Rural Urban Migration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rural Urban Migration - Essay Example Misra (1998) observes that those who migrate are often male who are young and better educated. Pull factors on the other hand, attract the population to big cities or destination area. Developed and developing countries are impacted differently by the migration pattern though some aspects are similar. The paper will discuss the push and pull factors as well as the impact of migration on areas of origin and destination DCs and LDCs. Push Factors These are unfavorable conditions in rural areas that push people to migrate to urban areas. According to Watson (2004), people move to urban areas so as to improve their lives. Many rural people depend on agriculture for survival. However, the agricultural sector is faced with many challenges such as drought, famine and floods leading to poor harvest. There are also inadequate agricultural jobs thereby pushing people to look for jobs elsewhere. Structural adjustment programs result in heavy debts for developing countries thus encouraging gover nments to displace people and offer the farms to large enterprises for production and resource extraction thereby pushing local people to move (Datta, 2003). Lack of basic social amenities and recreation facilities pushes people to big cities where such amenities are available. These include; poor education, lack of quality health care, transport and communication. Higher education is often found in big cities. People move there to have better education and enjoy better living standards (Twumasi, 1995). Lack of clean water supply, poor sanitation and drainage systems push people to get better services available in cities. Inadequate income pushes people to big cities. Varieties of occupations are found in urban areas; rural areas depend mainly in agriculture which doesn’t offer adequate income. Rural people also do not possess necessary skill to perform a job and formal employment is limited. Income is thus inadequate to feed the large families they have. Persuasion by contra ctors and agents also enhances the migration. They move with them to cities in promise of better benefits and to search for a livelihood (Misra, 19998). Pull Factors These represent the attractive attributes of big cities that pull people. The wage gap between rural and urban areas whereas wages are higher in urban areas pull migrants to the city. They have high expectations of getting a well paying job. Formal and informal jobs are also available hence they work in informal settings while awaiting formal job. Besides industries are concentrated in urban areas hence attracting the rural population (Srichar et al. 2010). Availabilities of public services and social amenities in big cities attract mass population. In big cities, there is access to education and high quality health care. There are also recreational facilities that make life in the city exciting (Birmingham, 2000). Those who travel to cities and come back to rural areas for holiday or to visit their families show signs of wealth or extravagance which makes the rural people to follow their example. They form a network whereby the extended family follows the migrant to the city to enjoy city life and its benefits. Effects of Rural-Urban Migration The movement of people from rural to urban areas of both developed (DCs) and developing countries (LDCs) has adverse effects.