Chapter 3 Key Issue 2

Where do people migrate within a country?

  • internal migration for most people is less disruptive than international

Interregional Migration

  • historically, people migrated interregionally in search of better farmland

    • densely settled regions → empty frontiers

  • today, principal type is rural to urban

    • more jobs are clustered in urban areas

Migration between Regions of the US

  • prominent example is the opening of the American West

Changing Center of Population

  • population center is the average location of everyone in the country

    • “center of population gravity”

  • center has changed throughout eras

    • 1790: hugging the coast

      • colonial-era settlements were near the Atlantic Coast

      • people depended on shipping links with Europe

      • Appalachian Mountains blocked the west

      • indigenous residents resisted expansion

    • 1800-1840: crossing the Appalachians

      • transportation improvements

      • Erie Canal allowed people to travel by boat

      • large land for low prices were in the west

        • people travelled through river valleys

    • 1850-1890: rushing to the gold

      • shifted westward more rapidly

      • people went to California during the Gold Rush

      • believed the Great Plains was a desert

    • 1900-1940: filling in the Great Plains

      • westward movement slowed because of immigration to the East Coast

      • advances in agricultural technology allowed people to cultivate the Great Plains

      • railroads encouraged settlements of the Great Plains

    • 1950-2010: moving south

      • more westward migration, as well as southward

        • job opportunities

        • warm climate

      • people in the Northeast and Midwest believed that southern states stole industries from them

  • less interregional migration in the US now

  • recession in 2008 discouraged migrating

Migration Between Regions in the World’s Largest Country

  • long-distance interregional migration is important for economic development in Russia

  • population is clustered in the western, European portion of the country

  • east of the Ural Mountains, very few people live

  • Soviet policy encouraged factory construction near raw materials

    • however, there weren’t enough workers

  • wanted to populate Siberia because its richness in

    • fossil fuels

    • minerals

    • forests

  • government forced people to migrate to the Far North to construct and operate enterprises

  • later, the government encouraged the migration rather than forced

    • higher wages

    • more paid holidays

    • earlier retirement

  • people didn’t want to move because of the

    • harsh climate

    • remoteness from population clusters

  • each year about half of the immigrants migrate back to the western portion

  • government sent a brigade of young volunteers (Komsomol) to help construction projects during school vacations

  • after the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian government officials no longer dictated “optimal” locations for factories

Migration between Regions in Other Large Countries

Canada

  • has had migration east to west

  • three westernmost provinces are destinations for most interregional migrants

China

  • 100 million people left rural areas in the interior to large urban areas along the east coast

    • jobs are most plentiful

Brazil

  • most live along cities near the Atlantic Coast

    • Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro became 2 of the world’s largest cities

  • Brazil’s interior is very sparsely inhabited

  • government moved its capital to Brasilia to attract people to the interior

  • coastal areas now have net out-migration, interior have net in-migration

Intraregional Migration

  • far more people move within the same region

  • worldwide, most common is rural to urban

  • in the US, most common is cities to suburbs

Migration from Rural to Urban Areas

  • began in the 1800s in Europe and North America due to the Industrial Revolution

  • urbanization diffused to LDCs

  • people seek economic advancement

    • pushed from rural by declining opportunities

    • pulled to cities by factories and service industries

Migration from Urban to Suburban Areas

  • most common in MDCs

  • migration to suburbs isn’t related to economic factors, but rather the suburban lifestyle

    • detached house

    • private yard

    • garage and driveway

    • schools are better

    • cars and trains allow jobs in cities

  • farms on the periphery of urban areas are converted into suburbs

Migration from Urban to Rural Areas

counterurbanization: net migration from urban to rural areas in MDCs

  • people are attracted to the lifestyle

  • technology and transportation allow people to be connected even if they are physically remote

  • intraregional migration slowed due to the severe recession

robot