Chapter 3: Migration 95

KEY ISSUE 4

Why Do People MigrateWithin a Country?

■ Migration Between Regions of a Country■ Migration Within One Region

Internal migration for most people is less disruptive thaninternational migration. Two main types of internal migra-tion are interregional (between regions of a country) andintraregional (within a region). ■

Migration Between Regionsof a CountryIn the past, people migrated from one region of a country toanother in search of better farmland. Lack of farmland pushedmany people from the more densely settled regions of thecountry and lured them to the frontier, where land was abun-dant. Today, the principal type of interregional migration isfrom rural areas to urban areas. Most jobs, especially in serv-ices, are clustered in urban areas (see Chapter 12).

Migration Between Regions Withinthe United StatesAn especially prominent example of large-scale internal migra-tion is the opening of the American West. Two hundred yearsago, the United States consisted of a collection of settlementsconcentrated on the Atlantic Coast. Through mass interre-gional migration, the interior of the continent was settled anddeveloped.

The U.S. Census Bureau computes the country’s populationcenter at the time of each census. The changing location of thepopulation center graphically demonstrates the march of theAmerican people across the North American continent over thepast 200 years (Figure 3-16).

• Colonial Settlement. When the first U.S. census wastaken, in 1790, the population center was located in theChesapeake Bay, near Chestertown, Maryland. This loca-tion reflects the fact that virtually all colonial-era settle-ments were near the Atlantic Coast.

Few colonists ventured far from coastal locationsbecause they depended on shipping links with Europe toreceive products and to export raw materials. Settlement inthe interior was also hindered by an intervening obstacle,the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachians blockedwestern development because of their steep slopes, thickforests, and few gaps that allowed easy passage. Hostileindigenous residents, commonly called “Indians,” alsoretarded western settlement.

German, and Irish immigrants a half-century earlier. A govern-ment study in 1911 reflected popular attitudes when it concludedthat immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe were raciallyinferior, “inclined toward violent crime,” resisted assimilation,and “drove old-stock citizens out of some lines of work.”

More recently, hostile citizens in California and other stateshave voted to deny unauthorized immigrants access to most pub-lic services, such as schools, day-care centers, and health clinics.The laws have been difficult to enforce and of dubious constitu-tionality, but their enactment reflects the unwillingness on thepart of many Americans to help out needy immigrants. Whetherchildren of recent immigrants should be entitled to attend schooland receive social services is much debated in the United States.

Attitudes Toward Guest WorkersIn Europe, many guest workers suffer from poor social condi-tions. The guest worker is typically a young man who arrivesalone in a city. He has little money for food, housing, or enter-tainment because his primary objective is to send home asmuch money as possible. He is likely to use any surplus moneyfor a railway ticket home for the weekend.

Far from his family and friends, the guest worker can lead alonely life. His isolation may be heightened by unfamiliaritywith the host country’s language and distinctive cultural activi-ties. Many guest workers pass their leisure time at the local rail-way station. There they can buy native-language newspapers,mingle with other guest workers, and meet people who havejust arrived by train from home.

Both guest workers and their host countries regard thearrangement as temporary. In reality, however, many guestworkers remain indefinitely, especially if they are joined byother family members. Some guest workers apply their savingsto starting a grocery store, restaurant, or other small shop.These businesses can fill a need in European cities by remain-ing open on weekends and evenings when most locally ownedestablishments are closed.

Many Western Europeans dislike the guest workers andoppose government programs to improve their living condi-tions. Political parties that support restrictions on immigrationhave gained support in France, Germany, and other Europeancountries, and attacks by local citizens on immigrants haveincreased. In the Middle East, petroleum-exporting countriesfear that the increasing numbers of guest workers will sparkpolitical unrest and abandonment of traditional Islamic cus-toms. After the 1991 Gulf War, Kuwaiti officials expelled hun-dreds of thousands of Palestinian guest workers who hadsympathized with Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. To mini-mize long-term stays, other host countries in the Middle Eastforce migrants to return home if they wish to marry and pre-vent them from returning once they have wives and children.

The severe global recession of the early twenty-first centuryhas sharply reduced the number of guest workers and eco-nomic migrants. With high unemployment and limited jobopportunities in the principal destination countries, potentialmigrants have much less incentive to risk the uncertainties andexpenses of international migration.

96 The Cultural Landscape

• Early Settlement in the Interior. Transportation improve-ments, especially the building of canals, helped to open theinterior in the early 1800s. Most important was the ErieCanal, which enabled people to travel inexpensively by boatbetween New York City and the Great Lakes. In 1840, theUnited States had 5,352 kilometers (3,326) miles of canals,and the U.S. center of population had moved to Weston, WestVirginia, 250 miles west of Chestertown.

Encouraged by the opportunity to obtain a largeamount of land at a low price, people moved into forestedriver valleys between the Appalachians and the MississippiRiver. They cut down the trees and used the wood to buildhomes, barns, and fences.

• Migration to California. The population center shiftedmore rapidly during the mid-nineteenth century, reachingGreensburg, Indiana, in 1890, a400-mile westward movement in50 years. Rather than continuing toexpand agriculture into the nextavailable westward land, mid-nine-teenth century pioneers kept goingall the way to California.

The principal pull to Californiawas the Gold Rush beginning in thelate 1840s. Mid-nineteenth centurypioneers also passed over the GreatPlains because of the physical envi-ronment. The region’s dry climate,lack of trees, and tough grassland sodconvinced early explorers such asZebulon Pike that the region wasunfit for farming, and maps at thetime labeled the Great Plains as theGreat American Desert.

• Settlement of the Great Plains.The westward movement of theU.S. population center slowed inthe late nineteenth and early twen-tieth centuries. In 1940, the centerof population was still in Indiana,only 150 miles west of its 1890position.

The rate slowed, in part, because large-scale migrationto the East Coast from Europe offset some of the migrationfrom the East Coast to the U.S. West. Also, immigrantsbegan to fill in the area between the 98th meridian andCalifornia that earlier generations had bypassed. Advancesin agricultural technology enabled people to cultivate theGreat Plains (Figure 3-17). Farmers used barbed wire toreduce dependence on wood fencing, the steel plow to cutthe thick sod, and windmills and well-drilling equipmentto pump more water.

The expansion of the railroads encouraged settlementof the Great Plains. The federal government gave largeland grants to the railroad companies, which financedconstruction of their lines by selling portions to farmers.The extensive rail network then permitted settlers to

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FIGURE 3-16 Changing center of populationin the United States. The population center is theaverage location of everyone in the country, the“center of population gravity.” If the United Stateswere a flat plane placed on top of a pin, and eachindividual weighed the same, the populationcenter would be the point where the populationdistribution causes the flat plane to balance onthe pin. The center has consistently shiftedwestward, although the rate of movement hasvaried in different eras. In recent decades, thecenter has also started to shift southward, areflection of recent migration to the South.

FIGURE 3-17 Great Plains settlement. Large-scale migration into the Great Plains began in the 1880s. Thisfamily was photographed on their farm in Loup Valley, Nebraska, in 1886.

Chapter 3: Migration 97

transport their products to the large concentrations of cus-tomers in East Coast cities.

• Recent Growth of the South. The population centerresumed a more vigorous migration during the late twenti-eth century, moving 250 miles further west between 1940and 2000, across Illinois to central Missouri. The popula-tion center also moved southward by 75 miles between1940 and 2000. The population center drifted southwardbecause of net migration into southern states, especiallyduring the last two decades of the twentieth century(Figure 3-18).

Americans migrated to the South primarily for jobopportunities and environmental conditions. Americanscommonly refer to the South as the “sunbelt” because ofits more temperate climate and the Midwest as the “rust-belt” because of its dependency on declining manufactur-ing (as well as the ability of the climate to rust out carsrelatively quickly).

The rapid growth of population and employment inthe South has aggravated interregional antagonism. Somepeople in the Northeast and Midwest believe that south-ern states have stolen industries from them. In reality,some industries have relocated from the Northeast and

Midwest, but most of the South’s indus-trial growth comes from newly estab-lished companies.

Interregional migration has slowedconsiderably in the United States into thetwenty-first century; net migrationbetween each pair of regions is now closeto zero. Regional differences in employ-ment prospects have become less dra-matic. With most new jobs in the servicesector of the economy, jobs are expandingand contracting at similar rates aroundthe country.

Migration BetweenRegions in OtherCountriesAs in the United States, long-distanceinterregional migration has been animportant means of opening new regionsfor economic development in other largecountries. Incentives have been used tostimulate migration to other regions.

RUSSIA. Interregional migration wasimportant in developing the formerSoviet Union. Soviet policy encouragedfactory construction near raw materialsrather than near existing populationconcentrations (see Chapter 11). Notenough workers lived nearby to fill allthe jobs at the mines, factories, andconstruction sites established in theseremote, resource-rich regions. To buildup an adequate labor force, the Sovietgovernment had to stimulate interre-gional migration.

Soviet officials were especially eager todevelop Russia’s Far North, whichincluded much of Siberia, because it isrich in natural resources—fossil fuels,minerals, and forests. The Far Northencompassed 45 percent of the SovietUnion’s land area but contained less than

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FIGURE 3-18 U.S. interregional migration. Figures show average annual migration (in thousands) in 1995(left) and 2007 (right). Compared to 2007, the 1995 figures show much higher total interregional migrationand migration into the South.

98 The Cultural Landscape

2 percent of its people. The Soviet govern-ment forced people to migrate to the FarNorth to construct and operate steel mills,hydroelectric power stations, mines, andother enterprises. In later years, the gov-ernment encouraged, instead, voluntarymigration to the Far North, includinghigher wages, more paid holidays, andearlier retirement.

The incentives failed to pull as manymigrants to the Far North as Soviet offi-cials desired. People were reluctantbecause of the region’s harsh climateand remoteness from population clus-ters. Each year, as many as half of thepeople in the Far North migrated backto other regions of the country and hadto be replaced by other immigrants,especially young males willing to workin the region for a short period. Onemethod the Soviet government usedwas to send a brigade of young volun-teers, known as Komsomol, duringschool vacations to help construct proj-ects. An example is the Baikal-AmurRailroad, which runs for 3,145 kilome-ters (1,955 miles) from Taishet toSovetskaia Gavan.

The collapse of the Soviet Union ended policies that encour-aged interregional migration. In the transition to a market-based economy, Russian government officials no longer dictate“optimal” locations for factories.

BRAZIL. Another large country, Brazil, has encouragedinterregional migration. Most Brazilians live in a string of largecities near the Atlantic Coast. São Paulo and Rio de Janeirohave become two of the world’s largest cities. In contrast,Brazil’s tropical interior is very sparsely inhabited.

To increase the attractiveness of the interior, the governmentmoved its capital in 1960 from Rio to a newly built city calledBrasília, situated 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from theAtlantic Coast. From above, Brasília’s design resembles an air-plane, with government buildings located at the center of thecity and housing arranged along the “wings.” Thousands ofpeople have migrated to Brasília in search of jobs (Figure 3-19).In a country with rapid population growth, many people willmigrate where they think they can find employment. Many ofthese workers could not afford housing in Brasília and were liv-ing instead in hastily erected shacks on the outskirts of the city.

INDONESIA. Since 1969, the Indonesian government haspaid for the migration of more than 5 million people, primarilyfrom the island of Java, where nearly two-thirds of its peoplelive, to less populated islands. Under the government program,families receive a one-way air ticket, 2 hectares (5 acres) ofland, materials to build a house, seeds and pesticides, andfood—a year’s worth of rice—to tide them over until the cropsare ready.

EUROPE. The principal flow of interregional migration inEurope is from east and south to west and north. This patternreflects the relatively low incomes and bleak job prospects ineastern and southern Europe.

In the twentieth century, wealthy Western European coun-tries received many immigrants from their former coloniesin Africa and Asia. The expansion of the European Unioninto Eastern Europe in the twenty-first century removed bar-riers for Bulgarians, Romanians, and residents of other for-mer Communist countries to migrate to Western Europe(Figure 3-20).

Interregional migration flows can also be found within indi-vidual European countries. Italians migrate from the south,known as the Mezzogiorno, to the north, and Britons migratefrom the north to the south. In both cases, economic condi-tions are stronger in the regions to which migrants are headingthan in the regions where they originated.

The attractiveness of regions within Europe can change. Forcenturies, Ireland and Scotland were regions with net out-migra-tion. Improved economic conditions in the late twentieth centuryinduced a reversal of historic patterns, and both became regionsof net in-migration. The deep recession of the early twenty-firstcentury discouraged further in-migration to Ireland and Scotland.

INDIA. A number of governments limit the ability of peopleto migrate from one region to another. For example, Indiansrequire a permit to migrate—or even to visit—the State ofAssam in the northeastern part of the country. Therestrictions, which date from the British colonial era, aredesigned to protect the ethnic identity of Assamese by limitingthe ability of outsiders to compete for jobs and purchase land.

FIGURE 3-19 Brasília. Brazil’s capital was moved here in 1960. Since then, thousands of immigrants havearrived in search of jobs. Many live in poor-quality housing on the edge of the city, a contrast to the carefullyplanned high-rises in the background.

Chapter 3: Migration 99

Because Assam is situated on the border with Bangladesh, therestrictions also limit international migration.

Migration Within One RegionInterregional migration attracts considerable attention, but farmore people move within the same region, which is intraregionalmigration. Worldwide, the most prominent type of intraregionalmigration is from rural areas to urban areas. In the United States,the principal intraregional migration is from cities to suburbs.

Migration from Rural to Urban AreasMigration from rural (or nonmetropolitan) areas to urban (ormetropolitan) areas began in the 1800s in Europe and NorthAmerica as part of the Industrial Revolution. The percentageof people living in urban areas in the United States, for exam-ple, increased from 5 percent in 1800 to 50 percent in 1920.Today, approximately three-fourths of the people in theUnited States and other MDCs live in urban areas.

In recent years, urbanization has diffused to LDCs, especiallyin Asia. The number of Asians living in urban areas increasedfrom 1⁄2 billion in 1982 to 13⁄4 billion in 2007, and the number in

rural areas declined from 13⁄4 billion to 11⁄4billion. The percentage of Asians living inurban areas increased during that quarter-century from 23 percent to 42 percent.Worldwide, more than 20 million peopleare estimated to migrate each year fromrural to urban areas.

Like interregional migrants, most peo-ple who move from rural to urban areasseek economic advancement. They arepushed from rural areas by decliningopportunities in agriculture and arepulled to the cities by the prospect ofwork in factories or in service industries.

Migration from Urban to Suburban AreasMost intraregional migration in MDCsis from cities out to surrounding sub-urbs. The population of most cities inMDCs declined during the second halfof the twentieth century, and suburbsgrew rapidly. Into the twenty-first cen-tury, nearly twice as many Americansmigrate from central cities to suburbseach year than migrate from suburbs tocentral cities (Figure 3-21). Compara-ble patterns are found in Canada, theUnited Kingdom, and other WesternEuropean countries.

The major reason for the large-scalemigration to the suburbs is not related to employment, as is thecase with other forms of migration. For most people, migrationto suburbs does not coincide with changing jobs. Instead, peo-ple are pulled by a suburban lifestyle. Suburbs offer the oppor-tunity to live in a detached house rather than an apartment,surrounded by a private yard where children can play safely. Agarage or driveway on the property guarantees space to parkautomobiles at no charge. Suburban schools tend to be moremodern, better equipped, and safer than those in cities. Auto-mobiles and trains enable people to live in suburbs yet haveaccess to jobs, shops, and recreational facilities throughout theurban area (see Chapter 13).

As a result of suburbanization, the territory occupied byurban areas has rapidly expanded. To accommodate suburbangrowth, farms on the periphery of urban areas are converted tohousing developments, where new roads, sewers, and otherservices must be built.

Migration from Urban to Rural AreasMDCs witnessed a new migration trend during the latetwentieth century. For the first time, more people immi-grated into rural areas than emigrated out of them. Netmigration from urban to rural areas is calledcounterurbanization. Counterurbanization results in part

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FIGURE 3-20 Migration in Europe. Migrants originate primarily in Eastern Europe and North Africa towork in the wealthier MDCs of Western Europe. Guest workers follow distinctive migration routes. Theselected country may be a former colonial ruler, have a similar language, or have an agreement with theexporting country.

100 The Cultural Landscape

from very rapid expansion of suburbs. Theboundary where suburbs end and the country-side begins cannot be precisely defined.

Most counterurbanization represents genuinemigration from cities and suburbs to smalltowns and rural communities. Like suburbaniza-tion, people move from urban to rural areas forlifestyle reasons. Some are lured to rural areas bythe prospect of swapping the frantic pace ofurban life for the opportunity to live on a farmwhere they can own horses or grow vegetables.Others move to farms but do not earn their liv-ing from agriculture; instead, they work innearby factories, small-town shops, or otherservices. In the United States, evidence of coun-terurbanization can be seen primarily in theRocky Mountain states. Rural counties in statessuch as Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, andWyoming have experienced net in-migration(Figure 3-22).

With modern communications and trans-portation systems, no location in an MDC istruly isolated, either economically or socially.Computers enable us to work anywhere and stillhave access to an international network. We canobtain money at any time from a convenientlylocated electronic transfer machine rather thanby going to a bank building. We can select cloth-ing from a mail-order catalog, place the order bytelephone, pay by credit card, and have thedesired items delivered within a few days. We

can follow the fortunes of ourfavorite baseball teams on televi-sion anywhere in the country,thanks to satellite dishes and com-puter webcasts.

Roughly the same number ofpeople now migrate from urbanto rural areas as from rural tourban areas. Net in-migration intoRocky Mountain states has beenoffset by out-migration from theGreat Plains states, where theeconomy has been hurt by pooragricultural conditions. Futuremigration trends in MDCs areunpredictable, because futureeconomic conditions are difficultto forecast. Have these countriesreached long-term equilibrium,in which approximately three-fourths of the people live in urbanareas and one-fourth in ruralareas? Will counterurbanizationresume in the future because peo-ple prefer to live in rural areas? Isthe decline of the rural economyreversible?

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FIGURE 3-21 U.S. intraregional migration. Figures show migration (in millions) in 2007.Excluded are 8.5 million who moved elsewhere in the same city, 8.7 million who moved within thesame suburbs, and 3.1 million who moved elsewhere in the same nonmetropolitan county.

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FIGURE 3-22 U.S. net migration by county, 2007. Rural counties experi-enced net in-migration in Rocky Mountain states and net out-migration in GreatPlains states.