CREATING

WHAT ARE TODAYS

A FLOW MAP

SETTLEMENT
TRENDS?

A flow map shows the movement of people or goods using

arrows. The arrows begin at the source of the movement
and end at the destination. Sometimes the width of the
arrows shows the quantity of movement. By reading a
flow map, you can determine the distance, direction, and
quantity of the movement.
Flow maps are used to show patterns, such as which world
regions send oil to the United States. They are also used to
show spatial significance, such as which urban areas receive
more migrants. Figure 3.2 shows the flow of refugees out
of Syria during the Syrian Civil War. The map shows refugee
movements between January 2012 and November 2014.
Figure 3.3 lists numbers of immigrants to Canada from
different world regions in 2012. Use the data to make a
flow map.

When you think of trends, what do you think of ? Trends are patterns of
how something is changing. Are there any trends that you have observed?
In this chapter we will examine settlement trends, which are patterns
in how people are settling around the world.

INCREASED GLOBAL MIGRATION

Today, there is more migration of people from place to place than ever
before. In 2013, there were 232 million migrants worldwide. The number of
migrants is expected to grow to 405 million by 2050.
Migration is caused by pull factors and push factors. Pull factors are
attractions that draw people to new areas. People may move to reunite with
family members. They may move to look for better education or higherpaying jobs. Push factors are forces that drive people from their homes to
search for new places to live. Environmental migrants are one example of
people moving because of push factors. They are escaping drought or the
loss of natural resources near their homes. Other kinds of migrants may be
escaping poverty, religious persecution, conflict, or war.
In 2013, over one-quarter of the most educated people from several
countries in Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa had moved to a
different country, most often in a more developed nation. For example,
Guyanas migration rate is among the
highest in the world. More than 55 percent
of its populationand 85 percent of its
university-educated citizenshave left.
Many moved to find jobs with higher
salaries, a pull factor. But many also left
because they opposed government policies
at home, a push factor (Figure 3.1).

pull factor a social, political,

economic, or environmental
attraction that draws
migrants to an area

Region of Origin

Europe and the United Kingdom

35 830

push factor a social,

political, economic, or
environmental force that
drives migrants away
from an area

Central and South America

26 865

Africa and the Middle East

56 061

United States

TURKEY

Mediterranean Sea
SYRIA

LEBANON
IRAQ

JORDAN
EGYPT

9 414

Number of Refugees
more than 1 000 000
500 0001 000 000
200 000499 999
fewer than 200 000

140 km

FIGURE 3.2 Flow map showing the number of

Syrian war refugees in several countries using data
collected in November 2014

129 593

FIGURE 3.3 Number of immigrants to Canada in 2012 by region of origin

CREATING A FLOW MAP

Group the data into categories. For example, more
than 50 000, 25 001 to 50 000, 10 001 to 25 000,
and fewer than 10 000.

STEP 1
STEP 2

Create a legend for your categories on an outline

map of the world.

Draw arrows for the remaining four regions.

NEL

NEL

Choose a different arrow thickness to represent

each category. The wider the arrow, the greater the
quantity of immigrants it represents.

STEP 3

STEP 5

Draw the arrows. For example, the number of

immigrants from the United States is 6013. It is in
the fewer than 10 000 category. Draw an arrow
from a central area in the country of origin, the
United States, to a central area in the country of
destination, Canada. Match the thickness of the
arrow to the thickness for this category in your
legend. Add an arrowhead that points to Canada.

STEP 6

Add a title, a north arrow, a scale, and labels to

your map.

STEP 4

I wonder what happens to

countries when so many
skilled people leave?
UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability

Number of Immigrants

Asia and the Pacific

FIGURE 3.1 In 2001, protestors

marched in Georgetown, Guyana,
to demonstrate their opposition
to racial discrimination by
the government.

74

Syrian Civil War Refugee Migration,

2012 to 2014

CHAPTER 3: Impacts of Settlement

75

MIGRATION TO URBAN AREAS

urbanization the process

by which the percentage of
people living in urban areas
increases
more developed country
a wealthier country with
access to technology and
education, with generally high
life expectancy
developing country
a less wealthy country with
limited access to technology
and education, with generally
low life expectancy

INCREASING URBAN POPULATIONS WORLDWIDE

Whether people are migrating from country to country or within a country,

they usually move from a rural area to an urban area. The flow map in
Figure 3.4 shows migration from 20countries around the world to
Sydney, Australia. Sydney has the highest population of all cities in
Australia. Most of the migrants arriving in Sydney were looking for work
or reuniting with family members who were already there. A small number
were refugees.
As you read in Chapter 1, urbanization began during the Industrial
Revolution. Urbanization is the increase in the percentage of people living
and working in urban areas. It continues today, especially in countries that
have recently become more developed, or wealthier, such as Brazil. The
percentage of people living in cities in Brazil went from 74percent in 1990 to
85percent in 2013.
Developing countries have limited access to technology, education,
and goods and services. More people in developing countries migrate
from rural areas to urban areas than they do in more developed countries.
Why? More people live in rural areas in developing countries. Also, people
migrate to cities because of pull factors: they hope that life will be better
there. People who live in cities usually have better access to clean water
and services, such as schools, healthcare, and electricity. They are generally
healthier and have higher incomes than people who live in rural areas.

The worlds urban population is increasing (Figure 3.5). This trend is

expected to continue. In 2014, there were 3.9 billion urban dwellers. By 2045,
there will be 6 billion people living in cities. According to the UN, two-thirds
of the worlds population will live in urban areas by 2050.
The populations of individual cities are increasing. Some cities are now
megacitiesthey have populations of more than 10 million people. Did you
know that, in 1990, there were 10 megacities in the world, and in 2014, there
were 28? The three largest megacities are Tokyo, Japan, with a population
of 38 million; Delhi, India, with a population of 25 million; and Shanghai,
China, with a population of 23 million. This shift toward urban living creates
both opportunities and challenges in urban areas.

DECREASING RURAL POPULATIONS WORLDWIDE

Migration to cities means fewer people living in rural areas across the globe.
The number of people who leave rural areas increases every year. In 2014,
there were about 3.4 billion people living in rural areas. By 2050, this will have
decreased to 3.2 billion. What will happen to rural settlements as people
move away?

Growing Cities
3000 BCE

ED
UNIT
S

2 megacities
(New York and Tokyo)

1980

4 megacities

1990

10 megacities

H
UT
R
KO

EA

SH
DE
LA
NG
BA
L
PA
NE
IA
IND

N
PAKISTA

IRAN

IRAQ

LEBANON

V
THA IETNA
I LA
M
ND

PH

The Worlds
Going Urban
Percent of the Global Population
Living in Urban Areas

15%

30%

1900

1950

PP

IN

2000

16 megacities

75%

2008

2050 estimate

50%

A
SI
AY
AL
M

DO

ST
AT
ES

IN

UN
IT
ED

IA
ES

FI
N

SO
UTH
AFR
ICA

Megacities

are home to

12%

of the worlds
urban dwellers.

About

30

people in India

will migrate from rural

to urban areas every

ILI

SR

LA
NK
A

1970 CE

the f irst cities

DOM
KING

D
IRELAN

Number of Migrants
more than 30 000
10 00130 000
fewer than 10 000

NA

What factors
might slow the trend of
people moving to cities
from rural areas?

FIGURE 3.5 Facts about

global urbanization

Migrant Flow to Sydney, Australia, 20062011

CHI

megacity an urban area with

more than 10 million people

2014

28 megacities

JI

2025
estimate

30 or more
megacities

60
seconds

for the next

20 years.
This could mean India
needs 500 new cities
to provide for these
new urban dwellers.

Sydney

1250 km

FIGURE 3.4 This map shows the top 20 source countries for migration to Sydney, Australia.
What might be the pull factors that caused this migration?

76

UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability

NEL

NEL

CHAPTER 3: Impacts of Settlement

77

MORE SETTLEMENT ALONG COASTS

As you learned in Chapter 1, many people settle along coastlines worldwide.
The coastal settlement trend is increasing. The number of people settling
along coastlines is predicted to increase by 30percent from 1995 to 2025.
Some coastal cities cannot grow inland. There may be limited space or
obstacles, such as mountains. Instead, they may grow vertically and become
more dense.
Other cities are expanding into bodies of water, as you read in Chapter 2.
These cities are in countries such as Nigeria, Japan, China, and Singapore.
They have expanded their settlements in two ways: by reclaiming land from
the water and by creating new islands. The new land is used for various
purposes, such as for new housing, for a new or longer runway for an
airport, or to expand a port. For example, three artificial islands in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, were created
to provide land for housing, hotels, and
entertainment centres (Figure3.7).

FIGURE 3.7 This satellite photo

shows the Palm Islands, the largest
artificial islands in the world, off the
coast of Dubai.

I wonder how rising sea levels

would impact these islands?

ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

SPRAWLING CITIES
Around the world, most urban areas are increasing in size to make room
for their growing populations. Many cities grow at their edges, creating
urban sprawl. For example, Houston, Texas, is the most sprawling city in
the United States (Figure 3.6). It now covers about five times the area it
did in 1984. Cities grow in this pattern because land in the centre of cities
is usually already built up. It is also expensive to buy. Land on the outskirts
of cities is often agricultural or forested. Developers buy this land because
it is less expensive. They build whatever reflects the needs of the growing
urban population.
Sometimes developers build low-density settlements of one-family houses
on the outskirts of urban areas. These settlements are called suburbs.
Building new suburbs increases urban sprawl. You will learn more about
the impacts of urban sprawl on the environment in the next section.
Many people choose to live in suburbs even if they work in the city centre.
They can drive or take public transportation from their home to work, but they
can live where there is less noise, more privacy, and more open space. Houses
in suburbs are often less expensive than houses of the same size in the city.

FIGURE 3.6 Houston, Texas, is the

least dense, most car-dependent,
and most sprawling city in the
United States.

I wonder how higher gas

prices will affect Houston
in the future?

urban sprawl the expansion

of a city into previously
undeveloped areas

suburb a low-density
settlement, near a larger
urban area, mostly made up
of single-family houses

CHECK-IN
1. GATHER AND ORGANIZE Create a graphic organizer
to show the reasons why people migrate. Use
two categories: push factors and pull factors.

COMPACT CITIES
Some cities grow in population but do not have enough land to expand
outward. Instead, they become more compact. They may have more highrise buildings and more people living and working in a small area. They have
higher population densities. For example, Dhaka, Bangladesh, is the most
dense city in the world. Dhaka has between 12 000 and 45000people per
km2. By comparison, Toronto, Ontarios population
density is about 945 people per km2.

78

UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability

Environmentalists are concerned about

the damage that expansion into the sea
causes to shoreline features, such as sand
dunes and mangrove forests, and to marine
ecosystems. For example, 25 percent of all
developed land in Hong Kong, China, is
already reclaimed from the sea. HongKong
has plans for several more engineering
projects in the sea. They include adding
a new runway to its international airport,
which is already on reclaimed land, and
will require reclaiming from the sea an area
as large as 5000Olympic-sized swimming
pools. These projects threaten the habitat
of the Chinese white dolphin. In 2012, there
were only 61white dolphins left.

2.

NEL

NEL

GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE Reclaiming land can have

economic advantages. It also has environmental
impacts. Explain whether or not you think more
land should be reclaimed from the sea, and
give reasons.

3. EVALUATE AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS How would you

explain the increase in urban sprawl to a family
member? Why is it important to know about
urban sprawl?
4. EVALUATE AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS Many young
people migrate from rural areas to urban areas.
What impact might this have on birth rates in
rural areas?

CHAPTER 3: Impacts of Settlement

79