Human Migration

Migration

• What is it?– A particular kind of mobility that involves a

spatial movement of residence.

Why Migrate?

1. Push/Pull Factors– Push Factors: Negative conditions and

perceptions that cause people to leave an area/region/country or community.

– Pull Factors: Positive conditions and perceptions that attract people to new locations from other areas/regions/countries or communities.

Push Factors Pull FactorsHigh cost of living Superior career prospects,

increased income

Negative personal safety (Crime) Improved personal growth opportunities

Climate Preferable physical environment (eg. Climate, mountains, water)

Localized recession Other family members or friends

Cultural or political discrimination Increased opportunities for education and training

Natural Disaster Increased opportunities for medical care

Limited personal, family or career opportunities

Stable political system

Unstable environment due to war

2. Ravenstein Laws1. The majority of migrants travel only a short distance.2. Migration proceeds step by step.3. Migrants moving long distances head for one of the

great centres of commerce or industry.4. Each current of migration produces a compensating

countercurrent.5. The natives of towns are less migratory than those of

rural areas. (confirms rural-to-urban migration)6. Females are more migratory than males within their

country of birth, but males more frequently venture beyond.

7. Most migrants are adults.8. Large towns grow more by migration than by natural

increase.9. Migration increases in volume as industries and

commerce develop and transport improves.10. The usual direction of migration is from agricultural

areas to centres of industry and commerce.11. The major causes of migration are economic.

These laws are somewhat time-specific, but they have not been disproven.

3. Behavioural View of Migration• Not every human responds in an identical

fashion to various external forces (push)• Place utility – a measure of the extent to which an

individual is satisfied with particular locations (spatial preferences)… it is essentially an individually focused version of the push-pull logic.

• Spatial preferences can be shown using mental maps – how people perceive different areas with respect to: career, household, educational opportunities, wealth, culture, social networks, class or socio-economic structure, proximity to places of interest, climate etc.

Figure 5.2 – Mental Maps

• Mental maps; numbered ‘isolines’ represent spatial preferences on a scale from 1 to 100. These particular examples demonstrate that, in some cases, cultural considerations are more important than distance.

• Map A represents the mental map of 16-year-olds in English-speaking Bancroft, Ontario. Note the preference for larger urban areas and, especially, the sharp drop in ratings across the border with Quebec.

• Map B represents the mental map for English-speaking 15-year-olds in Pointe-Claire, near Montreal, in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec. Instead of favouring their local area, these young Anglophones favour various areas in English-speaking Ontario.

Types of Migrations1. Forced migration – people have little or no

alternative but to move, usually as a result of political circumstances, social pressures or natural disasters.

2. Voluntary/Free migration – people decide to move or stay on the basis of place utility as they seek to improve their lives.

3. Mass migration – a form of free migration that involves a great many people making a specific migration decision at about the same time.

Major World Migrations, 1500–1900

Population of Immigrants in Canada by Place of Birth

Source: https://multiculturalmeanderings.files.wordpress.com/2014/

03/immigration-numbers-igversion.jpg