Geography Unit 1 Migration

Geography Unit 1 Migration

1. Changes in British population since 1901

   • Family size
     • Population rise from 37m in 1901 to 61 million in 2007. In 2011 it reached 63.2 million. Even though household size has fallen (small families, gay couples, pensioners and divorcees) life expectancy has risen. This increases extended households.
   • Population structure
     • UK now has a top heavy population structure. In 1931, just 7% were aged over 65 and 24% under 16. However nowadays it has changed to 16% and 19% respectively. Life expectancy has also risen to 77 (men) and 82 (women) in 2007.
   • Migration
     • The UK is more mobile now. People now migrate towards settlements with service jobs, generally, towards the south – east. 26% of the UK now live in London. Counter – urbanisation now exists as well as age selective migrations.
   • Employment
     • Industrial decline and manufacturing decline have changed where people live and what jobs they are employed in. There's been a move towards ‘white collar’ service work.
   • Social status and aspirations
     • Social mobility has increased meaning that more people are moving around, and out of poverty into the middle classes. More people going into further education and into non – manual work.
   • Ethnicity
     • Around 8% of the UK are made up of minority groups. From 1950s a large scale migration from the UK’s former colonies and then the expansion of the EU in early 2000 both changed the ethnic make up of the UK. Segregation exists in some districts.

2. Ageing population

   • 60% work and pay tax
   • 21% retired
   • Cons
     • Economic costs – providing health care, retirement homes and a pension(to those over 65) is going to become increasingly expensive (Baby boomers will cost £30 billion a year by 2026)
     • Housing costs are paid by the government for those who have no savings
     • Government gives free TV license to those over 75 and 200 pounds of free winter fuel too
     • Train and bus passes may be issued free - expensive
     • Housing shortages due to longer life expectancy eg at the coast in Bournemouth
     • House prices have trebled from 1995-2005 in some UK seaside towns so young people who are first time buyers get pushed out of the market
     • Emotional burden on younger and middle aged people to take care of older relatives
     • More degenerative illnesses to deal with eg Alzheimers
   • Pros
     • Voluntary charitable work eg retired people often run second hand shops in UK
     • Spending money on goods and services eg golf and cruises – grey consumers
       • Grey Pound - retirement money
     • Bringing wisdom and experience to some sectors – eg many people work as consultants into their 70s or 80s
     • Elderly homeowners can borrow money from the banks and the bank then reclaims this money on their death from the money from the sale of the house – called equity release
     • Many own stocks and shares so make new profits and pay taxes on these
   • Dependency looking worse in the future with 56% of the population in 2030 working paying 26% of people who will have retired
   • There is a big difference between retired people – people in their 60s are very different and active compared to those in their 80s

3. Migration into the UK

   • Who?
     • 1948 Black Caribbean – (566,000) SS Windrush brought Jamaicans to London to help rebuild post war and many work on the Underground/Tube
     • 1960s Pakistani (750,000) and Indian (1million)- initially men migrated alone to escape poverty. Now large concentration in E and W Midlands, Yorkshire and NW where there were jobs at the time.
     • Late 1960s/70s Bangladeshis –(280,000) men mainly and then followed by families in 1980s. Over 75% in London
     • Vietnamese boat people – (20,000) refugees fleeing Vietnam war mainly came in via Hong Kong
     • 1972 expulsion of Ugandan Asians by Idi Amin – 30,000 asylum seekers
     • Black Africans from former colonies 480,000
     • Ethnic Chinese from Singapore, Malaysia and mainland China – 47% in London and SE. Many set up businesses like takeaway shops etc Many recent arrivals are students.
     • 1990s Balkans as conflicts there – Croatians, Bosnians and Kosovans
     • Asylum seekers from Iraq, Somalia and Zimbabwe and Kurds
     • 2004 onwards A8 Accession countries(see separate case study below) as opening of EU borders

4. Poland to UK

   • Background
     • May 2004, 8 European States joined the EU
     • 62% of EU immigrants are Polish
     • By 2008, around 700,000 Poles working in the UK
     • Most located in Anglian Region
     • The UK’s A8 rural hotspots are: Boston, Peterborough, Fenland, Herefordshire and Dungannon.
     • In 2007 10% of the people living in some rural areas were immigrants.
     • Hotspot areas include:65000 in the east (vegetable picking), 59000 in London, 51000 in the Midlands and 32000 in Scotland. (fishing industry)
   • Push/Pull factors
     • Push
       • Low salaries in Poland (£200 per month)
       • High unemployment in Poland (20% - 25%)
       • Once an EU National has been living and working in Britain for 12 months, they are entitled to the same level of child support (£941 per year) as any other British citizen. The Polish annual child support benefit is only £160.
       • Polish government is still not truly democratic
       • Young dependants feel the country is being run by the older generation
     • Pull
       • Polish are allowed access to NHS and unemployment benefits.
       • Better standard of living in UK
       • More social opportunities in UK
       • Scottish government trying to persuade Polish to fill jobs in the labour market.
     • Survey shows economic reasons are most common for emigration in Poland.

5. England to Spain

   • Almost 1 Million British people live in Spain
     • 80,000 of them are retired
   • Climate is the key reason for migration
   • Health and slower pace of life was second most important
   • Push/Pull
     • Temperature usually around 10°C warmer than in the UK
     • Sunnier and Less rain
     • Advances in technology and the introduction of cheap airlines makes travelling to and from Spain cheap and easy
       • Easyjet
     • Slower pace of life
     • Low crime rates
     • Absence of ‘Youth Culture’ in popular migration destinations
     • Taxes in Spain are lower than in the UK
     • House prices in UK are high – can sell for a high value
     • House prices in Spain are low – can buy for a low value
     • In the past people have been scared to migrate as they don’t feel foreign health care is reliable

6. Megacity LA

   • General stuff
     • Second largest city in the USA
     • It forms part of the SanSan urban corridor, connecting San Francisco to San Diego.
     • It has a population of 3.8 million in 2007, with a population density of 3000 per km².
     • It is located near the Pacific coast in Southern California.
     • Los Angeles is both a Megacity, and a world city. It does not exist in isolation, but has global connections with many other cities
   • Why did it grow?
     • Arrival of railway in 1876 stimulated rapid growth, with half a million people arriving in 40 years.
     • Discovery of oil
     • Opening of a Ford car plant and other manufacturing industry
     • Development of the film industry in Hollywood in the 1920’s and 1930’s
     • By the late 1970’s it was the fastest growing city in the USA
   • Sub-Urban sprawl
     • Arrival of electric tramways in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and later motorways, meant people could live further away from work on their own land. The 1980’s saw urban growth spreading to mountains and deserts, 2 hours travelling time from LA.
     • Reasons include
       • Cheap fuel
       • High personal mobility
       • Accessibility
       • Better schools and services
       • Safer neighbourhoods
     • More issues
       • Congested motorways
       • Air pollution
       • Loss of farmland
   • Problems
     • Housing shortages
     • Work
     • Water
     • Transport
     • Waste
   • Lots of energy used