Migration

Hey… Why are you leaving?

A German-English Cartographer and Geographer

Most known for developing 11 “Laws of Migration.”

Ravenstein’s Laws are a model that address:

1. Why people migrate2. How far they migrate3. Who migrates

Zees vas a fery bad picture,

mine apologees.

EG RAVENSTEIN

PUSH Factors PULL Factors

Generally negative

Life factors that compel you to leave (EMIGRATE FROM) your current location

Generally positive

Life factors that attract you go to (IMMIGRATE TO) a new location

PUSH AND PULLFACTORS

ECONOMICPUSH AND PULL

FACTORS

1. Most people migrate for economic reasons

ECONOMIC PUSHES ECONOMIC PULLS

People emigrate from places with few job opportunities

People immigrate to places with ample job opportunities

North America is a popular economic

destination

The attractiveness

of a region shifts with economic

change

2. Cultural factors also cause people

to migrate, but less so

CULTURAL PUSHES

There have been two major cultural

push factors

SlaveryPolitical Instability/Revolution

CULTURAL PUSH AND PULL

FACTORS

Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their homes and migrate to another country for political reasons and cannot return for fear of persecution due to religion, nationality, ethnicity, membership in a social / political group.

In 2010, the UN counted 10.6 million refugees worldwide.

Countries producing large numbers of refugees: Iraq (the kurds), Afghanistan, Palestine

Countries producing large numbers of IDP: Sudan, Columbia, DRC, China

FORCEDMIGRATION

Refugees often demonstrate common characteristics:• Travel by primitive mode of transportation• Has no documentation • Has no hopes to return home • Has no clear destination• Carries few supplies • Is a member of an unstratified group

An internally Displaced Person (IDP) is a refugee within her own country, and asylum seekers are refugees who flee to other countries hoping to be legal permanent residence.

In 2010, the UN estimated there were 14.7 million IDPs and 838,000 asylum seekers worldwide.

FORCEDMIGRATION

CULTURAL PUSHES CULTURAL PULLS

Forced migration is a result of cultural

push factors

Political Instability/Revolution Democratic GovernmentEducational FreedomCareer ChoiceChoice of residence

CULTURAL PUSH AND PULL

FACTORS

But culture can also act as a pull

factor

3. Environmental factors may

cause people to migrate, but less

so

ENVIRONMENTAL PUSHES

Hazards

ENVIRONMENTALPUSH AND PULL

FACTORS

Manmade Hazards

US Nuclear Reactor Sites

Natural Hazards

Wildfire Hazard AreasDrought Hazard AreasFlood Hazard Areas

Tornado Hazard AreasEarthquake Hazard Areas

Hazards Population

Natural Disaster

NATURALDISASTERS

Natural disastersoccur where hazards and population

intersect

ENVIRONMENTAL PULLS

MountainsSeasidesWarm Climates

Hazards and Disasters are

environmental pushes

ENVIRONMENTAL PUSHES

Hazards

ENVIRONMENTALPUSH AND PULL

FACTORS

Environmental factors may also

Pull people

Net migration refers to whether the total amount of migration in a given region is negative or positive.

If more people are moving out than are moving into a region, then net migration is negative and is called NET OUT MIGRATION.

If more people are moving into a region than are moving out, then net migration is positive and is called NET IN MIGRATION.

Net In regions are considered to be attractors, while Net Out regions are considered unattractive.

NETMIGRATION

Migrants do not always reach their destination. Sometimes they get stopped or turned back.

An intervening obstacle is an environmental or cultural feature that hinders migration.

Environmental Intervening Obstacles:MountainsBodies of WaterDeserts

Cultural Intervening Obstacles:EthnocentrismRacismXenophobiaImmigration Laws/policies

INTERVENINGOBSTACLES

Sometimes immigrants get sidetracked.

An intervening opportunity is a feature (usually economic) that causes a migrant to choose a

destination other than his original one.

Economic Intervening Opportunities:Jobs

Maquilladoras Near US-Mexico Border

INTERVENINGOPPORTUNITIES

INTERVENINGOBSTACLE

Or

INTERVENINGOPPORTUNITY

ORIGIN DESTINATION

ALTERNATEDESTINATION

1. According to Lee, both origins and destinations have push and pull factors about them.

2. Some Migrants will leave their destination, encounter an intervening OBSTACLE and be forced to return to their origin.

3. Others migrants will encounter an intervening obstacle, overcome it and make it to their planned destination

4. And others will encounter intervening opportunities and decide to stay at an alternate destination

LEE’S MODELOF MIGRATION

4. Most migrants relocate a short

distance and remain in the same

country

Internal Migration International Migration

It is permanent movement within the same country

Internal migrants are more numerous than international migrants.

In keeping with Distance Decay theory, the farther a away a place is, the less likely someone is to move to it.

Internal moves are less traumatic and much shorter.

Two Kinds:Interregional migration- movement from one region of a country to another in the same country.

Intraregional- movement within one region of the same country.

It is permanent movement to another country.

International moves are less numerous than internal moves.

Two kinds:Voluntary migration- the migrant has chosen to move for whatever factor.

Forced migration- the migrant has been compelled to move, usually by cultural factors (refugees).

5. Long-distance migrants to other countries head for center of economic

activity

DISTANCEOF

MIGRATION

THE GRAVITYMODEL

The Gravity Model is used as a rough value of the likelihood of interaction (exchange of people in this case) between two places.

You could use it to determine if Chattanooga (place A) would have more or less migration interaction with Nashville (place B) or with Atlanta (place C).

The formula is:

(Population A x Poplulation B)(Distance A to B)²

The larger number from the two calculations indicates more interaction.

Geographer Wilbur Zelinsky studied migration patterns and correlated them to economic patterns within and between countries.

He developed a model for migration patterns called the Migration Transition that correlated reasons for migration with the various stages of the Demographic Transition.

THE MIGRATIONTRANSITION

Aren’t I a handsome

devil?

The Demographic Transition

CBR is high, variableCDR is high, variableNIR is near zero, fluctuatingPopulation is stable and low

In stage 1 of the MIGRATION TRANSITION, there is no real migration.

Instead, there is high, daily and seasonal circulation is search of food.

THE MIGRATIONTRANSITION

STAGE 1

CBR is high, variableCDR drops dramaticallyNIR rises sharplyPopulation explodes

In Stage 2 of the migration Transition, as countries enter stage 2 of the DT and industrialize, some former farmers migrate into urban areas of their

countries.

Many workers in search of work will migrate internationally to countries in stage 3 or 4 of the DT.

The Demographic Transition

THE MIGRATIONTRANSITION

STAGE 2

CBR drops steadilyCDR stays lowNIR begins to decreasePopulation grows more modestly

In stage 3 of the migration transition, countries in stage three receive international migrants from stage 2 countries. They will settle in urban areas

or agricultural zones.

Urban residents of stage 3 countries who have accumulated enough wealth begin to move into the suburbs (internal, intraregional migration).

The Demographic Transition

THE MIGRATIONTRANSITION

STAGE 3THE

MIGRATIONTRANSITION

CBR and CDR meets and parallel each otherNIR is near zero, fluctuatingPopulation is stable and high

In Stage 4 of the migration transition, countries in stage 4 continue to receive international migrants in search of work.

Stage 4 country urban residents will continue to migrate into suburban areas (internal, intraregional migration), and a few may even move back into rural

areas (downshifters).

The Demographic Transition

STAGE 4THE

MIGRATIONTRANSITION

6. Most long distance

migrants are male

Migrant Gender Migrant Family StatusRavenstein was right about most immigrants being males until about 20 years ago.

However, in the 1990’s, the pattern reversed and women accounted for 55% of immigrants to the US.

Some are coming to join husbands or brothers already here, but most are seeking work in their own right.

7. Most long distance migrants

are adult individuals, not

families with children

About 40% of immigrants to the US are between the ages of 25 and 39

Only about 5% of immigrants to the US are over age 65

As more women have begun to migrate, more children have begun to migrate with them. Now, 16% of immigrants to the US are under age 15.

Migration selectivity states

that migration laws select for certain

people over others: predominantly

single, working-aged males

MIGRATIONSELECTIVITY

Mexican Immigration

to the US

Many Mexicans come to the US each year both legally and permanently.

Mexican immigrants to the US without proper documents (illegal aliens) are currently the largest US immigrant group.

About 50% are male and 50% are female.

However, not all Mexican immigrants are illegal aliens.

Also, not all Mexicans who migrate to the US do so permanently. Many are seasonal migrant workers, some legal and some illegal.

PATTERNS

The typical undocumented immigrant has four years of schooling

Mexico is in stage 2 of the demographic transition, and 75% of Mexican migrants come from rural areas in Mexico.

The destination of choice is definitely border states with Mexico… >50% go to CA, 20% to TX and most of the rest to other Southwestern states.

PATTERNS

Mexico, itself also receives immigrants, both legal and illegal (up to 2 million per year, from other Latin American countries to its south. Some will stay in Mexico, and others will head for the US border.

The distance decay theory would predict that most Mexican migrants would come from Northern Mexican

states, but they do not.

The four leading sources of Mexican migrants are the states of:

GuanajuatoZacatecasJaliscoChihuahua

PATTERNS

North Mexico has plentiful job opportunities in maquilladoras (factories).

Most illegal Mexican immigrants have jobs in their home villages but migrate to the US to earn more money

The largest number work in agriculture picking fruits and vegetables. Many others work in clothing factorie, construction, food service, and housekeeping.

Because farm work is seasonal, the flow of immigrants varies throughout the year.

The greatest number of Mexican migrants flow into the US in the Autumn and back into Mexico in the Spring.

PATTERNS