R. D. McKenzie

Bio: R. D. McKenzie is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Competition (economics). The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 262 citations.

The Ecological Approach to the Study of the Human Community

Abstract: The ecological basis of community-The human community may be considered as an ecological product, that is, as the outcome of competitive and accommodative processes which give spatial and temporal distribution to human aggregations and cultural achievements Factors determining size of community-The growth or decline of a given community is a function of its relative strength in the larger competitive process Communities are in constant competition with one another, and any advantage in location, resources, or market organization is forthwith reflected in differential growth The internal structure of community-The utilities, institutions, and inhabitants of a community are spatially distributed and territorially segregated as a result of competition and selection Redistribution and segregation are constantly in process as new factors enter to disturb the competitive relations

The New Urban Sociology

Abstract: The new urban sociology the origins of urbanization and the characteristics of cities urbanization in the United States the metropolitan period in the United States - 1920 to 1960 the restructuring of settlement space - 1960 to 1990 the rise of urban sociology contemporary urban sociology - the socio-spatial perspective people, lifestyles and the metropolis neighbourhoods, the public environment and theories of urban life metropolitan problems - poverty, racism, crime, housing and fiscal crisis local politics - city and suburban governments third world urbanization urbanization in the industrialized world - Western and Eastern Europe and Japan environmental issues and metropolitan planning metropolitan social policy.

Ethnic Segregation in Cities: New Forms and Explanations in a Dynamic World.

Abstract: As an introduction to this special issue on ethnic segregation in cities, we offer the readers an overview of the explanatory factors of ethnic segregation and spatial concentration in modern welfare states. After a discussion of the disadvantages and advantages of segregation and concentration, which can be seen as the impetus behind the widespread interest in this topic, we will briefly review some 'traditional' theories. That review will be followed by a closer look at behavioural theories and explanations in which constraints are central. The next section will elaborate on restructuring processes, giving special attention to economic change and its effects on cities, groups and spatial arrangements. We will conclude this introduction with a few remarks on the future of ethnic segregation and concentration and outline some possible directions for future research in this field.

Ecologies of Social Movements: Student Mobilization during the 1989 Prodemocracy Movement in Beijing.

Abstract: Based on 70 interviews with informants who were mostly students during the 1989 Beijing student movement, the author found that the ecology of university campuses in Beijing enclosed a huge number of students in a small area with a unique spatial distribution and regulated their spatial activities. This ecology nurtured many close–knit student networks, as well as directly exposed all Beijing students to a collective action environment when the movement started. These ecological conditions not only sustained a high rate of movement participation but also facilitated the formation of many ecology–dependent strategies of student mobilization, which in turn patterned the dynamics of the movement.

City as Truth-Spot Laboratories and Field-Sites in Urban Studies

Abstract: How does ‘place’ contribute to the credibility of scientific claims? The Chicago School of urban studies (1918-32) had close ties to the city for which it was named: its social scientists lived in Chicago, were affiliated with the University of Chicago, and made Chicago the object of almost all of their empirical research. In order for this city to become a legitimate source of claims about urban form and process, Chicago is textually made to oscillate between two available authorizing spaces. As a field-site, the city of Chicago becomes a found and uncorrupted reality, the singularly ideal place to do urban research, and requiring the analyst to get up-close and personal. As a laboratory, Chicago becomes a controlled environment where artificial specimens yield generalities true anywhere, requiring of the analyst distance and objectivity. The distinctive epistemic virtues of both field and laboratory are preserved as complementary sources of credibility, and Chicago becomes the right place for the job.

Spatial regression models for demographic analysis

Abstract: While spatial data analysis has received increasing attention in demographic studies, it remains a difficult subject to learn for practitioners due to its complexity and various unresolved issues. Here we give a practical guide to spatial demographic analysis, with a focus on the use of spatial regression models. We first summarize spatially explicit and implicit theories of population dynamics. We then describe basic concepts in exploratory spatial data analysis and spatial regression modeling through an illustration of population change in the 1990s at the minor civil division level in the state of Wisconsin. We also review spatial regression models including spatial lag models, spatial error models, and spatial autoregressive moving average models and use these models for analyzing the data example. We finally suggest opportunities and directions for future research on spatial demographic theories and practice.