Population Geography

Push factors of immigration

• Push factors are factors which force people to move.
• Overproduction
• religious persecution
• lack of job opportunities
• agricultural decline
• conflict

• Political persecution
• Natural hazards--droughts, floods, famines, volcanic eruptions
• Limits on personal freedom
• environmental degradation (decline)

Pull factors of immigration

• Pull factors attract people to an area
• Religion
• Economic opportunity
• Land availability
• Political freedom

• Ethnic and family ties
• Arable land

What is the impact of migration on regions?

• Language--multiple languages
• Religion and religious freedom
• Customs/traditions--exchanged
• Cultural landscape--diffusion
• Diffusion--is the spreading of ideas and traits

What is some evidence of cultural interaction?

• The spreading (diffusion) of US culture to other regions of the world
• popularization of other cultures’ traditions in the US

Spatial Divisions as Forces of Conflict and Cooperation

• Spatial divisions are regions of the Earth’s surface over which groups of people establish social, economic and political control. Spatial divisions may generate conflict and/or cooperation.

Examples of Spatial Divisions

• Neighborhoods

• School districts

• Cities and Counties

• Election Districts

• Regional Districts

• States

Reasons for Spatial Divisions

• Why are spatial divisions necessary at the local and regional levels?
• 1) Desire for government to be closer to home;
• 2) need to solve local problems and
• 3) need to administer resources more efficiently