Reference no: EM132430770

I. Access the U.S. Census Bureau's FACT FINDER

• Type in your city or town's name ( ST. MARY'S,MARYLAND ) in the window on the Fact Finder web-page.
• Note the estimated (2013-2017) median income for your community appearing in the blue bar toward the top of the window. (If income doesn't appear, be sure to click on the "Income" bar on the left-hand side).
• Name your community and report it in the answer to the first question in the discussion questions' list.

II. Explore the Urban Institute's Map - "City, Community and Regional Changes" in the U.S.

• Move your cursor to your city/town on the map. Use the U.S. city or town you consider to be "home" if currently living outside the U.S. Click on that spot on the map. A set of graphs will come up showing estimated changes in population size by race/ethnicity and age. Below that, you will see "Age and Race Detail" with graphs of "age pyramids" and race/ethnicity as well as "age pyramids" that indicate whether the overall population and subgroups are aging. See what happens to the charts as you click through the years 2000-2030.
• Economically speaking, the more lopsided the pyramid, the more difficult it will become for a younger generation to support the older generations; however, some also argue that a declining younger population might have environmental benefits, so there is a tension between these values (economic growth and tax revenue needed to support an older generation and if birth rates slow, less consumption and use of finite resources).

Discussion Questions:

1. The sociological theory of Relative Deprivation holds that an individual's perception of reality is based on the human tendency to compare his or her socio-economic situation to that of others. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median income in the U.S. in 2017 was $59,039. What was the median income in your city/town? How might that shape a resident of your chosen town's perception when compared to the median income of the country at large? Keep in mind that there is a relationship between median income and cost of living. Higher median incomes are associated with higher cost of living in that area while lower median incomes indicate lower cost of living.

2. Based on your use of the Urban Institute's Map, name one demographic change in your community or closest city that will be important in the future. Explain why you think it will be important (for example, economically, politically, environmentally, etc).

3. Name one difference between Generation Z and an older generation (other than Millennials) that you found to be interesting and/or surprising. What is interesting or surprising about it, and what do you think accounts for the difference?

4. What are the major differences between cohabiting and solo parents? Can we deem these differences uniformly "good" or "bad"? Why or why not, in your view?