1. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography
Chapter 3: Migration
The Cultural Landscape:
An Introduction to Human Geography

2. Chapter 3: Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
Reasons for migrating
Distance of migration
Characteristics of Migrants

3. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
A type of mobility
Migration is a permanent move to a new location
Migration = relocation diffusion
Emigration
To leave a place (think “Exit”)
Immigration
To come to a new place (Think “In”)
Net Migration
The difference between the number of emigrants and immigrants
If the number coming in is greater, it is “positive” or Net in-migration
If the number going out is greater, it is “negative” or Net out-migration

4. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
Reasons for migration
Most people migrate for economic reasons
Push and pull factors
Economic: people move away from places with poor economic opportunities and toward places with better ones
Cultural factors
Forced migration (e.g., slavery, refugees)
Political factors
Environmental factors
Pulled towards physically attractive regions
Pushed from Hazardous regions, or adverse physical conditions
These come with intervening obstacles
Historically these are environmental
With availability of transportation these obstacles are minimized

5. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
Lee’s Model of Migration
Every Place has both push and pull factors
These factors are subjective and dependent on the needs and interests of individuals
Theoretical version of the model
- Push factors + Pull factors

6. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
Lee’s Model of Migration
What it might actually look like
Origin
Push
Low Wages
Political and civil strife
Limited opportunities
Pull
Family
Culture
Intervening Obstacles
Lack of money
Distance
Fear
Physical barriers
Destination
Pull
Higher Wages
More job opportunities
Education
Push
Language Barrier
No Documents
Intervening Opportunities
Jobs
Common Language
A person must decide if the pull factors outweigh the push factors

7. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
E.G. Ravenstein: During the late 19th Century wrote Eleven migration laws to be applied to migration studies
Laws can be organized into 3 questions
Why do migrants move?
What is the distance migrants typically move?
What are the characteristics of migrants?

8. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
Distance of migration
Internal migration: Permanent movement within the same country
Two types:
Interregional migration = movement from one region to another
Intraregional migration = movement within a region
Historically intraregional migration has been from rural to urban areas in search of jobs (After Civil War the exodus from the southern states to the north)
In recent years, migration from urban areas to attractive rural and suburban areas
Most migrants move only a short distance (step migration)
Step Migration: When a person has a long distance goal in mind and achieves it in small steps over time
Each migration stream produces a compensating counter-stream
The out-migration of Jews form Nazi Germany has a small counter-stream back into Germany because of their capture and forced return by Nazi officials
Young Chinese men migrate to cities from rural villages only to return home after giving city life a try

9. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
Distance of migration
International migration
Two types:
Voluntary
Economic push/pull factors usually induce voluntary international migration
Forced
Cultural push/pull factors usually induce forced international migration
Migration transition
International migration is most common in countries that are in stage 2 of the demographic transition

10. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
Refugees: Statistics
• There are approximately 10.6 million refugees in the world today.
• There are approximately 25.8 million internally displaced people world wide (600,000 were displaced after Hurricane Katrina, 2005).
• 80% of the internally displaced people are women and children.
• 44% of refugees and internally displaced people are under the age of 18.
• 6% of refugees and internally displaced people are 60 years of age
or older.
• Of all western countries, the United States accepted the highest number of refugees in 2004,approximately 244,200.
• In million people, 8,000 people per day, left their homes to
seek safety in another country.

11. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
What is a Refugee?
People who have been forced to migrate from their home country and cannot return for fear of persecution
Individuals who cross national boundaries to seek safety or asylum from persecution, usually cultural.
Political conditions can also operated as pull factors, especially the lure of freedom.
Considered a form of forced migration

12. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
Where do we find refugees?
Most refugees live in Asia and Africa
Iran (1,355,000)
Pakistan (1,219,000)
The Gaza Strip (923,000)
The West Bank (665,000)
Syria (497,000)
Tanzania (480,000)
Thailand (405,000)

13. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
20th Century Instability
Forced international migration increased because of political instability resulting from cultural diversity
With democracy on the rise in Eastern Europe during the 1990s, Western Europe’s political pull has disappeared as a migration factor.
Western Europe pulls an increasing number of migrants from Eastern Europe for economic reasons.
Post 9/11 many MDCs have tightened their borders to refugees due to safety concerns.
In many African countries, there are refugees fleeing from and to the same country for different reasons. Ex. Sudan

14. Changes in Refugee Populations

15. Refugees: Sources and Destinations
Figure 3-2

16. Migration Key Issue 1: Why Do People Migrate?
Characteristics of migrants
Gender
Traditionally, males outnumbered females
Searching for work because they are more likely to be the primary supporter
In the United States today, 55 % of immigrants = female
Family status
In the United States today, about 40 % of immigrants = young adults, aged 25–39
Families are less like to migrate than individuals
Immigrants are less likely to be elderly people: 5% over age 65
Rural residents are more likely to migrate than urban residents
True in Ravenstein’s time because of the Industrial Revolution
Still true in many developing countries
Counter-urbanization is a trend in the US where city dwellers are leaving crowded urban areas for suburbs and rural areas.

17. Migration from Rural to Urban Areas

18. Chapter 3: Migration Key Issue 2: Where Are Migrants Distributed?
Global migration patterns
U.S. Immigration patterns
Impacts of Immigration on the U.S.

19. Migration: Key Issue 2: Where Are Migrants Distributed
Global migration patterns
Net out-migration: Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Net in-migration: North America, Europe, and Oceania
The United States has the largest foreign-born population of any other country
The Global pattern reflects the importance of migration from LDCs to MDCs. Migrants from countries with relatively low incomes and high natural increase rates head for countries where job possibilities are brighter

20. Net Migration by Country
Figure 3-7

21. Migration: Key Issue 2: Where Are Migrants Distributed
U.S. migration patterns
Three main eras of migration
Colonial migration from England and Africa
Europeans came as migrants and colonists, Africans came in a “forced Migration” as slaves
90% of Europeans came from Great Britain
In 1808 the importation of slaves was made illegal, but another 250, 000 Africans were brought to the U.S. illegally over the next half century
Nineteenth-century immigration from Europe
Germany sent the largest number of immigrants: 7.2 million, Italy: 5.4 million, UK: 5.3 million, Ireland: 4.8 million, Russia: 4.1 million
¼ of Americans trace their ancestry to German immigrants, 1/8 each to Irish and British immigrants
Recent immigration from LDCs
Asia: Three leading sources are China, India, the Philippines
Latin America

22. Migration to the United States
Figure 3-8

23. Migration to the United States from Latin America
Figure 3-9

24. Migration: Key Issue 2: Where Are Migrants Distributed
Impact of immigration on the United States
Legacy of European migration
Europe’s demographic transition
Stage 2 growth pushed Europeans out
65 million Europeans emigrate
Diffusion of European culture
Indo-European Languages are now spoken by half the world’s people
Christianity, Europe’s most prevalent religion has the world’s largest number of adherents
European art, music, literature, philosophy and ethics have diffused throughout the world
European Political structures and economic systems have diffused around the globe
Europeans migrating to areas where they imposed political domination on indigenous populations sowed the seeds of discontent

25. Migration: Key Issue 2: Where Are Migrants Distributed
Impact of immigration on the United States
Unauthorized immigration
2008 = estimated 11.9 million unauthorized/ undocumented immigrants
About 5.4 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force
Around 59 percent are undocumented immigrants from Mexico
Chain Migration – Migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there.

26. Migration: Key Issue 2: Where Are Migrants Distributed: US States and Destinations
California = 1/5 of all immigrants and 1/4 of undocumented immigrants; New York = 1/6 of all immigrants

27. Chapter 3: Migration Key Issue 3: Why Do Migrants face Obstacles?
Immigration policies of host countries
Cultural challenges faced while living in other countries

28. Migration: Key Issue 3: Why do migrants face obstacles
Immigration policies of host countries
U.S. quota laws: Public Policy enacted to control the migrant streams from different countries. These acts were modified over time, and did not affect the status of refugees seeking asylum.
The Quota Act (1921)
The law established quotas, maximum limits on the number of people who could immigrate from each country in a one year period
The National Origins Act (1924)
Limited the number of Asians migrating to the US
Temporary migration for work
Guest workers in Europe
Time-contract workers in Asia

29. Migration: Key Issue 3: Why do migrants face obstacles
Distinguishing economic migrants from refugees
Emigrants from Cuba
The U.S. regarded people fleeing from Communist Cuba after 1959 when Fidel Castro came to power as political refugees.
Cuban immigrants were admitted to the U.S. with the majority of them settling in Florida
Emigrants from Haiti
In 1980 people where seeking political asylum from the dictatorship of Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) and his son, John-Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc).
The U.S. wouldn’t let them in because the trade status was different with Haiti than Cuba
Emigrants from Vietnam
Vietnamese War ended in 1975; the U.S. withdrew troops from South Vietnam.
Many South Vietnamese fled to the U.S., seeking political asylum from the incoming Communist regime that overtook the country from the north.
Another wave of Southeast Asians came during more regional political upheaval in These people escaped to freedom however they could, and were known as “Boat People”

30. Migration: Key Issue 3: Why do migrants face obstacles
Cultural problems faced while living in host countries
U.S. attitudes towards immigrants
Citizens of the U.S. have traditionally been suspicious of newcomers
Through the 19th Century, people from Western Europe were more welcome and assimilated more quickly into the landscape
During the early 20th Century, immigrants arriving from Eastern Europe were treated with suspicion and were often accused of “stealing work” from Citizens
Eastern Europeans also were treated with contempt because of some of their political ideologies and religious practices.
Current discrimination includes California refusing basic services to illegal immigrants, although that has bee hard to uphold due to the questionable Constitutionality of the ruling
Attitudes toward guest workers
Both European host countries and visiting guest workers consider the employment arrangement temporary.
Most guest workers are young men and, regularly send most of the money they earn, home to their families.
Accommodations for guest workers are usually poor
Citizens of host countries regularly vote down referendums that would provide improvements for the living conditions of guest workers

31. Chapter 3: Migration
Key Issue 4: Why Do People Migrate Within a Country?
Migration between regions of a country
Migration within one region

32. Migration: Key Issue 4: Why Do People Migrate within a Country?
Migration between regions of a country
U.S. settlement patterns
Colonial settlement
Along the Eastern Seaboard. Population Center was in the Chesapeake bay in Maryland
Access to shipping routes and easier trade kept people along the coast
Early settlement in the interior (early 1800s)
The development of the canal system allowed for easier travel towards the interior of N. America
Center of population was in Weston, VA, 20 miles west from where it had been
California
Discovery of Gold in 1849 in California sent settlers west and moved the center of Population to Greensburg, Indiana
Great Plains settlement
Settlers moved across the Great Plains on their way to Oregon Territory. Many of them stopped and settled along the route
Recent growth of the South
Americans migrated South primarily for work

33. U.S. Interregional Migration
Figure 3-17

34. Changing Center of the U.S. Population
Figure 3-16

35. Migration: Key Issue 4: Why Do People Migrate within a Country?
Migration between regions of other countries
Russia
Important to developing and controlling the former Soviet Union by building factories and other work related sites throughout the country
Komsomol: brigades of young volunteers sent to regions to work on projects
Government incentives in Brazil and Indonesia
Most people live along the coast of Brazil. To increase the attractiveness of living in the interior, Brazil relocated its capital, Rio de Janeiro, to Brasilia in 1960.
People encouraged to live move to islands other than Java.
Economic migration within European countries
With the collapse of the Communist Bloc countries of Southern and Eastern Europe, there has been a steady stream of people relocating to the North and West

36. Migration in Europe
Figure 3-20

37. Migration: Key Issue 4: Why Do People Migrate within a Country?
Intraregional migration in the United States
Migration from rural to urban areas
Primary reason = People are pulled for economic reasons; more job opportunities exist in cities
Migration from urban to suburban areas
Primary reason = People are pulled to the suburban lifestyle
Migration from urban to rural areas
Counter-urbanization has come about as communication and transportation has evolved. It is possible to live in the country and still work at employment somewhere else.

38. Intraregional Migration in the United States
Figure 3-21

39. Up next: Folk and Popular Culture
The End.
Up next: Folk and Popular Culture