Migration

Migration is the movement of people People who move into a country or region are called immigrants People who leave a region or country are called emigrants Immigration = the influx of people into a particular region or location Emigration = the outflow of people from a particular region or location Net migration = the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants

Migration is the movement of people Most people move at least once in their lives - Usually short in distance and usually within a country

Theories of Migration Push and Pull Factors Pull factor = positive perception about a location that induces a person to move there Push factor = negative perception about a location that induces a person to move away from that location Both are based on a person’s perception of the area

Economic #1 reason people move - new employment opportunities (pull factor) Downturns in the economy can lead to layoffs and shutdowns (push factor) Economic factors relay on the idea of human capital - the idea that an individual has certain skills that are valuable to a society or a company

Environmental Usually voluntary The southern portion of the US has had a large in-migration in the last 40 years (map on page 99) - not all areas of the south have benefited Place utility - offering incentives for people to move to their areas - tax breaks for companies, increased recreation (parks, sports arenas, etc) People leave areas for environmental reason - usually related to natural disasters - Hurricane Katrina cost New Orleans about 254,000 people that decided not to return to the city (about half the cities population)

Environmental Historical example of a push factor - Dust Bowl - early 1930s in the Great Plains of the US - a drought combined with poor farming practices created huge dust storms throughout the mid-west - farmers left the mid-west looking for better lands in the South and in California 2011 - tens of thousands of Japanese were forced to move from their homes due to an earthquake that damaged a nuclear reactor - most will not be able to move back due to radiation

Social Health care, education, religion Almost always a voluntary migration

Political Refugees - people who are forced to flee their homeland for fear of persecution or death Asylum seeker - a refugee who is seeking asylum or safety in another country after escaping their home country for fear of their lives (Hmong people of Vietnam) Internally displaced people - people who have been removed from their home but has not left their country (insert map) Forced migrants - people forced out of their homes for either political or environmental reasons (Native Americans - The Trail of Tears)