Population 2
- Created by: Ikra Amin
- Created on: 07-04-14 10:44
The population/resource equation
Carrying capacity: The maximum number of people an area can sustainably support with the available natural resources.
Optimum population: The balance between population and resources at a given level of technology. The most efficient use is being made of the country's resourcesm so produces the highest living standards. E.G. UK, Mauritius (recently)
Over populating: Where there are too many people in relation to resources at a given level of technology. Consequences are; low living standards, unemployment, housing shortages & environmental deterioration. E.G. China (Famine in 1955, 1 child policy in 1979), Mauritius (in 1950)
Under population: Rii few people in an area to use the resources efficiently, too small to fully exploit the resources at a given level of technology so living standards will not be lowered if population grows. E.G. France (pro natal), Australia (immigration encouraged), Canada.
Malthus - The pessimist
Thomas Malthus was the first to notice the impending issue of there being more people than could be supported by the food supply. He noticed that while food production from farming could only be increased arithmetically (1,2,3,4), population tended to increase geometrically (2,4,8). He then realised that this meant there are too many people for the amount of food production available (the point of crisis/Malthusian crisis)
When a Malthusian crisis was reached, Malthus believed that these would occur:
Positive checks - INCREASE DEATH RATE (e.g. famine, war, misery, plague)
Preventative checks - LOWER THE BIRTH RATE (e.g. later marriages, birth control, pop policies)
Boserup - The optimist
Esther Boserup's theory CHALLENGED Malthus'.
She believed that where there are times of food shortages, people are forced to come up with better ways of producing food in order to survive. She believed technology would improve.
"Neccessity is the mother of invention"
She believed that as population increased there'd be a bigger demand for food, farming would become more intensive. )e.g. through shortening fallow periods and by multicropping & irrigation techniques)
However, she failed to take account of overpopulation causng deterioration in the environment so that it cannot sustain as many people. This may result in pop growth being unsustainable (e.g. in areas of desertification)
Mauritius - Case study on controlling pop growth
Mauritius is an example of a country that has tried to control pop growth as well as increase resources in order to achieved an optimum population. (It's an Island in the Indian Ocean)
Mauritius in 1950
- Stage 2 of DTM; Low life expectancy, high BR, high DR & large dependency ratio.
- Mauritius is a small island so there's finite resources.
- Rapidly increasing population meant that they were quickly running out and that the country was heading towards the same fate as the population of Easter Island.
- Goverment had to do something before Malthusian crisis was reached.
Mauritius case study
What did they do?
- First problem they faced was the population explosion, they tackled this by the introduction of family planning clinics to lower the BR.
- Increased resources on the island, as they were mainly dependant on sugar cane crops, and space for growing them was running out. Multicropping was introduced - potatoes and maize was planted between the sugar crops.
- Derocking also took place in order to increase space for crops.
- To decrease the dependence on farming, industrialisation of production took place. This created the production of textiles and electronics on the island, and increased it's favourability with multinational factories looking for cheap labour.
- Factories helped create jobs but they were based in countries which meant they brought reduced income to Mauritius.
Mauritius case study
How successful was it?
- The optimisation and controlling of population was successful. The life expectancy, nutrition levels and GDP increased.
- FR decreased from 6 to 1.7 today.
- Became a country in stage 3 of the DTM, did not encounter any famines and overall increased the standard of living for everyone.
SUPPORT for BOTH theories (Boserup & Malthus) as they were heading towards a Malthusian crisis and had to undergo preventative checks before positive checks took place. However, the crisis was avoided through Boserup's idea of increasing the level of food production through technology.
Bjorn Lomborg: The skeptical Environmentalist
A more recent view on the population resource issue has been put forward by Bjorn Lomborg, an academic from Denmark. In this book "The skeptical Environmentalist" he lines up facts to show that Malthusian theory is wrong. In his book he shows that world prosperity has increased significantly and that resources like forests, food and energy aren't running out. His book concludes that "children born today - in both industrialised and developing countries will live longer and be healthier. They will get more food, a better education, a high standard of living, more leisure time and far more possibilities - without the global environment being destroyed." He believes that todays problems (e.g. malnutrition) are not caused by overpopulation, but by poverty.
He has a more POSITIVE view point on the population resource equation & disagrees with Malthus.
Examples of how his theory fits in with the population resource debate.
- Make sure distribution of food is improved - get more food to poor areas & countries (logistics)
- He believes it's poverty not overpopulation. Life expectancy increased despire the world population so disagrees with Malthus.
- Improving agriculture which eradicates hunger.
- Need to address poverty.
Hyde Park
Hyde park, Leeds. North West of city centr, 1 - 1 & 1/2 km.
Ethnicity: Double the Leeds average of Asian community at 10%. The popularity of the area with university students means that Hyde Park remains a diverse multi cultural community. (60% population is students)
Employment: Surprisingly high proportion of professionals (above the Leeds average), perhaps linked to the uni. Majority of those employed are "blue collar" workers-manual jobs.
- 15% of professionals, 20% on benefits.
- 6.5% unemployed.
Wealth:
- Socially deprived area, 20% on benefits.
- People with 5+ GCSE's A*-C = 26%.
- Lone parent households = 5%.
- Properties valued over £320,000 = 0.07%
Hyde Park
Housing: High concentration of poor quality old terraced housing.
Services:
- Ethnicity - 2 mosques (for Asian community)
- Halal butches (for Asian community)
- Specialist clothes/food shops. e.g. Abubakr supermarket (for Asian community)
- Wealth, high unemployment and low income - job centre available.
- Many cheaper convenience shops, low order goods.
- Laundrette due to many properties having no washing machines.
- Age, students - shops/services geared to students. E.g. vintage clothing, letting agents, takeaways, pubs.
- Demands on increased policing. E.g. "operation walksafe" due to increased crime. Students are kept safe during the night when returning home from uni.
Hype Park. Social wellfare (well being of communit
Positive impacts on social wellfare
- Improved lives of Asian community who migrated to escape poverty in the 1950s-60s to seek work in the textile industry.
- Large Asian community due to strong cultural identity and shared cultural values - free to practise their own religion (2 mosques)
- Specialist clothes/food shops. E.g. Abubakr supermarket and halal butchers.
- Support to eachother within a secure network of relatives and friends.
- Students moving into the area means a diverse multicultural community.
- Shops specialised to students (E.g. takeaways)
Negative impacats on social wellfare
- Cities like Blackburn, Bradford & Oldham have a higher pop of ethnic groups in the inner city and a high conc of 'whites' in the suburbs due to the white population moving out of the inner cities, this is called 'white flight'
- Language difficulties
- Grandparents/parents unable to speak English
- Students become victims of crime
- High unemployment
- Poor terraced housing
- High levels of crime and rioting
Hyde Park. Social wellfare
Solutions which improve social welfare
- School partnership scheme operates so that children from contrasting schools spend time together to help aid integration and community cohesian.
- Extra language support.
- Leaflets to help explain schooling and health care - bilingual leaflets/signs are available e.g. at doctors sugery.
- 'Operation walksafe' which provides a safe route for students to walk to and from university at night time due to greater police presence.
- The university website also gives advice to students on how they can protect themselves from crime. E.g. by shutting windows/doors. Students also encouraged to water mark their property with smart water (E.g. laptops, stereos, mobiles, etc)
- Hyde Park Unity Day to celebrate cultural diversity.
Adel
Adel is a wealthy area in the Northern suburbs of Leeds. approx. 5 miles from the city centre. Situated next to a greenbelt which limits the continual process of suburbanisation (people moving into suburbs due to better housing, less crime etc)
Main characteristics in Adel
Housing
- High proprtion of owner occupied homes. Mainly detached housing.
- High property pricess due to close promximity to countryside.
- Quiet streets and lanes = popular with professionals with families.
- % of properties valued above £320,000 is 0.6%. 3 times the average for Leeds as a whole.
Ethnicity
- 95% white population.
- 0.29% Asian/Asian British (over 34 times less than the % in Hyde Park)
Adel
Age
- There is a distinctive spike in the population structure for 30-59 yr olds & 60+
- Suburbs tend to attract people moving towards middle age, married with growing families, possessing higher skills and qualifications, earning higher salaries and capable of buying their own home and car.
Wealth
- High levels of wealth in the area.
- 76% with 5+ GCSE A*-C, 1.5 times the Leeds average.
- Very low % of people on benefits. 4 times more people on benefits in Hyde Park than in Adel.
Unemployment
- Double the other areas in terms of managerial jobs and very high professional status.
- Low unemployment rate in the area. - 5%
- 25% in the area hold a professional occupation.
Adel
Services in Adel
- Residential care home - Suitable for retired couples.
- Leeds Bradford airport - 20 min drive away.
- Regular buses to city centre.
- Close proximity to city centre means city and motorway are accessible.
- Primary school/Lawnswood secondary school.
- Upmarket high order services: also upmarket alternatives on low order services (used often)
- "Sensual options" lingerie shop.
- "Cranberries" delicatessen
- "Woodends" family butchers.
- Opticians.
- Bellinis Italian restaurant/Thai restaurant
- Lawnswood arms - family pub with play areas
- Art picture shop.
- Estate agents - Premium listings.
- Wine shops/cafe
- Gold Acre park between Adel & Bramhope is popular for families.
Adel
Positive impacts on social welfare
- Area further away from city centre where quality of environment is higher.
- Less congestion/pollution.
- Lower density housing therefore more garden space.
- Provision for the elderly- nursing home.
- Ratio of patient:doctor is low, therefore quality of healthcare can be seen as advantageous.
- Low number of vulnerable students=less crime.
- Education- the provision and outcomes from education is better.
Negative impacts on social wellfare
- Range of jobs oppurtunities is limited.
- Houses are of high values - becomes a problem for first time buyers.
- Lack of community cohesion- not a "Close knit community"
- Poor diversity of services for a range of different people.
- Difficult mobility for the elderly e.g. supermarket shopping
Services aimed at wealthy white people. No mosques, halal butchers etc.
Bramhope
Is a village about 10km (7 miles) to the NW of Leeds city centre. It's surrounded by the open countryside of lower Wharfdale. There's an old village core which dates back to the 1800s. Was a smalll village dominated by farming.
Main characteristics
Housing
- 89% owner occupied & Semi detached properties.
- New homes built aimed at families
- Apartments aimed at young professionals with high salaries.
Ethnicity: 99% white.
Age: 4000 residents & over 27% of pop are over 60 yrs old.
Wealth: Wealthy area- Scored 37/132 on social & economic development deprivation index. High academic achievements. 75% gain atleast 5 A*-C grades at GCSE
Employment: Few people on benefits. Many commute out the city for work. People her have mainly managerial jobs and professional roles
Bramhope
Counter urbanisation - This is the process of migration of population from urban areas to more rural settlements encouraged by rising car ownership and motorwarys and developments in technology allowing easy communition over long distances. So lots of affluent people would come to live in Bramhope as they prefer to live in a nice environment but be able to travel into the centre for work. Other people seek a pleasant environment for their retirement.
Services:
- Private dental practice
- Village bakery
- Bramhope medical centre
- Primary school
- Care for elderly
- Beauty treatment clinic
- High class hairdressers
- 16 retail outlets - mainly low order services in comparison with Adel.
- 3 estate agents
- Public house
- Major hotel - Britannia hotel with leisure club and facilities for those travelling from airport
Bramhope
Impacts on counter urbanisation:
- Increased value of houses
- Close of low value services such as corner shops and post offices
- Increase in services that would not have previously been in rural area e.g. boutiques.
Housing issues:
- House prices have risen dramatically over the last 20 yrs. Recent developments have focused on large detached houses. This has large implication for children who have grown up in the village who want to remain there as they will find it very difficult to get a mortgage.
Local stores are not able to compete with large supermarkets on the main ring road, leading to their closure:
- Elderly people become reliant on others to take them to the larger stores. They may be made to feel isolated and it's difficult for them to get to the stores.
- Employment is also limited.
- Remaining local stores sell goods at higher prices than the local supermarket.
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