Gregory M. Fulkerson is professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at SUNY Oneonta. Alexander R. Thomas is professor of sociology at SUNY Oneonta.

Urban Dependency is a must read for scholars in the area of environmental, urban and rural sociology, and the sociology of development. The book provides an excellent compendium of thought and future directions for theorizing and modeling population-environment interactions. Fulkerson and Thomas’ energetic analysis of the world system is unparalleled. They deftly wed areas of emphasis in novel ways, complemented with methodological tools appropriate for such large-scale, cross-cutting analyses. Their construction of a world-level system dynamic model is a major contribution to knowledge surrounding global sustainability. As the rural-urban divide incites greater inequality worldwide, an analytic approach such as this is of increasing importance.

• Chapter 1 An Environmental Demographic PerspectiveChapter 2 Matter and Energy: Theorizing BalanceChapter 3 The Energy Economy: Accounting for Sustainable BalanceChapter 4 Caloric Well Analysis of SettlementsChapter 5 World Urbanization and Urban DependencyChapter 6 Urban Food Dependency Chapter 7 Urban Energy DependencyChapter 8 Urbanormativity and Urban DependencyConclusion: Sustainability and the Future of Urban-Rural SystemsAppendix 1 Definition of Population Related MunicipalitiesAppendix 2 Comparison of FAO Food Energy Balance Ratios