Internal Migration - A case Study - New Zealand *AS*

Internal Migration in New Zealand

·       Between 1986-1991 50% of the population moved home.

·       The average NZ household moves house at least every 5 years

·       65% of the people that moved between 1986-1991 moved locally in the same city or region, 21% had moved between regions and 10% moved back to NZ from overseas (presumably the other 4% moved overseas).

North to south movement:

·       Until 1900 the North Island’s population had been less than the south island’s (since the establishment of the colony in 1840). This was due to the gold rush in the parts of the south island and the absence of Maoris (which attracted farmers).

·       Though by 1996 76% of the population lived the north island.

Rural-Urban movement:

·       Between 1900-1950 the rural-urban drift accounted for a significant amount of the overall population movements. This was due to: increased industrialization of Urban areas, farms becoming less labour intensive, children in rural areas leaving for education in urban centres and not returning home, and a decline in the primary industry.

·       In 1996 70% of the population lived in towns or cities in New Zealand.

Intra-urban and interurban movement:

·       Most New Zealanders today are between or within urban areas

·       In Auckland in 1991 most people only moved 1KM (25000 people) and slightly decreases with distance though 15000 people moved 16-20KM in the Auckland region.

Regional Migration:

·       The main reason for inter-regional migration is for economic and job opportunities

·       Most migrants concentrate in large cities, as there are more employment opportunities.

·       Young adults move towards university towns in Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington and Dunedin.

·       Most elderly dwellers tend to move away to more rural areas offering sun, scenery, relaxation and cheaper living.

·       Unemployed people move to cheaper living areas

·       2/3 of all new Zealanders move within regions. 

Case study - Population management - *AS & IGCSE*

Population Management: China One child policy

Problem: Birth rate too high (44 per 1000 in 1950) & (31 per 1000 in 2008)

In 1950 the People’s Republic of China was formed. Their philosophy was that a large population was a strong nation. During the late 50’s this time in China was called ‘The Great Leap Forward’ where industrial production had to be increased, which meant hardly any effort was put into farming. This caused a famine in which 20 million people died (which caused birth rates to fall and death rates to rise causing a population decrease).  During the 1960’s the Cultural Revolution took place, which encouraged more people to have children. The growth was so rapid that it caused concern that the government felt something must be done to slow down growth.

Today in China there is a population of 1.33 billion (20% of the world’s population) and is growing bigger by the day. The policy was put in place in 1979 when the Chinese government felt the birth rate was way too high for the resources available and that the country was becoming overpopulated. Over 95% of the population live on only 40% of China (Predominately the south eastern side).

Initial rules: 

-        One child per couple

-        Couples had to apply for licenses to get married and to have a child

-        Women could get married at 20

-        Men could get married at 22

-        People working for state firms would be made redundant if they had a second child

-        Heavy fines may occur from having additional children

-        Forced sterilisation of ‘repeat offenders’

-        Forced abortions

Those who conformed:

-        Got priority housing

-        Free education

-        Family benefits

Early exceptions

-        If a couple’s child died or had a disability the couple could have another one

-        Couples who were member of one of the 56 minorities (8% of the total population) could have two children or in very remote areas some families were allowed four children. This is seen a measure to increase minority numbers to avoid racial conflict between the Han.

-        Rural farmers could have a second if the first was a girl

-        Some enforcers would give out fines for additional children (bribes)

2008 exceptions

-        All rural families could have two children

-        If two on-child children marry they can apply to have two

-        Family planning is voluntary and a wider choice of contraceptives

The policy is estimated to have prevented 230 million children

Now only 1 in 5 people in the world live in China, compared with an estimated 2 in 5 if the policy was not in place

Issues:

-        Now there is a shortage of Chinese females due to couples wanting males as their only child. Over 51.46% of the population is male and 48.54% are female.  The female shortage is usually caused by female infanticide. The abortions of females are now illegal to increase the number of females.

-        Too few babies are being born to care for the ageing population

-        The birth rate has decreased 2% in the past 20 years and has gone below replacement level.

-        There are now to few females. Only 48.54% of the population are females, causing a lot of men to be ‘eternally single’.

-        It is estimated there are only 100 newborn girls born to every 118 newborn boys born in China

-        There may be a labour shortage in the future which may threaten China’s rapid industrialisation 

World cities *AS*

World Cities

The concept of World Cities came about in 1915 and was defined as places in which a disproportionate amount of the world’s business is conducted. By the 1980’s World Cities were financial/commercial centres rather than industrial centres. The Large World cities include: London, New York and Tokyo.  Complex high-tech links between these major centres enable them to dominate business of a worldwide scale.

Economic characteristics

Ø  Corporate Headquarters for multinational corporations, international financial institutions, conglomerate and stock exchanges that have influence over the world economy.

Ø  Significant financial capacity/output

Ø  Market capitalisation

Ø  Major banks

Ø  Cost of living

Ø  Personal wealth e.g. number of billionaires

Political characteristics

Ø  Active influence on and participation in international events and world affairs

Ø  Hosting headquarters for international organizations such as World Banks, UN and NATO. 

Ø  A large population (usually over 7 million)

Ø  Diverse demographic constituencies based on various indicators: population, habitat, mobility, and urbanisation.

Ø  Quality of life standards

Cultural characteristics

Ø  International familiarity

Ø  Renowned cultural institutions (often with high endowments) such as notable museums, galleries, orchestras and theatres.  A lively cultural scene, parades and street performances feature in the city.

Ø  Several influential media outlets with an international reach

Ø  A strong sporting community, including major sports facilities, home teams in major league sports, and the ability and historical experience to host international sporting events such as the Olympics.

Ø  Renowned universities, international student attendance, research facilities

Ø  Sites of pilgrimage

Ø  Cities containing World Heritage Sites of historical and cultural significance

Ø  Tourism throughout

Ø  City as site or subject in arts and media, television, film, video games, music, literature, magazines, articles, documentary

Ø  City as an often repeated historic references

Infrastructural characteristics

Ø  An advanced transportation system that includes several highways and a large mass transit network offering multiple modes of transit. 

Ø  Major sea port and established rail networks

Ø  A major international airports that are hubs for major airlines and Cargo planes

Ø  An advanced communications infrastructure on which modern corporations rely on, such as fiberoptics, Wi-Fi, Cell phone services, and other high-speed lines of communications.

Ø  Health facilities; e.g., hospitals, medical laboratories

Ø  Prominent skylines/skyscrapers

Ø  Cities' telephone and mail services, airport flights-range, traffic congestion, availability of water, train facilities, nearby parks, hospitals, libraries, police stations, etc.

A World City: New York

·      Divided to five Boroughs: Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

·      Current population of 8.2 million

·      37% are born overseas in NYC

·      Population expected to increase to 17.5 million in 2015

·      1700 schools

·      NYC has an estimated $1.28 trillion Gross Metropolitan Product

·      Only 55% of households own a car

·      Holds many attractions such as Central Park, the Empire State Building, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty and the American Museum of Natural History.

·      Average household income is $75,809 per year in NYC, however 18.5% live in ‘poverty’. 

Urban renewal - Case study

Urban Renewal: 2012 London Olympics

·      East London has already begun to improve under the London Docklands DC. These schemes have improved housing, transport, parks and employment rates in the area. The new Canary wharf development is one of the most prestigious office developments in London, but is only a short walk from Canning Town (a part of London that was found to be the poorest in the city by the 2001 Census).

·      A major reason why London was granted the 2012 Olympic games was its plan to use the event to regenerate Canning Town and Stratford. London’s bid was made so that the long-term benefits of the event would out way the total costs and that children would benefit as adults from this development.

·      The site chosen by the River Lea was originally industrial estates, university halls of residence, industrial wasteland and low cost housing estates. However being near Stratford is advantageous by being near the transport hub – nine surface & underground rail links and an international train station on the Channel Tunnel rail link that was opened in 2009 (Only 2 hours from Brussels and Paris). By creating the Olympic site many industrial sites and residents will have to be relocated – this means cleaning up the environment.

·      After the Olympics the village (where 17,00 athletes & officials will have stayed) will be remodelled to accommodate 35,000 families and a further 9000 homes will be constructed. Also a new healthcare centre will be built and an academy school. Some of the sports stadiums will be dismantled and moved to an urban park. Though it may end up like Sydney and Athens where many properties are still unsold. 

Re: This Blog!

Remember this blog is just for some notes to remind you on some basic concepts. The real revision may be this or something else or even you may make your own notes! Whatever it is this blog is just a guide line for some key concepts for the courses. :)

Websites for further information

- http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/

- http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/geography

The Population - Resource relationship *AS*

Links between population growth and economic development in a country

A growing population can either be good or bad for an economy. It can be negative for the economic development of a country, because it will mean a pressure on services & resources and a large youthful population will become an economic burden. It can also be beneficial to a country, as it will mean a larger consumer market and more taxes for the government to spend on services.

Changes in demographic indices over time

Indices: Birth Rate, Death Rate, Infant Mortality Rate, Fertility Rates, Dependency Ratios, Doctors per 1000, Life expectancy, Hospital beds per 1000, Obesity rates, spending per person and GDP.

USA Indices: Obesity rate (30.6%), Hospital beds per 1000 (3.3 per 1000), Drug access (95%), Plastic surgery procedures (90992) and spending per person on health ($4271).

Population and the resource relationship

·      This relates to the carrying capacity of a country

·      The roles of constraints: War and climatic hazards

·      It’s in relation to sustaining population change

Malthusian theory to population change

Thomas Malthus published the Malthusian theory of population growth in 1798. It predicted that population growth would be are doom in comparison to the number of resources available. He said that population would grow until it reached the limit of food supply after which there would be poverty and widespread famine. He believed that population increase by multiplication, whereas food production increased arithmetically. He believed ‘checks’ helped us to understand the population-resource relationship.

Positive checks (would balance out this population growth (increased death rate)): Inadequate food, famine, disease and war.

Negative Checks (Prevented the birth rate from increasing): delayed marriages, abstaining from sex and a reduced fertility rate.

There is much evidence to support his theory including: The Rwanda genocide if 1994 which claims a high population density and lack of arable land led to the massacres, The collapse of society of Easter Island which was due to the overuse of resources which created tribal wars, the creation of government constraints to prevent overuse of resources, natural hazards such as flooding in Thailand in 2011 and Famine on the Horn of Africa.

Though Malthus did not account for: New technology such as the Green Revolution, the opening up of new land such as Australia and NZ (which were not properly explored by European societies), Irrigation techniques and the reduction of population growth in MEDC’s.