Demography: The study of migration

Types of movement

Activity space Daily routine Magnitude varies in

different societies Technology has

expanded daily activity spaces

Three types of human movement:Cyclic movement

PeriodicMigratory

Activity space for a family: daily routineCirculation, cyclical movements

Most common: going to and from work

Perception and Migration:Place Utility

An individual’s existing or anticipated degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a place.

-Perceptions of the home-site A. How life is for you in your own

location -Perceptions of new places based

only on information available to him or her (FAR and AWAY, movie with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman)

A. gossip or tales from others, letters from home that are embellishing reality

B. media C. propaganda D. images that only show a small

percentage of the reality of the place (Image to the right)

“Push” and “Pull” Factors Push factors induce people to move away from an area.

Pull factors: induced to come to an area 1. economic: jobs 2. political/cultural:

-slavery

-political instability

3. environmental:

-pull factors: attractive climates, scenic

-push factors: adverse conditions, flooding, earthquakes, tsunami, hurricanes, etc

“Push” and “Pull” Factors

Distance decay Step migration

Intervening opportunity

Catalysts of migration

Economic conditions Political circumstances Armed conflict and civil war Environmental conditions Culture and tradition Technological advances Flow of information

Theories about migration

Ravenstein’s “laws” of migration Net migration is a fraction of gross migration

between two places The majority of migration is short If move longer distances, then big-city Urban dwellers less migratory than rural Families less likely to move internationally than

young adults

Theories about migration

The Gravity model Loosely based on Newton “Migrant flow from one place to another is

proportional to the product of their populations” Higher population = more migrant flow Lower population = less migrant flow

Has its flaws, but also applications through mathematical manipulation

What hinders migration?

Intervening obstacles: An environmental or cultural feature that hinders

migration. Example: pioneers hindered from getting to

California by the Great Plains, the Rocky Mts. Or a desert.

Example: The Atlantic Ocean, the interior of Africa

Today: government policies that restrict visas

Voluntary migrations

Voluntary migration Generate a return Represents the

numbers going from the source to the destination minus those returning to the source

Internal Migration: interregional and intraregional

China: What kind?

Internal migration. What Kind?

In US, African-Americans moved northward during WW I

Rural Return to South Perceived

opportunities in South

Rural to urban: the most common intraregional (internal) migration globally in LDCs

In MDCs the most common form of intraregional migration is urban to

suburban areas.

Internal migration changes demographic makeup over time.

Internal Migrations

Internal migrations In the United States, has carried

the center of population westward and southward

In US, African-Americans moved northward during WW I

Rural Return to South Perceived opportunities in

South Eastward migration in Russia

Pattern?

Railroads and feeder lines; established Vladivostok

Post-Soviet regime

External Migration: International

External migration: Moving from one country to another, crossing international borders

Brain Drain: when highly educated people migrate to another country for better opportunities.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/12/philippines_hav.html

Many highly educated people from the Philippine Islands migrate to the U.S. to work because they can improve their standard of living. In the video, nurses in the P.I. make $500 a year compared to $2,000 a month in the U.S. when they migrate.

What type of push and pull factor would this be?

Forced Migrations

Forced Migrations

-Native Americans (1800s)

-French Acadians from Grand Pres, Nova Scotia 1755

British convicts (1788) and how it affects the current demographics

The Migration Process: Major modern migrations pre-1950

The Migration Process

European Emigration Greatest migration in

recent history

-Colonies

-1840-1850 NW Europe

-1880-1890 NW Europe

-1900-1920 SE Europe

OTHER NET-IN MIGRATION

-1960-1970s Asia

-1980 on Latin America

Most documented immigrants to the U.S.: MexicoMost undocumented immigrants to the U.S.: Mexico

1980s-present most immigrants come from Latin America

Illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States.

Worldwide migration to the U.S.

Short video resources about Mexican immigration to the U.S.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico/http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/watch/player.html?pkg=704_crimes&seg=1&mod=0

Example of Chinese international migration in Southeast Asia

Post-1945 External Migrations

Flow of Jewish immigrants to Israel Palestine, 1900 vs. 1948 Formation of Israel Now a flashpoints

The United Nations official definition of a refugee is a person that crosses an international border but unofficially, most refugees are internally displaced persons, or IDPs, and stay within their home

country.

Migration and Dislocation:The Refugee Problem

Large population movements tend to produce major social problems World’s refugee population proportionately has

grown faster than its total population In 1970, the world had about 2.9 million refugees In 2000, the United Nations High Commission for

Refugees reported some 24 million people qualified as refugees

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home

Migration and Dislocation:The Refugee Problem

Uncertain dimensions Who is a refugee?

Refugees or poor & desperate? Palestinians: in Jordan & Lebanon Identifiable by at least three characteristics:

1. Move without any more tangible property than they can carry with them

2. First “step” on foot, by bicycle, wagon, or open boat

3. Move without official documents

Migration and Dislocation:The Refugee Problem

Regions of dislocation Sub-Saharan Africa North Africa and Southwest Asia South Asia Southeast Asia Europe Elsewhere

More Frontline videos to watch on refugee situations:http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/sudan/

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2008/10/rwanda_after_th.html

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/22/18299463.php

Podcast about Rebels in Darfur

http://www.migrationinformation.org/

Resources De Blij, Harm, J. (2007). Human Geography People, Place and Culture.

Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Domosh, Mona, Neumann, Roderic, Price, Patricia, & Jordan-Bychkov,

2010. The Human Mosaic, A Cultural Approach to Human Geography. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

Fellman, Jerome, D., Getis, Arthur, & Getis, Judith, 2008. Human Geography, Landscapes of Human Activities. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Pulsipher, Lydia Mihelic and Alex M. and Pulsipher, 2008. World Regional Geography, Global Patterns, Local Lives. W.H. Freeman and Company New York.  

Rubenstein, James M. (2008). An introduction to human geography The cultural landscape. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Benewick, Robert, & Donald, Stephanie H. (2005). The State of China Atlas. Berkeley: University of California Press.