Causes of Migration
AP Human Geography
Objective
• By the end of this lesson, students will be able
to analyze and understand the causes of
migration, both voluntary and forced.
Why move??
• People move for a number of reasons
• Better homes, jobs, climate, etc.
• Migration involves a decision, but it can
sometimes be a “forced” decision rather than
a voluntary one.
Types of Migration
Forced
Voluntary
Rural to Urban
War
Urban to Rural
Persecution
In Search of Work
Better Climate
Desires
Hazard
-ous
events
Disasters
Survival
Voluntary Migration
• Rural To Urban: People are attracted to
“glamorous” employment opportunities in
cities
• Urban to Rural: Weary of city life and the high
cost of living, people seek refuge in the
tranquility of the countryside
• International Migration: people are motivated
for many reasons to travel overseas and begin
new lives.
Forced Migration
• Natural disasters like hurricanes, floods,
earthquakes and the spread of disease have
all encouraged people to move
• War and persecution are extreme examples of
forced migration
• Civil War has led people to move to nearby
countries
Lees Model of Migration
• 1966 (Model to explain forces in migration)
– It introduced the idea of intervening obstacles that need to
be overcome before migration can take place
– Source and destination are seen as possessing a range of
attributes: each “would-be migrant” perceives these
attributes differently depending on age, race, gender,
marital status, etc.
Lee’s Model
Intervening Obstacles
• Factors, real or perceived, that might prevent
migration.
– Passport documents
– Learning to drive
– Learning a new language
– Schools for children
Intervening Opportunity
• The presence of a nearer opportunity that
greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites
farther away.
Common Examples of Push and Pull
• Push
– Disagreeable Climate
– Lack of Employment
Opportunity
– High Cost of Living
– Pollution
– Overcrowding
• Pull
– Agreeable Climate
– Employment
Opportunities
– Clean Air
– Family Connections and
Friends
Push and Pull is COMPLEX because people all have
different perceptions of places. What attracts some
people to a place also serves to repel others.
Consider Push/Pull Factors for the next 2
photographs
Test Your Knowledge!
• In the next few slides, there will be a
migration story.
• Figure out if the example is demonstrating a:
push factor, pull factor, intervening obstacle or
intervening opportunity.
• Write your answers down in your notebook,
and we will review at the end.
Intervening Obstacle
Intervening Opportunity
Pull Factor
Push Factor
A new mayor is elected in Chicago.
His new city plans include shutting
down many schools and cutting
school budgets. Now, Mr. Wilson, a
resident of Chicago, has a son who
is now in an overcrowded classroom
of 40 students and there’s less of a
budget to improve the school and
hire high quality teachers. Him and
his wife decide out to the suburbs.
Intervening Obstacle
Intervening Opportunity
Pull Factor
Push Factor
Liliana decided she wanted to study
abroad in Australia. When she filled out
her paperwork to get her passport
documents, she realized that she may
not get them in time to leave. She paid
extra to have them shipped faster, but
they still didn’t get there in time. She
ended up having to put off studying
abroad until next semester.
Intervening
Intervening Obstacle
Obstacle
Intervening Intervening Opportunity
Push Factor
Opportunity
Pull
Factor
Forced
Migration
Push Factor Pull Factor
Voluntary Migration
Jose, a graduate of Harvard, works in a
small advertising firm in a suburb of
Chicago. He has made such a name
for himself, that the Google office out of
Los Angeles offers him a job with twice
the pay and more vacation time. Also,
you can’t complain about the weather
in LA.
Intervening
Intervening Obstacle
Obstacle
Intervening Intervening Opportunity
Push Factor
Opportunity
Pull Factor
Push Factor Push Factor Pull Factor
Mary, from Chicago, had plans to attend
Arizona State University in the fall. She
registered for classes, visited the campus,
and even had a roommate picked out. A few
weeks before school started, she found out
that she got accepted to the University of
Illinois, just 2 hours away. At the last minute,
she decided to go to Illinois instead of
Arizona.
Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
1. The majority
of migrants
move short
distances.
They may
move in steps,
but they move
short
distances.
Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
2. Those who move far
away, move to cities
Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
3. Urban residents are
less migratory
4. Most migration is
rural to urban.
Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
5. Families are less
migratory than young
adults
Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
6. Most international
migrants are young
males, while most
internal migration are
female.
Formal Sector Jobs
• Most fortunate migrants will find jobs here.
– A regular wage that gives some access to the
other advantages of urban life.
– Let’s think of some examples
Informal Sector Jobs
• Because the demand for jobs generally is
greater than supply, many migrants can do no
better than this.
– These jobs generally require very little skill or
education
– There is no set wage
• Let’s think of examples