Beyond the description of spatial pattern: the process of proletarianization as a factor in population migration in West Africa

This study is concerned with the factors affecting migration in Western Africa. The author suggests that the underlying factors influencing current migration patterns can be traced back to the experience of the region during the colonial era. The penetration of peripheral capitalism and the imposition of colonial administration are identified as the primary forces that led to the manipulation of migration by colonial authorities trying to induce or coerce people to move to areas where they could be useful to the peripheral capitalist system. The author suggests that this framework dominated migration patterns and overrode individual migration preferences.     

具有耕读文明的窑居村落--山西省汾西县师家沟清代民居

师家沟村位于山西省汾西县城东南5公里处,它三面环山,南临河水,避风向阳,是一块天然的“风水宝地”。这里拥有一处山西丘陵沟壑地区具有代表性的山地村落建筑群——山西省重点文物保护单位师家沟民居。它依山就势而建,错落有致,鳞次栉比,呈阶梯状分布。 民居创建于清乾隆三十四年(1769),历经嘉庆、道光、咸丰诸朝,并于同治年间进行了扩建,占地面积约10余公顷。创建人师法泽,相传意外发财起家,     

The concentration of population in Finland between 1880 and 1980

Trends in the spatial distribution of the population of Finland from 1880 to 1980 are examined using official data from population registers and censuses. "Cumulative maps and graphs and concentration indices were applied as methodological tools, and the administrative communes were taken as the areal units for a chorological matrix." The results show an increasing concentration of the population beginning in the latter half of the nineteenth century, although urbanization levels remain low in comparison with most industrialized European countries. Differences in population distribution by occupation are also considered.     

Poor people on the move: county-to-county migration and the spatial concentration of poverty

Poverty rates in high-poverty and low-poverty rural counties, and, thus, the spatial concentration of poverty, are affected by poverty-specific differences in in-migration and out-migration patterns. These patterns are investigated using 1985–90 county-to-county migration data from the decennial census. Effects on poverty rates of four migration flows (in- and out-migration of poor, in- and out-migration of nonpoor) are quantified, and their impacts on spatial concentration of poverty are assessed. The effect of selected county characteristics on the migration of the poor and nonpoor in nonmetro counties are estimated. The poor are as mobile as the nonpoor, and the migration patterns of both poor and nonpoor generally maintain and reinforce the pre-existing spatial concentration of poverty.     

The specifics and spatial structure of circular migration in Russia

Abstract

This article aims at distinguishing recurrent population movements within the territory of the Russian Federation between urban localities of different sizes and rural areas in connection to the processes of urbanization, suburbanization, and de-urbanization. Incomplete urbanization and the strong polarization of socio-economic space in Russia have resulted in two powerful contradictory population flows: centrifugal seasonal sub- and de-urbanization and centripetal labor migration from rural and small towns to large urban centers. The article discusses three forms of recurrent population mobility in Russia: (1) daily commuting of urban and rural inhabitants within metropolitan areas; (2) commuting to large cities and their suburbs for long-term employment intervals (weekly, monthly, etc.), (3) second-home commuting to countryside dachas. Unfinished urbanization in Russia not only attracts rural and small towns’ population to major cities but also keeps it within the latter. It slows down the real de-urbanization and induces specific dachas (second-home) suburbanization/de-urbanization, with these processes being closely interrelated. An opportunity to earn money in cities together with the impossibility of moving to major centers due to expensive housing encourages households to remain in small towns and rural areas. Meanwhile, inhabited rural localities (even ones distant from cities) attract seasonal population (dachniks).     

Incorporating the effects of spatial structure in discrete choice models of migration

Discrete-choice theory and logit models are evaluated for their usefulness in analyzing migration patterns in a zonal system. The authors "argue that spatial effects and more specifically the relative location of zones are not taken into account in such analyses. We, therefore, introduce a measure of spatial structure and advocate its usage as a predictor of migration in such models. In an example of intrametropolitan migration in Toronto [Canada], we demonstrate that this variable is not only significant but also it improves the performance of all the other variables with the greatest impact on the distance between zones. In addition, inclusion of this variable improves the overall performance of the model in terms of residuals."     

Internal migration in the countries of Asia: levels,ages and spatial impacts

ABSTRACT

Internal migration, the movement of people between localities and regions within a country, has resulted in a significant redistribution of national populations. Past cross-national studies have been impeded by a lack of data and comparable metrics upon which to base comparisons. This paper examines internal migration in 30 Asian countries utilising a global dataset and a novel suite of measures devised in the IMAGE project. Three aspects of internal migration are explored: overall intensity, age patterns, and spatial impacts. Comparisons reveal that internal migration intensities, while on average lower than in other regions, are highly variable across countries. Migration peaks at earlier ages and is concentrated into a narrower age band than in other parts of the world. Analysis of spatial impacts highlights the contribution of migration to urbanisation, but a comparison of current trends against lifetime migration data also reveals the impact of historical events and government policies on national migration systems. Wide variation in key dimensions of migration among Asian countries reflects a diversity in national circumstances. The way forward lies in further in-depth country studies building on the common analytic framework articulated in this study.     

A note on specification of climate variables in models of population migration

"In the literature on population migration, increasing attention has been devoted to quality-of-life factors. Measures of temperature (as proxies for climate) have frequently been employed in empirical work regarding the determinants of population migration decisions. A wide range of such specifications have been used, most of which imply restrictions on the preferences of migrants. In this paper, a variety of temperature variable specifications are analyzed and interpreted. Statistical tests for nested and nonnested hypotheses are used to compare and choose among the various specifications." The model is used to analyze interstate migration in the 48 contiguous states of the United States for the period 1975-1980.     

Oxygen isotopic evidence of residence and migration in a Greek colonial population on the Black Sea

Oxygen isotope analysis was performed on the enamel of the first and third permanent molars of 60 individuals excavated from the Kalfata-Budjaka necropolis associated with the ancient Greek colony of Apollonia Pontica (5th–3rd centuries BC) on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. The objective of this study was to examine the geographic origins and residential histories of these individuals and to compare the isotopic data with archaeological evidence derived from the burials in an attempt to distinguish ‘locals’ from ‘non-locals’. The analysis revealed that 55 of the 60 individuals sampled were either locally born or came from areas outside of Apollonia with isotopically similar δ¹⁸O values. Five individuals were identified as ‘non-local’, and their isotope values suggest that they originated from areas with higher δ¹⁸O_w of precipitation, most likely the Aegean region. Unfortunately, the archaeological evidence associated with these five skeletons provides no clues as to their place of origin.     

Agent-based simulation of the spatial evolution of the historical population in China

This paper presents an agent-based simulation (ABS) and cellular automata (CA) coupled model to simulate the spatial evolution of the population of China over the past 2000 years. In the model, agents are used to simulate individuals who live in a geographic environment represented by the CA. The choice to migrate is influenced by climate change, potential agricultural productivity change, and waves of mass migrations. Using the simulation, we can observe the spatial evolution of the population, as well as the shift of the population center of gravity, and we can analyze the driving forces of these changing spatial patterns.     

Integration and ethnic spatial concentration: the changing distribution of the Anglo-Jewish community

"This paper identifies the changing locational patterns of the Jewish community in Britain during the past century. Two major trends are identified. At the national level there has been movement out of many small provincial communities to the large urban centres, particularly Greater London and Manchester. Within the city, there has been movement out of the traditional inner city ghettos to the suburbs, thus reflecting the upward socio-economic mobility and integration of what was an immigrant group. Both these trends closely mirror the general patterns of population movement in Britain during the twentieth century." The lack of reliable data for the Jewish population is noted, and a methodology is suggested for identifying the changing locational patterns and intensity of Jewish community life. The method is applied to the case of Greater London.     

Effects of site lithology on geochemical signatures of human occupation in archaeological house plans in the Netherlands

This study presents the application of multi-element soil analyses (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy of 1 M HCl extracts) to grid samples from 3 archaeological house plans embedded in sandy clays, clays and sands to assess effects of site lithology on geochemical signatures of human occupation.     

The distribution of osteoarthritis of the hands in a skeletal population

The distribution of osteoarthritis of the hands was studied in 101 skeletons from archaeological sites in England. The results are similar to those found in epidemiological studies of modern populations. Osteoarthritis of the hands was more common in females than in males, and in females tended to involve a greater number of joints. The distal and proximal interphalangeal joints were commonly affected, the former more frequently than the latter, but otherwise the disease was largely confined to the first ray of the hand, centred on the trapezium. It is concluded that the pattern of osteoarthritis in the hand has probably not changed greatly over several hundred years.     

Indexing the great ledger of the community: urban house numbering, city directories, and the production of spatial legibility

Despite the recent focus on the spatial politics of calculation, few studies have explored the historical geography of house numbering, a spatial practice that has arguably been one of the principal strategies for rationalizing the geographic spaces of everyday life over the course of the last two centuries. This paper provides the beginnings of a critical spatial history of street and house numbering in the gridded cities of the United States since the eighteenth century. City directory publishers were among the leading proponents of numbering houses at a time when many local governments had yet to firmly commit to systematic house numbering as an essential responsibility of the local state. I therefore examine the connection between the publishing of city directories and the development of urban house numbering systems, both of which were integral to the production of spatial legibility and the individualization of the urban population. The notion of viewing the city as a ‘text’ is historicized through a critical analysis of the modernist comparison of urban space to a recordkeeping book. The paper concludes by tracing the institutionalization of house numbering as a practice of spatial governmentality.     

Detecting hidden violence: The spatial distribution of excess mortality in Rwanda

Existing sub-national studies on the geography of armed conflict mainly focus on observed battle events. Other dimensions of the conflict cycle, including battle events that remain undetected in news reports, one-sided violence against civilians and the indirect death toll, have gone largely unstudied due to lack of systematic data. This article demonstrates how these different dimensions of a conflict cycle can be detected and how their relative importance can be assessed. The basic tools include population census data, principal component analysis and spatial analysis. When applied to the Rwandan case, the method reveals high excess mortality from the civil war, genocide, (counter)insurgency and the refugee crisis. Hidden violence is detected by presenting the first quantitative evidence to date of high excess mortality in Gisenyi, the northwestern province which was the location of (counter)insurgency and served as a corridor for more than a million refugees. The spatial regression analysis indicates that both the refugee crisis and (counter)insurgency contributed to a high death toll in Gisenyi. This latter finding is important because it provides empirical weight in support of contentious qualitative reports by various human rights groups.