Intraregional Migration

Intraregional migration is much more common than interregional or international migration. Most intraregional migration is from rural to urban areas in developing countries and from cities to suburbs in developed countries.

From Rural to Urban Areas

Migration from rural (or nonmetropolitan) areas to urban (or metropolitan) areas began in the 1800s in Europe and North America as part of the Industrial Revolution (see Chapter 11). The percentage of people living in urban areas in the United States, for example, increased from 5 percent in 1800 to 50 percent in 1920 and 82 percent in 2018.

In recent years, urbanization has diffused to developing countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa (see Chapter 12). Between 1950 and 2018, the percentage living in urban areas increased from 40 percent to 78 percent in Latin America, 10 percent to 40 percent in sub-Saharan Africa, and from 15 percent to 49 percent in Asia. As with interregional migrants, most people who move from rural to urban areas seek economic advancement. They are pushed from rural areas by declining opportunities in agriculture, such as having to pay higher rents for farmland, and are pulled to the cities by the prospect of work in factories or in service industries

Rural To Urban Migration: Timor-Leste

From Urban to Suburban Areas

Most intraregional migration in developed countries is from cities to surrounding suburbs. The population of most cities in developed countries has declined since the mid-twentieth century while suburbs have grown rapidly. Nearly twice as many Americans migrate from cities to suburbs each year as migrate from suburbs to cities (Figure 3-26). Comparable patterns are found in Canada and Europe.

Urban To Suburban Migration: United States

Intraregional migration is primarily from cities to suburbs. Figures are total U.S. intraregional migrants between 2016 and 2017

The major reason for the large-scale migration to the suburbs is not related to employment, as is the case with other forms of migration. For most people, migration to suburbs does not coincide with changing jobs. Instead, people are attracted by a suburban lifestyle.

Suburbs offer the opportunity to live in a detached house rather than an apartment, surrounded by a private yard where children can play safely. A garage or driveway on the property guarantees space to park cars at no extra charge. In the United States, suburban schools tend to be more modern, better equipped, and less crowded than those in cities. Cars and trains enable people to live in suburbs yet have access to jobs, shops, and recreational facilities throughout the urban area (see Chapter 13).

As a result of suburbanization, the territory occupied by urban areas has rapidly expanded. To accommodate suburban growth, farms on the periphery of urban areas are converted to housing and commercial developments, where new roads, sewers, and other services must be built.

From Urban to Rural Areas

Developed countries witnessed a new migration trend beginning in the late twentieth century. For the first time, more people immigrated into rural areas than emigrated out of them in some years. Net migration from urban to rural areas is called counterurbanization.

The boundary where suburbs end and the countryside begins cannot be precisely defined. Counterurbanization results in part from very rapid expansion of suburbs. But some counterurbanization represents genuine migration from cities and suburbs to small towns and rural communities.

Population Change By County, 2016–2017

Most counties that had population growth between 2016 and 2017 are in the West, including many rural counties.

As with suburbanization, people move from urban to rural areas for lifestyle reasons. Some are lured to rural areas by the prospect of swapping the frantic pace of urban life for the opportunity to live on a farm, where they can own horses or grow vegetables. Others move to farms but do not earn their living from agriculture; instead, they work in nearby offices, small town shops, or other services. In the United States, evidence of counterurbanization can be seen primarily in the Rocky Mountain states. Some rural counties in states such as Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming have experienced net in-migration

Counterurbanization: Idaho

With modern communications and transportation systems, no location in a developed country is truly isolated, either economically or socially. Computers, tablets, and smart phones enable us to work anywhere and still have access to an international network. We can buy most products online and have them delivered within a few days. We can follow the fortunes of our favorite teams anywhere in the country, thanks to cable, satellite dishes, and webcasts.

Intraregional migration in the United States has slowed considerably since the 1980s. Most intraregional migration in the United States continues to be between cities and suburbs. Since 2010, the number of Americans moving from cities to suburbs has decreased, whereas the number moving from suburbs to cities has increased. Counterurbanization is not a phenomenon every year. Cities have become more attractive, especially to younger people (see Chapter 13).

Pause & Reflect 3.2.3

Why might rural to urban migration be most intense in countries in stage 2 of the demographic transition?