Rural-to-Urban Migration. Resettling the Population

Two hundred years ago, well over 90 percent of the world's population lived by farming. Today, barely 1 percent of Americans and Europeans farm for a living. Even in the less developed countries, barely half the population is in agriculture, and most small farmers are impoverished. Declines in the farm sector coupled with rapid urban growth have induced millions of people to move from rural origins to urban destinations.

In the developed countries, rural-to-urban migration played a critical role in the rapid growth of industrial cities throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and it continues to characterize many of the less developed countries today. Many people are attracted by economic opportunity and industrial activity unavailable in other areas of their countries.

Mexico City illustrates the impacts of rural-to-urban migration. Mexico City occupies the site of Tenochtitlan. the capital of the ancient Aztec empire that was dismembered and conquered by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. After the Spaniards conquered the Aztec empire. they rebuilt Tenochtitlan and made the city the capital of their Mexican colony.

Since colonial days, Mexico City has been the economic, cultural, religious, and political center of Mexico. The city grew throughout the colonial period and continued to do so throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. After World War II. Mexico City began to grow rapidly. By 1980 the population had grown to nearly 14 million. If growth continues at its current pace, the population of Mexico City could reach 30 million by 2000.

Much of the recent population growth of Mexico City is the result of rapid migration from rural areas and small communities throughout Mexico. Chronic rural poverty and a lack of economic opportunity in rural areas push many people to leave the countryside. As the national capital and country's leading industrial center, Mexico City has been a prime destination for young Mexicans seeking to improve their economic and social status.

Unfortunately, Mexico City has not been able to cope effectively with rapid population growth. Housing is insufficient. Several million Mexicans inhabit shanty-towns near the city's borders, constructing makeshift shelters from any building materials they can find. Sewage treatment and water supplies are inadequate, and traffic is frequently snarled into huge traffic jams.

Rapid migration into Mexico City has contributed to a host of environmental problems. Mexico City is located at an altitude of 7.300 feel at the bottom of a valley. This setting creates conditions favorable for the generation of air pollution. Today. Mexico City's smog problems are among the worst in the world. Other environmental problems have also become evident. Excessive withdrawals of groundwater in the Mexico City area have caused the water table of the former lakebed upon which the city is built to decline. This has caused the land surface to sub-side, and houses and other buildings have collapsed in and near the city (Figure 3-16).

Figure 3-16. The Rural-to-Urban Migration in Mexico City. Rural-to-urban migration in Mexico City has resulted in a number of problems. Massive urban sprawl into the hills around the city has placed a burden on the sewer systems and transportation facilities, not to mention environmental problems

In some countries, efforts have been made to resettle impoverished natives of crowded rural areas to less populated regions in order to stem the rural-to-urban migration tide. In Brazil, the government has encouraged the settlement of the Amazon Basin by natives of crowded coastal regions, but this policy has come under attack by those concerned about the displacement of the native populations and the environmental impacts of Amazonian deforestation.

In recent years, a large-scale, government-funded resettlement program has been taking place in Indonesia. Over 60 percent of the country's 200 million population is concentrated in Java and Bali, thus creating rural population densities that are among the highest in the world. In response to this imbalance, the Indonesian government has undertaken the resettlement of Javanese and Balinese natives to the less crowded islands of Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan and Irian Jaya (Figure 3-17). Resettlement began under the Dutch colonial administration in the early 1900s. and it continues today. Between 1984 and 1989. 750.000 families were to be resettled, with about 60 percent moving to southern Sumatra.

Figure 3-17. Resettling the Population. Population clustering has created a problem in Indonesia. Whereas Java and Bali contain more than half of the country's population (a), the islands of Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and Irian Jaya are not crowded (b). The Indonesian government has made attempts to resettle some of the native population to the less populated areas

The resettled population includes three groups. Sponsored inter-island migrants receive extensive government support, including land, housing, transportation, and other services. Government-sponsored migrants must be under the age of forty, married, in good health, and skilled in farming or a trade. Local migrants who remain on their island of origin receive similar benefits. A third group consists of spontaneous migrants who decide to relocate on their own, paying their own moving expenses. Spontaneous migrants are eligible for government assistance and may be provided with land as well.

During the 1980s, the Indonesian government promoted off-farm employment opportunities in order to further encourage the development of outlying destinations. Over half of the resettled migrants now work off the farm, many in manufacturing, crafts, repair businesses, and personal services. In general, the success of the transmigration program is tied directly to the availability of off-farm employment opportunities.