Population and Environment Considers the relationship of population to the quality of the natural environment and its ability to sustain life. Major themes include the debate over 'sustainable development' and the impact of population growth on land and sea resources, pollution and climate, together with relationships between population and culture, consumption and distribution of resources, and human confict. Specific issues include use and quality of energy, water and land, deforestation and desertification, agricultural and industrial practices and urbanization. The cluster focuses on issues of the commons, particularly governance, including the role internationally of government and nongovernment organizations and social movements. Reproduction and Human Resources Examines the dynamics of producing human resources and their interactions with economic, social, and cultural factors.
Analyses focus on both the quantity and quality of human resources, their causes and consequences.
Topic areas include marriage and family human fertility, reproductive health, child survival, and the interaction of investment in human capital with economic development. Study of the organization, implementation, and evaluation of family planning programs also forms part of this interdisciplinary cluster. Social Mobility and Spatial Dynamics Focuses attention on social mobility in society and over space. It covers mobility both in situ and over space within and among social formations. It includes such topics as social stratication and inequality, labor markets and systems, and the spatial dynamics of migration and social change associated with urbanization, rural-urban relations, and regional development.