WG.6: Migration: Push & Pull Factors
Overpopulation
Push Factor: too many people, not enough housing
Lack of job opportunities
Push Factor: there are no jobs to be had
Land Availability
Pull Factor: Enough housing to meet the demands of the population.
Arable Land
Pull Factor: Fertile soil in which crops can be raised. Land good for farming.
Economic Opportunity
Pull Factor: Freedom to own one's own business, or find employment (usually found in democratic countries)
Refugee
Someone fleeing their homeland to avoid conflict or persecution.
Emigration
To EXIT or leave a country Push factors influence this
Immigrant
To come INTO a country Pull factors influence this
Push Factors
Conditions (bad) that make someone want to leave their home country. 1. Overpopulation 2. Religious Persecution 3. Lack of Job Opportunities 4. Agricultural decline 5. Conflict/War 6. Political Persecution 7. Natural Hazards 8. Limits on personal freedom 9. Environmental degradation
Pull Factors
Conditions (good) that make someone want to come to a country. 1. Religious Freedom 2. Economic Opportunity 3. Land Availability 4. Political Freedom 5. Ethnic and Family ties 6. Arable land
Diffusion of U.S. Culture to other regions
Evidence of cultural interaction: American ways of life spread to other parts of the world. Examples: 1. McDonald's in The Middle East 2. Basketball in China
Popularization of other cultural traditions in the U.S.
Evidence of cultural interaction: When immigrants make their home in the United States they introduce us to ways of life from their home country Examples: 1. Chinese New Year celebrations in ethnic neighborhoods 2. Mardi Gras (French Holiday) in New Orleans, Louisiana
Religious Freedom
Pull Factor: Freedom to practice (or not practice) any religion.
Ethnic and Family Ties
Pull Factor: The desire to live near people like you. Might move to a place where your relatives already are.
Political Freedom
Pull Factor: The right to vote for (elect) political leaders. (usually found in democratic countries)
Environmental Degredation
Push Factor: The destruction of nature usually by human interaction. 1. Deforestation = cutting down of trees 2. Air and water pollution = harmful toxins released by factories and cars, or by our garbage
Religious Persecution
Push Factor: being punished or singled out for your religious beliefs
Conflict
Push Factor: fighting between ethnic groups 1. The Hutus and Tutsis in Buruni and Rwanda 2. The Greeks and Turks in Cyprus
Political Persecution
Push Factor: lack of freedom, being punished for your political beliefs
Agricultural Decline
Push Factor: loss of soil fertility, no arable land
Natural Hazards
Push Factors: 1. Droughts = no rain 2. Famine = no food 3. Floods = water covers the land 4. Volcanic eruptions = lava creates new land 5. Earthquakes = shifting plate tectonics
