The purpose of this monograph is to clarify the effect of environmental change on the process of urbanization. The research attempts to uncover the similarities as well as the differences across countries of the charac teristics of environmental effects on cities and metropolitan areas during the process of industrial development. Over the past several decades, a notable behavioral shift has been observed in many developed countries. People appear to be switching from an almost exclusive concern for material (commodity) consumption to a broader set of concerns that includes interest in so-called environ mental problems and in improving the quality of life (USEPA 1973). These new areas of concern include, of course, the problems of pollution, congestion, and, in general, environmental degradation in urban areas. People seem to be becoming increasingly conscious of the physical as well as the social environment. Richard L. Morrill described the situation in the United States as follows: Evidently many are still moving [their residences] for amenity values, into regions they like, irrespective of job opportunities. While movement to the traditional amenity areas of Florida and Arizona continues, there has been a dramatic shift away from California, or from metropolitan areas generally, to xv xvi INTRODUCTION the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, upper New England, and even to the Ozarks, Appalachia, and Upper Michigan. [Quoted in Berry and Gillard 1977, p.

The resource paper examines urban problems related to the environment. It is suitable for use in undergraduate or graduate courses in urban geography, economic development and environment, urban environment, and environmental policy analysis. The paper is organized in five chapters. The introduction traces the concern with environmental quality which began in England and the United States around 1900. Chapter II provides perspectives on urban environmental quality. Topics include economic activities and environmental problems, and differentials in urban environmental quality. Chapter III discusses principles of urban environmental quality. Subjects are the physical impacts of urbanization; externality, social costs, pollution, and congestion; spatial structure of the urban environment; and input-output analysis of economic and envrionmental interactions. Chapters IV and V focus on the urban environment in affluent and low income societies. The Strategic Environmental Assessment System (SEAS) developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, the context of contemporary urbanization, resources for urban environmental improvement, and implications for environmental policy are discussed. Charts, maps, and tables depict problems and principles illustrated in each chapter. (KC)

An analysis that offers evidence to challenge the widely held assumption that urbanization and environmental quality are necessarily at odds. Conventional wisdom about the environmental impact of cities holds that urbanization and environmental quality are necessarily at odds. Cities are seen to be sites of ecological disruption, consuming a disproportionate share of natural resources, producing high levels of pollution, and concentrating harmful emissions precisely where the population is most concentrated. Cities appear to be particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, to be inherently at risk from outbreaks of infectious diseases, and even to offer dysfunctional and unnatural settings for human life. In this book, William Meyer tests these widely held beliefs against the evidence. Borrowing some useful terminology from the public health literature, Meyer weighs instances of “urban penalty” against those of “urban advantage.” He finds that many supposed urban environmental penalties are illusory, based on commonsense preconceptions and not on solid evidence. In fact, greater degrees of “urbanness” often offer advantages rather than penalties. The characteristic compactness of cities, for example, lessens the pressure on ecological systems and enables resource consumption to be more efficient. On the whole, Meyer reports, cities offer greater safety from environmental hazards (geophysical, technological, and biological) than more dispersed settlement does. In fact, the city-defining characteristics widely supposed to result in environmental penalties do much to account for cities' environmental advantages. As of 2008 (according to U.N. statistics), more people live in cities than in rural areas. Meyer's analysis clarifies the effects of such a profound shift, covering a full range of environmental issues in urban settings.

This annually updated reference work reviews a range of environmental issues, such as population, human settlements, food and agriculture, forests and rangelands, wildlife, energy, oceans and coasts, the atmosphere, global systems and cycles, and policies

The quality of the environment in which people live, work, and play influences to no small degree the quality of life itself. The environment can be satisfying and attractive and provide scope for individual development or it can be poisonous, irritating and stunting. The papers in this volume, first published in 1969, are concerned with the urban environment – in which the majority of Americans live – or, more accurately, with the environment of urbanites, for the concern extends to outlying areas where urban dwellers visit and play. The chapters aim to provide a better understanding of the natural resource elements in the urban environment, and will be of interest to students of environmental studies and human geography.

Drawing on the authors' varied experiences working and teaching in the field, Analysis of Multivariate Social Science Data, Second Editionenables a basic understanding of how to use key multivariate methods in the social sciences. With updates in every chapter, this edition expands its topics to include regression analysis, con