The Ecological Approach to the Study of the Human Community 论文

摘要

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.