase in the inter- national mobility of capital. Capital flows in
the industrial countries rose from around 5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the
early 1970s to around 10 per cent in the early 1990s. The equivalent figures for transitional and
developing countries were 7 and 9 per cent. Previously, transactions between countries occurred
mainly in the form of trade in goods. Today, however, it is possible for individuals and firms to
invest freely in foreign exchange and financial markets. This increased movement of capital
between countries is often motivated by short-term opportunities to gain from more favourable
interest or exchange rates. As recent crises in East Asia and Latin America have demonstrated,
economies are extremely vulnerable to the ups and downs of this global market.
Different forms of labour, such as outworking, contract work, casual labour, part-time work and
home-based work have been replacing regular, full-time wage labour.
However, the movement of labour has not been deregulated to the same degree. On the contrary,
there have been increasing restrictions on the mobility of unskilled labour, particularly by the
developed countries. Migration per 1,000 of population declined during this period from around
6.5 to 4.5 in the industrialised countries and remained static at around one elsewhere (though this
does not take account of illegal labour movements, particularly increasing trafficking in women).
At the same time, within national economies, labour markets have become increasingly
informalised and social protection has been eroded. Different forms of labour, such as
outworking, contract work, casual labour, part-time work and home-based work have been
replacing regular, full-time wage labour. These changes have largely affected the organisedlabour
force in industrialised countries and the small minority in formal labour in poorer countries. The
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overwhelming majority of the working population in these poorer countries is still engaged in
livelihood strategies outside the formal, protected economy. These strategies include a diverse set
of activities, contractual arrangements and working conditions. There is consequently a social
hierarchy to the labour market, depicted in Fig. 3.1, that loosely overlaps with the economic
pyramid depicted in Fig. 2.1.
The occupational hierarchy in the formal labour market consists of:
An elite group of wealthy industrialists, financiers, entrepreneurs, etc. at the pinnacle. They make
the rules of the
Figure 3.1: Social Hierarchy of Livelihoods

game in their society, are wealthy enough to ensure their own security and often take advantage
of the growing global market in savings, pensions and insurance.
Salaried and professional classes. They generally enjoy a considerable degree of job security and
social status in the labour market.

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Core workers. They are in full-time employment, often unionised and protected by state
provision. Some may be unemployed but they may still have some security in the form of state
unemployment assistance.
The elite is likely to be smaller and much less wealthy in the poorer countries than in the richer
countries. The second and third groups also represent a far smaller proportion of the total
work force in developing countries than in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) countries. They are likely to have shrunk even further with the
downsizing of the public sector in the wake of SAPs.
Comparing womens labour force participation around the globe is problematic, and the
difficulty of capturing often irregular, casual forms of work in the informal economy is
compounded by the different definitions used in measurement.
Meanwhile, the informalised workforce which has little stability of work, social security
provision or state regulation has expanded. It makes up more than 80 per cent in low-income
countries and around 40 per cent in middle-income countries. The informal economy has its own
hierarchy, distinguishing those with some degree of security in their lives from those without
any:
Owners of some land or capital. They are in a position to hire labour on their farms or in their
enterprises.
Waged workers in some form of regular employment. They often work in medium-sized
enterprises, or on plantations or commercial farms.
Own-account workers, with little or no capital. They rely on their own or family labour.
Casual labourers and home-based workers. They are either unpaid family workers or disguised
wage workers who earn a fraction of their directly employed counterparts.
A category of detached labour. They eke out a living from various stigmatised occupations:
prostitution, pimping, recycling trash, picking pockets, begging and so on. They not only lack
any formal ties to the state, pension and insurance markets, but may also have lost their place in
kin or community structures.
Gender and labour force participation in the 1980s and 1990s
Comparing womens labour force participation around the globe is problematic, and the
difficulty of capturing often irregular, casual forms of work in the informal economy is
compounded by the different definitions used in measurement. The discussion here uses the
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conventional definition (i.e. activities done for pay or profit). While this does not fully capture
womens contribution to the economy, nor show what is happening in the unpaid economy, it
reveals the restrictions

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Table 3.1: Estimated Economic Activity Rate of Women and Female Percentage of the
Labour Force

Table 3.1: Estimated Economic Activity Rate of Women and Female Percentage of the
Labour Force (continued)
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Source: The Worlds Women 19701990: Trends and

Statistics

Source: 2001
Indicators

World

Development

that women face in terms of paid work relative to men and how these vary across the world. It
also has something important to say about the pattern of womens work in recent decades and the
extent to which the geography of gender difference in labour market participation has changed
from that observed by Boserup.
The most striking features of labour force participation patterns in the last few decades are: (a)
the rise in the percentage of women in the labour force; and (b) the accompanying increase in
their share of overall employment. In almost every region, there are now many more women
involved in the visible sectors of the economy (see Table 3.1). In addition, womens participation
has increased faster than mens in almost every region except Africa, where it was already high.
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With a stagnating or, in some cases, decreasing male labour force, gender differences in labour
force participation have shrunk in many regions.
[W]omens [labour force] participation has increased faster than mens in almost every region
except Africa, where it was already high.
These changes reflect a number of factors:
Demographic transition (i.e. the change from high to low rates of births and deaths) in most
regions and a decline in fertility rates have allowed many more women to go out to work.
The increasing enrolment of young men in secondary and tertiary education, as well as the
growing availability of pensions for older men, partly explain diminishing male participation.
The changing nature of labour markets has resulted in what can be described as a double
feminisation of the labour force internationally. Women have increased their share of
employment while employment itself has started to take on some of the informalised
characteristics of work conventionally associated with women.
Another major change in patterns of work in recent decades has been in the distribution of the
labour force between different sectors of the economy. Only in South Asia and sub-Saharan
Africa has female labour remained largely concentrated in the agricultural sector. East and
South-East Asian countries, by contrast, are characterised by high levels of female labour force
participation and by a more even distribution of female labour across agriculture, industry and
services (see Table 3.2). Women made up over a third of the labour in each sector during 1970
1990, with their representation increasing in services over this period. There is of course
variation across the region (see box 3.4).
Table 3.2: Employment by Economic Activity

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In Indonesia, there was an overall decline in national labour force participation, partly due to a
restrictive time period for measuring economic activity and partly because the working age
population was increasing over this period. However, female rural labour force participation
continued to increase, outweighing these two factors. In rural areas, womens labour force
participation declined slightly in agriculture but increased in manufacturing and trade. In
Vietnam, too, rural households rely heavily on off-farm and self-employment to supplement
earnings from farming. In the Philippines, female employment is high, with women making up
37 per cent of the total labour force.
According to the UN, industrialisation as part of globalisation is currently as much female-led
as it is export-led.

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There have not only been changes in the distribution of womens labour between different
sectors of the economy. There has also been a change in their participation in the traded sector
of the visible economy. In some parts of the world, this has taken the form of higher participation
in export manufacturing employment as economies moved from a capital-intensive, importsubstituting industrialisation to a labour-intensive export-oriented one. According to the UN,
industrialisation as part of globalisation is currently as much female-led as it is export-led.
Womens high rates of participation in export-oriented manufacturing started in the East Asian
miracle economies and Mexico and spread to other parts of Asia and Latin America. However,
the spread has not been universal. In South Asia, it has mainly taken off in Bangladesh where
there has been an astonishing rise in the female labour force in the manufacturing sector since the
early 1980s due to the emergence of an export-oriented garment industry. Other countries in Asia
that have seen a dramatic increase in both labour-intensive export manufacturing and the share of
women in the manufacturing labour force include Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, the
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand. On the other hand, as export-production has become more
skill- and
capital-intensive in a number of middle-income countries, the demand for female labour in
manufacturing appears to have weakened (for example, in Puerto Rico, Republic of Korea,
Singapore and Taiwan).
Women form at least as high a percentage of the workforce in the internationalised service
sector, including data entry and processing, as they do in export-manufacturing. Indeed they
make up the entire labour force in this sector in the Caribbean. In a number of countries, such as
the Philippines and Thailand, where tourism had become the largest provider of foreign
exchange by 1982, a considerable percentage of this income is generated by the sex industry,
which largely employs women.
Globalisation and economic liberalisation, often with the imposition of SAPs, have also caused
changes in agriculture. There has been a shift from subsistence to cash crops and from
weak-performing traditional agricultural products (coffee, tobacco, cotton and cocoa) to higher
value non-traditional agricultural exports (NTAEs) such as fresh fruit and nursery products.
These require little or no additional processing, and most are produced as part of global supply
networks (see box 3.5). The need to remain competitive means that production involves flexible
and informal work arrangements similar to those seen in manufacturing. These include
piecework; temporary, seasonal and casual work; and unregulated labour contracts. Studies
suggest that women make up a disproportionate share of the workforce in this sector.
[W]omen make up a disproportionate share of the workforce in the [non-traditional agricultural
exports (NTAEs)] sector.
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In Latin America, particularly Colombia and Mexico where the sector is well established, NTAEs
have generated seasonal employment for women. In Mexico in 1990, women made up around 15
per cent of the agricultural labour force but their participation went up to 50 per cent if only the
production of fruit and flowers was considered. Women have also found employment in this
sector in the Caribbean (leading to a decrease in the availability of the food for the local market
that they traditionally produced and sold). In Africa, women make up around 90 per cent of the
workforce in the NTAEs produced in large-scale enterprises organised along quasi-industrial
lines. They are paid cash in direct exchange for their labour, in contrast to the unpaid labour they
provide on family farms. However, many of these products are grown on smallholdings, often on
a contract basis. While women provide much of the labour, they do not necessarily receive an
equivalent proportion of the proceeds.
Along with these changes, there are still signs of the earlier regional pattern in female activity.
Rates of female labour force participation were lowest in the belt of extreme patriarchy, both in
1970 and in 1990, with the smallest increases recorded for the Arab countries of the Middle East.
Gender and hierarchies in the labour market
The increasing presence of women in paid work, and their greater share of employment, does not
mean that gender inequalities have disappeared. It is also important to know where women and
men are located in the social hierarchy of the market place. In other words, information on where
women are relative to men in the pyramid of production depicted.1 has to be supplemented by
information on where they are in the social pyramid depicted.
In countries where there are large numbers of women in the formal economy, they tend to be
under-represented at the higher levels and over-represented in those lower down.
The percentages of both women and men in waged and salaried work those most likely to work
outside the home are high in the industrialised countries of the OECD, in Eastern Europe, in
Latin America and the Caribbean and in East Asia. Involvement in unpaid family work is low for
both women and men in these regions. The picture is more uneven in South-East Asia, with high
involvement in the waged economy in Malaysia, but lower involvement in Indonesia, the
Philippines and Thailand. It is generally low in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but with
important differences in womens economic activity. Women in South Asia (and in other regions
of extreme patriarchy) continue to be concentrated in unpaid family work (over 60 per cent of the
female work force) while in sub-Saharan Africa, percentages of women in unpaid family work
are generally below 60 per cent. The rest are distributed between self-employment and, in a few
countries, in waged employment.
Measuring economic activity in the informal economy is particularly difficult and it varies
considerably across the world. In India, for example, formal, protected employment accounts for
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around 10 per cent of overall employment, but only 4 per cent of female employment. Womens
share of formal employment, however, increased from 12 per cent in 1981 to 15 per cent in 1995.
Both formal and informal markets continue to be segmented by gender. In countries where there
are large numbers of women in the formal economy, they tend to be under-represented at the
higher levels and over-represented in those lower down. In Morocco, for example, 38 per cent of
the total labour force is in professional and technical and administrative work, but only 10 per
cent of the female labour force is in
these categories. In East Asia, South-East Asia and the English-speaking Caribbean, womens
participation in clerical, sales and services; production and transport; and agriculture, hunting
and forestry is fairly high. However, they are generally under-represented in management and
administration. In South Asia, women are concentrated in agriculture/forestry but less well
represented in other sectors. There is a generally low representation of women in the labour force
in the Middle East and North Africa, with Morocco reporting higher rates than the rest of the
region.
In sub-Saharan Africa, womens share of employment in the formal economy between 1970 and
1985 rose from 6 per cent to 25 per cent in Botswana, from 1.5 per cent to 6 per cent in Malawi,
from 9 per cent to 20 per cent in Swaziland and from 0.6 per cent to 2 per cent in Tanzania. In
Zambia, only 7 per cent of formal wage employment was female. In Guinea-Bissau, women
accounted for 3.6 per cent of formal sector employment.
In Latin America, the percentage of the female labour force in formal sector employment was
generally high in the 1980s, varying between 32 per cent in Paraguay, 41 per cent in Ecuador, 52
per cent in Chile, 53 per cent in Brazil, 59 per cent in Argentina and 61 per cent in Panama.
However, these rates, and the apparent increase they represent over those prevailing in the 1970s,
may be somewhat misleading. This is because they are inflated by the inclusion of women
working in micro-enterprises, most of which operate in the informal economy.
From 1950 onwards, there has been a systematic rise in female labour force participation in Latin
America. One of the most striking features of this has been the increasing share of white collar
(professional and technical) employment in almost every major city in the region. In Chile,
women made up half this workforce. However, for the majority of poorer women, oppor- tunities
are more limited. In Mexico, womens workforce participation since the early 1990s has
increased steadily while that of men has decreased. Gender differences in participation rates have
thus declined in both urban and rural areas (particularly in non-agricultural self-employment).
Between 1991 and 1995, women made up 68 per cent of the increase in this sector, and 90 per
cent in rural areas. However, only women with secondary or higher levels of education were in
salaried employment.

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Working hours are on average shorter in industrialised than in developing countries, and shorter
in urban areas of developing countries than in rural. Yet women work longer hours than men in
every case.
Finally, data on gender differences in time allocation show what is occurring in the non-market
economy alongside changes in the market economy. They highlight a different, and persisting,
dimension of gender inequality. Working hours are on average shorter in industrialised than in
developing countries, and shorter in urban areas of developing countries than in rural. Yet
women work longer hours than men in every case. The extent of the difference varies
considerably. Women work just 10 per cent longer than men in rural Bangladesh, where they
spend 35 per cent of their total work time in System of National Accounts (SNA) activities. In
Kenya, on the other hand, they work 35 per cent longer and spend 42 per cent of their work time
in SNA activities. Womens longer working day and the extent to which it exceeds that of men
may reflect the difference between situations where seclusion restricts their economic activities
and those where they are expected to participate in production. In any case, women continue to
put in long hours of unpaid work into the reproductive economy regardless of their role in the
productive economy.
Classifying Gender Constraints
This chapter has provided an institutional explanation of gender inequality. It has focused on the
organisation of family and kinship, but has also pointed to the relevance of the wider institutions
of markets, states and civil society as bearers of gender. This section looks at different
categories of gender constraint those reflecting kinship and family systems and those reflecting
the wider institutional environment. These are gender-specific constraints, gender-intensified
constraints and imposed forms of gender disadvantage. They provide a background to the
analysis of the relationship between gender inequality and poverty that occupies the rest of this
book.
Gender-specific constraints
These reflect the rules, norms and values that are part of the social construction of gender. They
vary among particular social groups in particular contexts and the way these groups define
masculinity and femininity. Ideas about, for example, male and female sexuality, purity and
pollution, female seclusion and the natural aptitudes and predisposition of men and women all
help to explain differences in what is permitted to men and to women in different cultures.
Gender-intensified constraints . . . reflect the uneven distribution of resources and opportunities
between women and men in the household.
Gender-intensified constraints
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These reflect gender inequalities in resources and opportunities. Class, poverty, ethnicity and
physical location may also create inequalities but gender tends to make them more severe.
Gender-intensified constraints are found in, for example, workloads, returns to labour efforts,
health and education and access to productive assets (see box 3.7). They reflect the uneven
distribution of resources and opportunities between women and men in the household. Where
resources are scarce, women find themselves at a greater disadvantage than male members of the
family. Some inequalities may be the result of community norms, such as customary laws
governing inheritance. Others arise from decisions in the household, often because females are
seen as having less value than males.
In Uganda, women produce 80 per cent of the food and provide about 70 per cent of total
agricultural labour. An assessment of poverty in the country showed how womens genderspecific domestic responsibilities interact with household poverty to increase their disadvantages
in farming. Women are mainly found in the unpaid subsistence sector and perform their
agricultural tasks without the use of technological innovations, inputs or finance. While it is true
that many of these problems also apply to poor male farmers, men are not constrained by
competing claims on their labour time.
Imposed forms of gender disadvantage
These reflect the biases, preconceptions and misinformation of those outside the household and
community with the power to allocate resources. These institutional actors may actively
reproduce and reinforce custom-based gender discrimination. Examples include:

employers who refuse to recruit women or only recruit them in stereotypically female
and hence usually the most poorly paid activities;

trade unions and professional associations that define their membership rules in ways that
discourage the membership of women workers and professionals;

non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that treat women as dependent clients rather

than active agents;

religious associations that define women as somehow lesser than men, refusing to let
them become priests or to read the holy texts;

banks that refuse to lend to women entrepreneurs because they pre-judge them to be
credit risks;

judges who think women get raped through their own fault; and

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states that define women as minors under the guardianship of men or as second-class
citizens with fewer rights than men.

Gender is a key organising principle in the distribution of labour, property and other valued
resources in society.
These forms of gender disadvantage show how cultural norms and beliefs are also found in the
supposedly impersonal domains of markets, states and civil society.
Conclusion
Gender is a key organising principle in the distribution of labour, property and other valued
resources in society. Unequal gender relationships are sustained and legitimised through ideas of
difference and inequality that express widely held beliefs and values about the nature of
masculinity and femininity. Such forms of power do not have to be actively exercised to be
effective. They also operate silently and implicitly through compliance with male authority both
in the home and
outside it. For example, if the senior male in the household or lineage has the main responsibility
for members welfare, he usually also has privileged access to its resources. Women, and junior
men, accept his authority partly in recognition of his greater responsibilities and partly because
they have less bargaining power.
While institutionalised norms, beliefs, customs and practices help to explain the distribution of
gender resources and responsibilities in different social groups, they are clearly not unalterable.
This is shown by the significant changes in work patterns that have occurred in the last quarter of
the twentieth century. Female labour force participation rates have risen in most countries, while
male rates have often stagnated or even declined. Various factors have played a role in different
regions, including:

greater impoverishment in some places and rapid growth in others;

demographic transition and falling birth rates;

rising rates of education;

public policy;

socialist egalitarianism;

economic liberalisation; and

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greater integration into the global economy.

While institutionalised norms, beliefs, customs and practices help to explain the distribution of
gender resources and responsibilities in different social groups, they are clearly not unalterable.
Nevertheless, gender inequalities persist. They help explain why regions with extreme forms of
patriarchy continue to have lower rates of female labour force participation than can be explained
by their levels of per capita income. They may also help to explain some of the regional
variations in the relationship between gender equality and economic growth noted in the
previous chapter. Indeed, the use of religion as a variable noted in Dollar and Gattis analysis
may simply be picking up regionally clustered institutions of extreme patriarchy, of which
religion is only one aspect.
These more resilient aspects of patriarchy may also help to explain the positive relationship
found by Seguino between gender inequality in wages and rates of economic growth. She
suggests that institutions in patriarchal societies reinforce the
internalisation of social norms that favour men. Thus political resistance and therefore the
costliness of gender inequality are reduced. For example, the state in the Republic of Korea
condoned the marriage ban the widespread practice by employers to make women quit work on
marriage that limited womens job tenure, organisational ability and potential for wage gains.
This explanation is also supported by a study of womens labour market experiences in seven
Asian countries.
Gender inequality in areas such as education, wages and legal infrastructure is . . . related to
broad regional variations in patriarchal regimes . . .
A study of women in the labour market in India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, the
Republic of Korea and Thailand notes that differences in patriarchal organisation helped explain
why Japan and the Republic of Korea, despite their high rates of economic growth, have lower
rates of female labour force participation than the Philippines and Thailand. Women had higher
relative pay and made greater inroads into higher paying occupations in the latter two countries.
Of the five countries where women had lower relative pay, India, Japan and the Republic of
Korea had equal pay laws while the latter two had also recently enacted strong equal-opportunity
legislation. The institution of formal rights in support of gender equality is an important message
about social values. However, legislation is clearly not sufficient on its own to bring this about
and makes little difference if not enforced. Public action in the form of strong civil society
organisations, including an active womens movement, is necessary to ensure such laws are
translated into practice.

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The empirical findings show that gender inequality in areas such as education, wages and legal
infrastructure is only partly related to per capita GNP. It is also related to broad regional
variations in patriarchal regimes, particularly among the poorer countries of the world. The next
chapter examines the relationship between gender inequality and poverty revealed by different
approaches to poverty analysis.
Group work

Why do we try to link population and the environment

What will the future look like if we continue to produce, reproduce and consume as we do now?
What will the future look like if we changed our current patterns of production, reproduction or
consumption?
What are the future implications of current rates of deforestation, what will these have on human
health and wellbeing
What are the future implications of continued fertility levels, or of rising or falling of levels of
fertility.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Environment refers to our physical, biological and human surroundings, and their interrelationships. This means that it extend from the immediate (local) scale to the global scale, and
places as much emphasis on the working relationships between the environmental parameters as
on the resources themselves. This is a critical concept of sustainable development.

Environment is also all the external conditions that affect an organism or other specified system
during its lifetime

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Saigo, 1990 defines environment as the circumstances or conditions that surround an organism or
a group of organisms or the complex or social or cultural conditions that affect an individual or
community

Environmental science - is the systematic, scientific study of our environment as well as our
proper place in it.

Environmental process - is the results of the interaction between different parts of the
environment. Environmental processes are the driving forces behind our ecology, and shape the
environment as we see it. A simple environmental process is erosion - the movement of soil by
rainfall runoff, wind and gravity. processes occurs at varying rates and these rates can change or
be made to change by human interference.

Environmental impact - is any change to environmental processes, parameters or resources that

occurs as a result of an activity or policy this includes changes induced in the rates of processes
as well as effects on the immediate itself

Resource is any commodity, which is important and valuable to human being, it should be
available, accessible, affordable and acceptable. The resource differs from place to place, time to
time and from culture to culture.

Resource management - involves controls on the amount, quality, timing, availability and the
general direction of resource development. Resource management strategies are designed to
promote exploitation, enhancement and restoration of resources

Resource development - is the actual exploitation or use of a resource during the transformation
of the neutral stuff into a commodity or service to serve human needs and aspirations. Resource
development involved placing value, extraction and processing so that a neutral staff becomes a
resource to be used to meet human wants. Although for human the value is culturally,

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economically, and technologically determined, other resources such as atmospheric oxygen

possesses biologically mandated and universal value.

Ecosystems
Ecosystems are composed of a variety of abiotic and biotic components that function in an
interrelated way. The structure and composition is determined by various environmental factors
that are interrelated. Variations of these factors will initiate dynamic modifications to the
ecosystem. Some of the more important components are: soil, atmosphere, radiation from the
sun, water, and living organisms.

The development of technology by the human race has allowed the greater exploitation of natural
resources and has helped to alleviate some of the risk from natural hazards. In spite of this
progress, however, the fate of human civilization remains closely linked to changes in the
environment. There exists a highly complex feedback-loop between the use of advanced
technology and changes to the environment that are only slowly becoming understood. Manmade
threats to the Earth's natural environment include pollution, deforestation, and disasters such as
oil spills. Humans have contributed to the extinction of many plants and animals.

Humans employ nature for both leisure and economic activities. The acquisition of natural
resources for industrial use remains a primary component of the world's economic system. Some
activities, such as hunting and fishing, are used for both sustenance and leisure, often by different
people.

Although early humans gathered uncultivated plant materials for food and employed the
medicinal properties of vegetation for healing, most modern human use of plants is through
agriculture. The clearance of large tracts of land for crop growth has led to a significant reduction
in the amount available of forestation and wetlands, resulting in the loss of habitat for many plant
and animal species as well as increased erosion.

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Wilderness is generally defined as a natural environment on Earth that has not been directly
modified by human activity. Ecologists consider wilderness areas to be an integral part of the
planet's self-sustaining natural ecosystem (the biosphere).

Sustainability - is the state of maintaining the balance, equilibrium state i.e. input must be equal
to output. Resource should be used or extracted in such a way that quality and quantity remain
the same for the present and future generation.

Sustainable development - is the development which addresses the needs of present

generations without in any way putting in jeopardy the needs of the future generations. What is
sustainable development?

Development - is a meansto improve the quality of life of people. Development is for future as
well as present generations therefore it must be sustainable
Biodiversity - is the variety of different species and genetic variability among individuals within
each species.

Environmental impact assessment - is a formalized procedure for assessing the impacts (good
or bad) of a development or a project, human welfare and or the environment. It may be used to
determine whether statutory requirements will be met, or whether the development will be
deemed environmentally acceptable.

Environmental degradation - is the depletion or destruction of a potentially renewable

resources such as soil, grassland, forest or wildlife by using it at a faster rate than it is naturally
replenished. If such use continues the resource can become nonrenewable on a human time scale
or nonexistence (extinct)

Carrying capacity - Maximum population of a particular species that a given habitat can
support over a given period of time.
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Population - group of individual organisms of the same species living within a particular area

Environmental stress - Overutilisation / overexploitation of the natural resources in such a way

that it cannot recover or regain its quality and quantity naturally

Overcultivation - Cultivation of a plot of land every year without replacing the fertility of the
soil. It led to the decrease in soil fertility. Traditionally animal manure were used for fertillising
the soil and green manure to fertilises the plants. Because of the problem of the fuel shortage
green manure is no longer in use as such the productivity of the land is decreased.

Overgrazing - consumption of range-land grass by grazing animals to the point that it cannot be
renewed or can be only slowly renewed because of damage to the root system. (When too many
cattle are kept in an area (overstocking)

Equilibrium state
Steady state, there is equal balance between output and input, construction is equal to destruction

Limit to growth - is theconcepts developed by top scientist who were trying to computerized
and model the complex world about population and resource integration. All scientist who run
the study come with the conclusion that: population cannot grow forever, there is a limit, limit is
set by the physical environment and the resource available, beyond which any extra growth the
population will face a lot of disasters because without resources available and adequate physical
environment food will be scares.

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