Comprehensive Human Migration and Urbanization Concepts for Geography

Asylum

International protection granted by a country to someone who fears persecution within their home country

Brain Drain

Large scale emigration of skilled and educated people from one place to another with hopes of better opportunities

Chain Migration

The process where people tend to move to a location because relatives or those of similar nationality have previously migrated there (ex; minnesota has a large somali population)

Cyclic Movement

Predictable journeys away from a person's home and back again, often on a regular schedule like commuting or seasonal travel

Counter Migration

A migration flow in the opposite direction of an earlier, larger migration. Often as a response to that initial movement.

Counter Urbanization

Demographic process of people moving from urban areas to rural, suburban areas

Distance Decay

The level of interaction between two places increases as the distance between them decreases

Emigration

The act of leaving one country to settle in another permanently

Forced Migration

Involuntary movement of people from their homes due to factors beyond their control

Guest Workers

A person who temporarily goes to another country to take up employment

Immigration

The act of permanently setting into one country from another

Internal Migration

Movement of people from one area to another within one country

International Migration

Permanent or temporary movement of people across national borders to settle in another country

Interregional Migration

The permanent movement of people from one region to another within the same country

Intraregional Migration

Movement of people within the same region or country

Intervening Obstacles

Any physical, economic, or political barrier that hinders or prevents migration from one location to another

Intervening Opportunities

A positive circumstance or event encountered during a migration or journey that may divert the migrant to a new unexpected area

Migration

Temporary movement of people from one location to another, functioning as a form of relocation diffusion

Mobility

Any movement of people, goods, or ideas from one location to another

Net Migration

The difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants over a specified period

Pull Factors

A positive condition or attribute of a new location that attracts people to migrate there

Push Factors

A negative condition or circumstance that motivates a person to leave their current location

Quotas (Quota Laws)

A government imposed limit on the quantity of people, goods, or services

Refugees

A person who is forced to migrate from their home country and cannot return due to a fear of persecution

Suburbanization

The migration of people from urban areas to residential communities on the outskirts of cities, often leading to the growth of the suburbs

Undocumented Immigrants

Individuals who enter or remain in a country without proper authorization often due to limited or restrictive legal pathways

Urbanization

The process where an increasing percentage of a population lives in urban areas, leading to the growth and expansion of cities

Voluntary Migration

A permanent movement of people chosen for perceived opportunities or personal reasons such as seeking better jobs, education, or a higher quality of life, rather than being forced by circumstances like disaster or war

Xenophobia

The fear of strangers or foreigners

Ravenstein's Laws of Migration

A set of 11 principles that describe patterns in human migration

Exurbanites

Side effect of economic activity that affects a third party who is not directly involved in the activity

Remittance

Money or goods that migrants send back to friends and family in their origin country

Center of Population

The calculated average location of every individual in a given population, representing the balancing point of an imaginary weightless surface with individuals placed on it

Internally Displaced Persons

Someone who is forced to flee their home but remains within country borders

Geographic Center

A point representing the population's average location, with the centroid being weighted by population density

Step Migration

The process of moving from one place to another in a series of smaller gradual steps rather than a single long distance move

Transhumance

A form of pastoralism involving the seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures, often between highland and lowland areas or different latitudes to exploit favorable grazing conditions throughout the year

Cotton Belt

Term by which the American South used to be known, as cotton historically dominated the agricultural economy of the region

New South

The area known as the New South due to migration from older cities in the industrial north for a better climate and new job opportunities.

Rust Belt

Northern industrial states of the US, including Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, where heavy industry was once dominant but lost economic base to more attractive regions and cheaper labor countries.

Sun Belt

The region of the USA mostly comprising the southeastern and southwestern states, which has seen population and economic prosperity growth since World War II.

Migration Transition Model Stage 1

Premodern traditional society with very high levels of mobility (nomadism) but very little migration.

Migration Transition Model Stage 2

Early transitional society characterized by massive movement from countryside to cities and high rates of international emigration, while total population continues to rise.

Migration Transition Model Stage 3

Late transitional society where urban-to-urban migration surpasses rural-to-urban migration, with rural-to-urban migration continuing but at waning rates.

Migration Transition Model Stage 4

Advanced society where movement from countryside to city continues but is reduced, with vigorous city-to-city migration and possible increase in urban to suburban migration.

Zelinsky's Migration Transition

Claims that the type of migration within a country depends on its level of development or type of society, connecting migration to the stage of the Demographic Transition Model (DTM).