 (1) Man and Environment

Relationship

 (2) Socio-Cultural Profile of

Indian Society and Urban
Transformation
 Man and Environment Relationship

 Environment as a sociological issue

 Our Common Environment
 Risk, Technology and Environment
 Types of Environment
 Two Schools of Thought
 Reading list
 Environment as a Sociological issue

 Natural disasters’ impact on human lives – Tsunami

 Sociologists interested in man relation to nature
 Sociology helps us to understand how
environmental threats are distributed (global
warming, flooding, GM foods)
 Sociologists can tell how patterns of human
behaviour create pressure on the natural
environment (pollution)
 Sociology enables us to study how environmental
problems are linked to changing natural trends.
 Our Common Environment

 Environmental ecology
 ‘The Limits to Growth’ by The Club of Rome
reported the unsustainability of current levels of
growth in ‘population, industrialization,
pollution and resource depletion’.
 The Brundtland Report
 Sources of Threat (pollution and waste): Air
pollution, Water pollution, Solid waste
 Risk, Technology and Environment

 Global warming (gradual rise in the earth’s average temperature

due to changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere. Caused by
human activities, closely related to green-house effect – gases within the
)
earth’s atmosphere.
 Genetically Modified foods
 The Global ‘risk society’
 Nanotechnology
 Responses to the risk of global warming
 Types of Environment

 Physical environment  Cultural environment

(Includes geographical (refers to processes
locations, soil surface, that establishes
soil quality, ground relationship between
water, natural fauna- man and environment.
flora, micro-organism) Includes economic
activities, religion,
settlements, living
conditions, political
situations)
 Other types of environment

 1) Phenomenal environment (real/bio-physical)

 2) Operational environment (constituted by
political, technological and cultural factor and
institutions)
 3) Behavioural environment (outcome of perception
and preferences of man. Indicates that man is a
socio-ecological organism living and interacting in a
bio-ecological milieu.)
 4) Geographical environment (comprises all the
above 3 environment and the interaction between 1
and 3 through 2.)
 Two schools of thoughts

 Environmental Determinism  Environment Possibilism

(believes: humans are products (believes: man is the deciding
of their nature. Nature directs factor and nature is an
man) advising factor only)
 Its processes:  Its processes:
 Climate  Technological advancements
 Religion  Human skills
 Physical setting
 Cultural setting
 4 approaches in the study of environmental
problems
 Spatial approach
 Systems approach
 Ecological approach
 Behavioural approach
 Man and Environment Relationship -
Reading list
 Giddens, Anthony. 2006. 5th edn. Sociology. UK: Polity Press.
 Schwartz, P. and D.Randall. 2003. An Abrupt Climate Change
Scenario and Its Implications for United States National
Security, October. New York: Pentagon.
 Cylke, F.K. 1993. The Environment. New York: Harper Collins.
 Schumacher, E.F. 1977. Small Is Beautiful: A Study of
Economics As If People Mattered. London: Abacus.
 Stead, W.E. and J.G.Stead. 1996. Management for a Small
Planet: Strategic Decision Making and the Environment.
Thousand Oaks, C.A, and London.
 Socio-Cultural Profile of Indian Society and
Urban Transformation
 Indian culture and social life: one of the ancient
cultures of the world with certain unique features
 Indian social life had an identity of its own and
taught many lessons to mankind
 Important and worth adopting today.
 Basic feature: development in various facets and
impact on social life.
 Indian culture still maintaining its original identity.
Because of basic traits of Indians and this have
influenced the social life here.
 Social life style

 Joint family system

 Custom of arranged marriages
 Religiousness
 Constant strive towards development
 Orderliness, planning and unity
 Contact and business with inhabitants of other
parts of the world.
 Confrontations between Aryans and Dravidians
 Urban Transformation (UT)

 It is dedicated to creating and implementing programmes

(comprehensive and revitalizing) in neighbourhoods and urban
centers throughout the country.
 Social space: the term is used by Pierre Bourdieu and others
(in contrast to architecture or built environment) in a more
abstract sense. Society cannot be analyzed simply in terms of
economic classes and ideologies. Instead he uses the concept of
field (a structured social space with its own rules, schemes of
domination, legitimate opinions and so on). Among the main
fields in modern societies he cited the arts, education, politics,
law and economy.
 In 1960, Asia had just 1 megacity, defined as an
urban center with a population of 10 million or more.
 Today, there are at least a dozen megacities in Asia.
 By 2015, 12 of the 22 megacities projected to
develop worldwide will be in Asia.
 By 2030, Asia will account for more than half of the
world’s urban population – 2.66 billion people out of
a total global urban population of 4.94 billion.
 The shift in human living patterns produces new
challenges in every aspect of human organization.
 It demands new look at urban planning strategies,
infrastructure, life styles, welfare needs, employment,
housing, health care, food, shelter, water and basic
social interactions.
 At the same time, this surge in urbanization is changing
the social fabric of countries, forcing a rethinking of
the relationship between national and local
governments and creating new power centers outside of
the traditional political hierarchy.
 The rapid growth of megacities and midsize cities in
Asia has strained existing urban administrative
systems, which are struggling to respond to
unprecedented political, economic, social and physical
changes.
 Govt., civil society, and corporations must learn to
adapt and innovate – while simultaneously preparing
for future growth.
 Further reading

 Atal, Yogesh. 2008. Changing Indian Society.

 Berger, Alan S. 1978. The City: Urban Communities
and Their Problems. Dubuque, lowa: William
C.Brown.
 Grenfell, M. (ed.). 2008. Pierre Bourdieu: Key
Concepts. London: Acumen Press.
 Ilka & Andreas Ruby. (eds.). 2008. Urban
Transformation. Berlin: Ruby Press.