Debra Smith
OMM 612 Managing Social Change
Prof. Martin Cain
September 24, 2012
Population Density According to Social Indicators Research (2002) population density is “the number of people living per square kilometer in the district of the city where the respondent lived” (Social Indicators, proquest database). The American population is very dense. According the United States Census Bureau the current United States population is 314,440,872 people. In some areas of America there are crowded cities, high rates of poverty, and high crime. As the population density becomes high resources become scarce. Scarce resources will usually cause conflict because everyone is competing for resources. For example, in Los Angeles African Americans and Hispanics have been forced together into a dense environment, which has resulted in conflict. Cultural differences in a high dense area caused competition for jobs, increased violence and crimes, and poverty. Other areas in America are facing the same issue. As human population continues to grow much of life will continue to get worse. Our environment is the earth. We depend on the earth’s resources for survival and yet we continue to increase the human population as though resources will always be unlimited. However, according to Leicht and Harper (2011) at a point the earth was place full unlimited access to resources and places to live. The world can no longer be seen that way. We now have crowded and polluted cities. If the population continues to increase at its current rate, America will not be able to maintain or raise the global standard of living without risking the destruction of the environment and poor human living conditions will increase. As the population continues to grow, the demand for food will increase. In order to accommodate the growth, food production will have to increase, but with a price. The increases in food production create a chain reaction of ecological
References: Harper, C.L. & Leicht, K.L. (2011). Exploring social change: America and the world (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Kamen, C. S. (2002). "Quality of life" research at the Israel central bureau of statistics: Social indicators and social surveys. Social Indicators Research, 58(1-3), 141-162. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/197671107?accountid=32521