Introduction

Abstract

Abstract To consider the relationship of space and settlement is to assess the impact of popu lation growth on environment. A thorny subject, as everybody knows; opinions (those of scientists as well as those of the general public) are polarized between two extreme positions. The cornucopians assume that population growth plays only a minor role in the deterioration of the environment; what matters are the modes of development, the nature of the technologies used, and the regulations governing the use of resources. Population growth, if sustained by the development of adequate energy-saving and resource-saving technologies, and occurring in the framework of a system that internalizes the environmental cost of private and public activities and regulates access and use of primary resources, may be neutral in impact on the environment. Adherents of this position also state that a decline in the population-such as could occur during the next century in the rich countries should their current reproductive patterns remain unchanged-may ultimately result in a slowdown of economic growth, a decline of aggregate investment, and, consequently a decline in the pace of development of resource-saving, energy-saving technologies that minimize the negative environmental impact of human activities.