Migration
Why is migration important?
Migration is a permanent move to a new location. Geographers study migration because it is important to explain changes in population in various places/regions.
circulation- movements that recur on a regular basis
Geographers are especially interested in migration because it causes profound changes for individuals and entire cultures. It also changed economic patterns.
Modern transportation systems, especially motor vehicles and airplanes make migration easier than ever. In the past people had to rely on walking, animal power, or slow ships.
The Migration transition
The Migration transition is the change in migration pattern in a society that results from the social and economic changes that also produce the demographic transition.
Stage 1- High daily or seasonal mobility in search of food.
Stage 2- high international emigration and inter-regional migration from rural to urban areas.
Stage 3 and 4- High international immigration and intraregional migration from cities to suburbs.
International Migration- a permanent move from one country to another is international migration.
Voluntary migration- the migrant has chosen to move, usually for economic reasons, though sometimes for environmental reasons.
Forced migration- a migrant has been compelled to move by political or environmental factors.
Migration Patterns
The 3 largest scales of migration are from Latin America to North America, from Asia to Europe, and from Asia to North America.
Migrants from countries with relatively low economic advancement and a high NIR usually tend to migrate to countries that are wealthy and good job opportunities.
internal migration- a permanent move within the same country
interregional migration- movement from one region from a country to another
intraregional migration- movement within one region
emigration- is migration from a location
immigration- migration to a location
net migration- the difference between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants
If the number of immigrants exceeds the number of emigrants then the net migration is positive while if the number of emigrants exceeds the number of immigrants the net migration is negative.
The united states has the greatest amount of foreign people living there.
The highest in-migration rates are in the petroleum-exporting countries in Southwest Asia.
10% of Europe’s population is immigrants.
Russia has the largest number of emigrants.
push factor- a reason or factor that may cause someone to leave a country/region
pull factor- a reason or factor that may cause someone to be drawn in(such as good job oppurtunities)
U.S Immigration
Many people came to the U.S. from Europe, mostly from the United Kingdom and Ireland.
As well as many people were brought to the U.S. through slave trade from sub-Saharan Africa. Between 1820 and 1920 more people from different regions started to come to the U.S.
1840’s and 1850’s- Ireland and Germany, for economic reasons and political unrest.
1870’s- Irish and German immigrants started coming at an increasing rate following the decreased rate from the civil war.
1880’s- Scandinavians, especially Swedes and Norwegian immigration increased.
1905-1914- Southern and Eastern Europe- mostly Italian, Russian, and Austria-Hungarian immigrants came into the U.S. 2/3 of all immigrants coming into the U.S. were from Southern and Eastern Europe.
Recent U.S. immigration
Latin America- Around 18 million Latin Americans have came to the United States in the past 60 years.
Asia- 14 million Asians have came to the United states in the last 60 years.
The main reason for immigration into the United States is economic opportunity and social advancement.
Inter-regional Migration in the United States
1790- nearly all settlements were near the Atlantic coast. Environmental reasons as well as economic ties with Europe limited movement west.
1800-1840- Transportation improvements, especially building canals, opened the ability for settlers to move west past and near the Appalachian mountains.
1850-1890- Settlers suddenly passed many western regions and kept exceeding to the west coast of the U.S. due to the gold rush.
1900-1940- Westward movement slowed, immigrants began to fill in the Great Plains. Advances in agricultural technology allowed this settlement.
1950-2010- the population center started a more vigorous westward migration, as well as south. Industrializing caused people to move for jobs.
Inter-regional Migration: China
People moved rural to urban areas where jobs were more prevalent. Many move to the East coast which is where most urban areas are located. They come from central China. Although government leaders believed people should live in rural areas and work in agriculture. They also believed if urban areas began overpopulated with migrants, poor living conditions would develop. This led to restrictions on migration, yet more recently they have held back on some of these restrictions.
Inter-regional Migration: Brazil
Most Brazilians live in a string of large cities near the East Coast. Brazil’s interior is sparsely populated. In order to persuade Brazilians to move to the interior of Brazil, government officials moved its capital to the interior. Now more people leave the coast than move in.
Interregional Migration: Russia
Russia’s population is mostly clustered in the west. To open up the sparsely inhabitited, interregional migration was important to the Soviet Union. The union preffered factories were to be built near raw materials rather than existing population clusters, soviets began involuntary migration westward(to factories) to undertake labor. Although in recent years this pattern has reversed.
Why do people move from rural to urban areas?
Migration of this type started in 1800’s due to the industrial revolution. People who move from rural to urban areas seek economic advancement.
Why do people move from urban to suburban areas?
Most migration is highly developed areas are from urban to suburban areas. People are mostly attracted to the suburban lifestyle. Suburbs offer different housing, as well as more comfortable education. Transportation also allows people to have urban jobs yet live in the suburbs.
Why do people move from urban to rural areas?
Net migration to rural areas from urban areas is called counterurbanization. Rural areas aren’t as modernly isolated as they used to be due to modern transportation and technology. Lifestyle and the ability to make your own living through agriculture and local businesses attract people.
Gender and Age of migrants
Most immigrants are young adults. As well at a prevalent percentage being children. Recently the age of immigrants trying to enter the United States without legal documentation have been children between the ages of 12-17. More recently as women’s rights have improved, the percentage of females crossing through the U.S. border has increased. Especially immigrants from developing countries.