Migration - AP Human Geography

The process of moving around to find work in various seasons is referred to as “cyclical migration.” It is common amongst the rural poor in many parts of the world who have to move around to meet the labor demands of various products that can only be harvested in certain seasons.

A “push factor” is something that encourages an individual to migrate away from a certain place. Natural disasters, political revolutions, civil war, and economic stagnation are all reasons why people might want to migrate away from a certain area. Job placement, however, is an example of a “pull factor,” something that makes an individual want to migrate to a certain area.

In geographic terminology, when discussing migration you will often hear “push and pull factors.” A “push-factor” is something that encourages an individual to leave, or emigrate from, a certain place. A “pull-factor” is something that attracts individuals to migrate to a certain place.

Voluntary migration is migration that is undertaken willingly by the group or individual involved. People are significantly more likely to undertake voluntary migration for economic opportunity than any other reason. Political freedom and cultural affiliation are more likely to be pull factors for refugees and victims of civil conflict who are undergoing forced migration.

A chain migration occurs when individuals from within a community follow the path of a previous group or individual within the community and emigrate to a new region. In this instance the young Indian man began the chain-reaction and soon enough nine other individuals had joined him. This is a common process in modern times and explains why many neighborhoods in big cities have concentrated populations of immigrants from other countries (Chinatown, Little Italy, etc.)

A “pull factor” is something that attracts an individual to migrate to a certain place. Educational opportunity, temperate weather, job placement, and cultural attraction are all reasons why someone might emigrate from one country to another, or one region to another; however, economic stagnation is a “push factor,” or something that encourages an individual to leave a certain place. To provide possible clarification, “economic stagnation” means the economy is not growing and job opportunities are scarce.

In geographic terminology you will often hear the term “push and pull factors.” A “pull factor” is something that attracts an individual to migrate to a certain place; it “pulls” the individual in. A “push factor” is something that encourages individuals to migrate away from a certain place; it “pushes” the individual away.

The USA has promising economic and educational pull factors. Many immigrants to the USA come to the country in hopes of starting a new life that is better financially than their last one. Pull factors are the good elements of a nation or region that draw immigrants to that location.

Push factors are factors that encourage people to leave a region or country. These can vary from economic factors to daily lifestyle changes.

Pull factors are factors that encourage people to migrate to a region or country.

Pull factors are positive factors that attract people to new areas from other areas. A booming job market is a pull factor because many people seek jobs in order to provide for their family.

Push factors are negative factors that deter people from their original locale. Poor medical care is a push factor because it could prevent people from effectively battling illnesses.

Internal migration involves movement within a nation-state (e.g., the United States). Mikey's movement from New York to New Hampshire is a good example of internal migration.

Hearth, relocation, expansion, hierarchical, contagious, and stimulus are all different types of diffusion.

First published in 1885, Ernst Ravenstein's Laws of Migration includes a theory highlighting the inverse relationship between the distance and volume of migration between a source and destination. Ravenstein's work still forms the basis of modern human migration theory.

This type of gradual migration, from farm to village to town to big city, is known as a “step migration” because it happens in a series of steps. It is a common way by which rural families arrive in an urban setting.

"Mobility" is the ability of something or someone to move from one place or region to another. "Migration" refers specifically to groups of people or animals moving from one region or country to another. "Travel" is voluntary movement from one region to another.

Migrants do tend to relocate after they have reached their desired destination. It is also common for migrants to return to their original location. All of the other statements are true.

During the Reconstruction era of American history and up to the Civil Rights’ Era many African-Americans migrated North, to industrial centers like New York and Chicago. They were seeking personal liberty and economic opportunity. Much of the urban ethnic makeup of contemporary America is because of this pattern of migration.

For many years, industrial centers in the midwest like Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland were home to booming economies and burgeoning populations; however, as American industry began to decline as a global force in the second half of the twentieth century, there were far fewer jobs available. This led many Americans to migrate south and west in search of greater economic opportunity and better weather. The region they left behind became known as the “Rust Belt” to reflect how the heavy machinery was going to rust due to disuse.

In general, the majority of contemporary human migration is from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa to North America and Europe. The general pattern is north and west.