HUMAN

MIGRATION
Migration is a type of mobility that involves the
movement of a residence particularly when that
movement involves longer distances, time spent
in the new location, and political boundaries
crossed. Movement with the intent to stay is an
important consideration in migration, but may
not be the defining variable.
 General Rule

People migrate in
response to
some form of
stress.
 Types of Stress
with common examples

 Economic – “I can’t afford to live here

anymore.”
 Political – “My neighbors are too

conservative.”
 Cultural – “The neighborhood has
changed.”
 Environmental – “It stinks out here.”
Push and Pull Factors

Push and pull factors

are factors that
make you want to
leave one location
and go to another.
 Push Factors

Push factors are characteristics of your

current location that make you want to
leave it. They are negative factors.
 Pull Factors
Pull factors are characteristics of your
destination that make you want to go
there. They are positive factors.
 Types of Migration
 “Primitive”
 Forced or Involuntary
 Impelled or “Voluntary under duress”
 Free Migration
 Illegal Migration
 Return Migration
 Failed Migration
 “Primitive” Migration
Usually associated with pre-industrial
peoples moving in response to ecological
necessity. The decision to move is made
at the group, rather than the individual,
level.
Forced or Involuntary Migration
Occurs when people
are forced to move
out of an area. It is
most often
associated with
extreme political
circumstances
including ethnic
cleansing and
slavery.
Impelled Migration
Also called “Voluntary,
but under duress,”
this occurs when the
individual makes the
decision to move but
is offered little or no
tangible choice.
Examples include
fleeing oppressive
political regimes, war
zones, and natural
disasters.
 Free Migration

This type of migration occurs when people

(an individual or a group) make the
decision to move based on utility.
 Illegal Migration
This type of migration occurs when people,
either as an individual or a group, cross a
political border without official approval.
 Return Migration

This occurs when

people move back
to their original
location.
Failed Migration
This type of
migration occurs
when people move
back to their
original location
because they were
not successful in
the new location.
Other types of Migrants
 Refugees
 Evacuees
 Internally Displaced
Persons
 Refugees
Refugees are people seeking refuge. Refugees are
impelled to move and frequently want to return
to their original location after the reason they left
is no longer present. Asylum seekers typically
seek “political refugee” status.
 Evacuees
These are people who
move in response to
some form of
immediate disaster or
threat. They intend to
return to their original
location as soon as
the threat has passed.
Evacuees may be
“impelled” to move by
a government or other
organized authority.
 Internally Displaced Persons
These are people who leave their homes but remain
within their own country. They may be forced
from their homes due to a disaster or natural
hazard. They may be refugees or evacuees, but
they do not cross international borders. They
intend to return to their homes.