Full Description
Urban Dependency investigates the risks of urban populations that cannot survive without the massive consumption of basic rural products like food, textiles, fossil fuels, and other energy-rich goods that are harvested by a shrinking rural base. Thomas and Fulkerson argue that though essential, rural workers and communities are poorly compensated for their labor that is both dangerous and highly exploitative. While the rural population is already shrinking, the authors predict that harsh political-economic conditions will only fuel further rural-urban migration, worsening the problem of urban dependency. The authors apply their theory of the energy economy to explore a balance between the supply and demand of energy resources that promotes rural justice.
Contents
Chapter 1 An Environmental Demographic Perspective
Chapter 2 Matter and Energy: Theorizing Balance
Chapter 3 The Energy Economy: Accounting for Sustainable Balance
Chapter 4 Caloric Well Analysis of Settlements
Chapter 5 World Urbanization and Urban Dependency
Chapter 6 Urban Food Dependency
Chapter 7 Urban Energy Dependency
Chapter 8 Urbanormativity and Urban Dependency
Conclusion: Sustainability and the Future of Urban-Rural Systems
Appendix 1 Definition of Population Related Municipalities
Appendix 2 Comparison of FAO Food Energy Balance Ratios
