Key Issue 4
Why do People Migrate Within a Country?
Why do people migrate within a
country?
 Less disruptive than international
 Different cultural traditions: language, religion
 Two Main Types
 Interregional
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Rural and urban
 Intraregional
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Older cities and suburbs
Interregional Migration
 United States
 Past
 Lack of farmland lured farmers to frontier for more
abundant land
 Today
 Mostly for better jobs
Migration between Regions within
the United States
 American West
 Opened up 200yrs ago
 Mass interregional migration to interior
Changing Center of Population
 Population center:
average location of everyone in the country “center of
population gravity”
 Where the “flat” Earth would balance on a pin
 1790, population center was Baltimore, MD
 Most people were settled along Atlantic Coast
 Depended on coastal locations
 Interior obstacles: Appalachian Mountains & Native
Americans in West
Early Settlement in the Interior
 1830, Population Center moved west: Moorefield, WV
 Large amounts of fertile and available at low price
 Transportation improvements opened interior
 Canals made travel accessible between New York &
Great Lakes
 Steam powered boats
Early Settlement in the Interior
 After 1830, Population center moved further west:
Cincinnati, Ohio
 Western pioneers headed toward California
 Gold Rush, late 1840s
 Non-stop trip to CA
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Settlers preferred forested areas (lumber)
40” rain fall for agriculture
West of 98th meridian: Interior proved unsuitable
Declared region unfit: few trees, little rainfall
“Great American Desert”
 Modern Technology has
transformed region to become one of world’s “richest”
farming areas
Settlement of the Great Plains
 After 1880, Population center continues to move west,
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at slower pace
More Europeans migrating to US East Coast
Balanced out American migration to West Coast
People began to settle in Great Plains
Dakota Territory
1870: 14,000
1880: 135,000
1890: 539,000
Settlement of the Great Plains
 Agricultural Technology
 Enabled people to farm in Great Plains
 Barbed wire introduced, no longer needed forests to
build fences
 Windmills & well-drilling to pump water
Settlement of the Great Plains
 Expansion of Railroads
 Transportation for goods to move to populated East
Coast
 Land grants for railroad companies
 Encouraged more Western Settlers
 1980, population center moved west of Mississippi
River
Recent Growth of the South
 Late 20th Century, population center moved southward
 1980s and 1990s, 5 million moved to South, only 2
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million moved out
Job opportunities (5% job growth in south compared
to average 2-3% for US)
Environmental Reasons
“sunbelt” temperate climate: outdoor rec activities
“rustbelt” Northeast & Midwest: dependency on steel
Interregional Antagonism
 Northeast & Midwest
 Believe south is stealing jobs/industry
 Some have relocated, but many are newly created jobs
 Past to Present
 1929 average income was 2/3 lower in South
 1960 average income 1/3 lower in South
 Today, average income ONLY 1/5 lower in South
 Net migration for African Americans
 1900, most African Americans lived in South
 Forced migration for slavery
 Africans began to move to larger cities in NE, MidWest
and West for jobs
 Equal amount of African Americans moving N-S as SN, much more Whites moving South
U.S. Interregional Migration
 21st Century,
 Much LESS interregional migration
 Net migration from regions is almost ZERO
 Most new jobs are service sector
 Location becomes less important
Migration Between Regions in
Other Countries
 Russia
 Soviet policy encouraged factory construction NEAR
raw materials, not near current populated areas
 Encouraged interregional migration
 Fill jobs at mines, factories, construction sites
Russia
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Siberia
Far North, 45% land, only 2% population
Rich in natural resources: fossil fuels, minerals, forests
Soviet gov’t gave incentives to move north (higher wages,
paid holidays, early retirement)
Harsh climate & remoteness
Many workers moved back south
Komsomol: young volunteers during summer to construct
projects
Collapse of Soviet Union  market-based economy
Interregional migration no longer encouraged
Brazil
 Encouraged interregional migration
 Mostly populated on Atlantic Coast
 Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo
 Tropical interior sparsely inhabited
 Gov’t moved capital from Rio to Brasilia, 600 miles
from Atlantic Coast
 Slow growth at first, resentment of move
 Rapid population growth: more moving to Brasilia for
employment
Indonesia
 Government encouraging migration FROM Java (most
populated island) to less populated ones
 More than 5 million have moved
 Incentives: 5 acres of land, materials to build, seeds,
pesticides, and food
 Less recent migration: environmental concerns,
disruption of indigenous people, not productive land
Europe
 Moving to regions with higher incomes
 Italy: Migrating North for job opportunities
 rich agricultural land & strong industrial base
 2x higher income, unemployment 15% less in north
 United Kingdom:migrating south for job opportunities
 North: industrial revolution- no longer competitive in
global economy
 Regions closer to European markets have advantage
 Heart of Europe
India
 Gov’t limits ability to migrate from regions
 Permit is required to visit State of Assam, NE India
 Protect ethnic identity of region
 Limit job competition with outsiders
 Limit international migration
Migration within One Region
 Since 1800, most intraregional migration in world has
been from RURAL to URBAN areas
Migration from Rural to Urban Areas
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Urbanization, 1800s, Europe & North America
Rapid industrial development
US Population in Urban Areas
1800 5%
1920 50%
2010 75%
Pushed from lack of jobs in agriculture, pulled by jobs in
factories & service industry
Recent years, urban migration is skyrocketing in LDCs
Sao Paolo, Brazil: migration is 300,000 per year
City cannot support migrants
Favelas: squatter settlements, lack electricity, running
water, paved streets
Migration from Urban to Suburban Areas
 Developed countries: Canada, UK, West Europe, US
 From central cities out to the suburbs
 NOT related to employment
 Detached house, private yard, garage, driveway,
modern schools
 Suburbia is rapidly expanding
 Farms are being converted to housing developments:
new roads, sewers, other services
Migration from Metropolitan to
Nonmetropolitan Areas
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Late 20th century, MDCs
More people migrating INTO rural areas than OUT
Counterurbanization
Migration from cities & suburbs to small towns and rural
communities
 Lifestyle reasons: live on a farm, own horses, grow
vegetables
 Modern communication & transportation make transition
easy
 Counterurbanization has stopped in US, numbers IN and
OUT are about the same