9 people movers 2014
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PEOPLE MOVERS Urbanisation and migration
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Transcript of 9 people movers 2014
PEOPLE MOVERS
Urbanisation and migration
Today
The urbanisation of humanity
The pull of the global city
The ‘Planet of Slums’
The politics of migration
To what extent does mass urbanisation represent progress for humanity?
Urbanisation
At the beginning of the 19th Century, 97% of all people lived in settlements of less than 5,000 people
The world became more than 50% urban a few years into the 21st century
By 2010 there are almost 200 cities of more than two million people and cities have absorbed 2/3rds of population growth since 1950
The UN predicts urbanisation levels of 70% by 2050
Crowding together
Urbanisation is not necessarily occurring because of a lack of land
All of humanity, each in a townhouse, could fit into an area the size of Texas (Glaesar, 2011)
Yet, five million more people join cities in the developing world each month, despite a lack of space and resources
Urban developments
For many sociologists, modernisation, industrialisation and urbanisation are closely linked
Agricultural surpluses allowed humanity to live in closer proximity, manufacturing things and providing services that are not necessary for people to live
This development, one occurring rapidly in the developing world, has been the key to urbanisation
Location does matter
Despite communication technology bringing about the ‘death of distance’, humanity thrives in cities because of their proximity to each other
Developed cities draw talented, and younger, people together and create greater connections and collaboration
The advantages of denser populations allow for more differentiated cultural attractions and better public services
Workers tend to be much more productive and highly paid in bigger cities
City dynamics
Urban living has changed the structuration of our shared social lives
City living tends to weaken cultural traditions, becoming places of cultural reinvention and transformation
The denser the city (more physical proximity) the more emotionally distant we seem to become (to strangers)
Urban problems
Social divisions, both cultural and economic, can become more prevalent and apparent
Urban housing can sometimes be cheaper, and jobs more plentiful, attracting low skilled workers without guaranteed employment
Crime rates tend to be higher in urban areas and are particularly problematic in dense and deprived areas
Social and cultural alienation is a particularly pressing issue
Do you talk to people on the
tube?
The globally economic city
The 21st century has been marked by the development of a functioning network of ‘global cities’
Cities are not global purely because of their size, but their integration into the global economy They tend to be traditional industrial cities like New York,
London, Paris and Tokyo
They are centres of transport – from ports to airports
Companies may have headquarters in each of these cities and
they become centres for the investment and accumulation of capital
The global in the local
Global cities become a site for inward migration that creates a distinctly cosmopolitan culture
This migration is both from the ‘highly skilled’ and those looking for work
Without industrial employment, this work tends to be more service based and ‘feminised’
Case study: London
London was first settled by the Romans around 43 A.D.
Following sporadic developments, by 1831 London was the world’s largest city and a cultural hub
Beyond its industrial roots, London has become one of the main centres of finance
London’s architecture and urban structure is testament to its history
London: Facts
91% of Londoners work in the service sector
56% of new residents (27% total) are foreign born, up from 38% in 1992
45% are ‘White British’, compared to 87% of the UK
London generates approximately 1/5th of UK GDP, despite being 1/8th of the total population
Average weekly earnings in London: £653, UK: £509
Most dangerous part of London?
Most desirable part of
London? ‘Coolest’ part of London? Best market in London?
Best museum or tourist
attraction? Best Park? Busiest tube line? Worst tube line? ‘Centre’ of London?
What is the …
Beyond the global city
Megacities, those containing 10 million or more people, have been created as different cities become increasingly merged
There are 20 of these mega-cities, most of them in the developing world
What do you think are the top ten largest cities in
the world?
Beyond the West
The other side of ‘mega-cities’ is the development of huge areas of urban slums, over-crowded urban areas predominately made up of informal housing
95% of all projected population growth is in urban areas of the developing world (Davis, 2006, p.2)
Areas such as that between Rio and Sao Paulo in Brazil and in Western Africa (between Benin City and Accra) where 60 million people will cram into a strip of 600 kilometres, are sites of ‘mega-slums’
A planet of slums
The 2003 UN report The Challenge of Slums alerted the world to the horror of urban poverty once associated with Victorian England
Approximately one billion people live in urban slums, with two billion predicted before 2050
Most of this growth is entirely unplanned and formal housing runs at approximately 20%, as does formal employment
Urban areas in some countries, such as Ethiopia and Chad (both 99.4%) are essentially all slums and others like Mumbai (10-12 million), Mexico City and Dhaka (9-10 million) have huge slums populations
What would you like to ask?
Victorian Slums
Unprecedented population growth in London in the 18th century created ‘Victorian’ slums, predominately in East London (as well as other parts of the UK)
These slums featured much the same conditions as those experienced in the developing world: Cramped living conditions
Insanitariness
Crime and ‘vice’
Slum-dwellers, often immigrants, were seen as ‘sub-human’
Are there any signs of these
slums where you live?
Ending slums
There were many ‘slum-clearance’ programmes, as well as increasing state welfare
Economic development slowly improved conditions for the poor
Many slum-dwellers were able to escape to the newly established colonies
Escaping to the Colonies (N.Z)
Exporting Slums
Victorian slums conditions are now prevalent in the developing world, as are slum clearances
Traditional economic wisdom (see Sachs, 2008, p.26) is that urbanisation can only occur when agricultural productivity is high
This may be true in the Western world – 1% of the United States (farmers) feed the other 99% - but is less applicable when food has to be bought from a global market
Moreover, urban areas often provide a greater chance for income if agricultural surpluses are unavailable
Migration
Moving people
In Arrival City (2011), Doug Sanders’ argues that there are two billion people in a state of migration
Large portions of this migration is internal as people seek greater prosperity in urban areas
Alternatively, they may be attempting to escape from conflict
Whilst internal migration is often encouraged, international migration is controversial
London Immigration
Throughout it’s history, London has attracted migrants, although these migrants were predominately internal until around 1950 In 1851 38% of Londoners were born elsewhere
In 1948 the British Nationality Act was passed, creating the status of "citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" (CUKC) for people born or naturalised in either the United Kingdom or one of its colonies Approximately 472,000 commonwealth immigrants arrived from 1955 to 1962
The Act allowed free migration for those within the Commonwealth, although fears of non-White immigration significantly reduced these freedoms
The majority of these migrants settled in London, both for greater economic opportunities and to join established ex-pat communities
Modern migration
Britain’s entry into the EU opened up the country’s borders to citizens of EU member states
The expansion of the EU in 2004 changed the complexion of migration to the UK as poorer migrants from Eastern Europe arrived in large numbers
These migrants are often transient, seeking work opportunities rather than establishing new lives
Politics of Migration
Immigrants are seldom welcomed to any area
Immigration is often seen as a threat to local cultures
It is often argued that immigrants are taking the jobs of locals
Political Regrets
The current Conservative government has reduced immigration quotas and David Cameron has suggested that immigrants are a drain on public services
Labour leader Ed Milliband has expressed regret at his party’s previous migration policy
Restrictions on immigrants has become a populist position and fuelled the emergence of nationalist political movements
Would you ever
emigrate to another country?
Benefits of migration
International migrants can have a very positive affect upon areas, bringing investment, skills and cultural diversity
Immigrants are also often willing to do jobs that locals are unwilling to do
Immigrants from the EU are 60% less likely than natives to receive state benefits or tax credits, and 58% less likely to live in social housing, contributing 30% in taxes than they cost
These benefits, however, tend to stem from certain types of migrants
Refugees
145 of 192 countries in the UN have ratified protections for refugees that are:
‘outside of their country because of a well founded fear of persecution by reason of race, religion, nationality and political opinion, or membership of a particular social group’
Approximately 36 million people are broadly within this category in 2010
Who qualifies for this category, however, is a matter of local political debate
Non-People
Asylum seekers are those migrants who are trying to be granted legal entry to another country as a refugee
It is up to each nation to determine who deserves personhood with a state
The number of asylum seekers in Britain has been falling since 2003, and the acceptance rate is around 20-30%
Undocumented workers
Those who have non-claimed asylum or are rejected, are generally called undocumented or illegal migrants
These migrants can either overstay their legal entitlement or enter the country illegally
Increases in ‘irregular migration’ could be the geo-political event of our time
Oceans of the EU
From 1988 to 2010, 13,417 people died around the maritime boundaries of the EU
The vast majority while making the difficult journey from sub-Saharan Africa, in particular Ethiopia and Somalia, via the North of Africa to make landfall on the southern islands of Greece, Italy, Span and Turkey or the coast of Yemen.
Many were fleeing civil wars, most recently in Libya and Tunisia.
Friendly Australians
Irregular migration has become a very controversial issue in Australia as boats of Asylum seekers have started entering Australian waters
The infamous ‘Tampa’ affair, where 400 asylum seekers were prevented from landing at Christmas Island has led to the ‘Pacific Solution’ whereby asylum seekers are prevented from entering Australian territory
Instead, they land at detention centres were set up on Christmas Island, Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, and Nauru.
Should the UK let in any Asylum
seekers?
Summary
The world is becoming increasingly urbanised
This urbanisation provides benefits to cities in the developed world through diversity and density
Urbanisation has also been a significant trend in the developing world and has led to the emergence of massive slums and a potential ‘surplus humanity’
New Week
Welcome Home, History: Resistance, Security and Terror
MAIN READING:
Cohen and Kennedy, Chapters 11 and 19
GROUP READING
Fukuyama, Francis (1989) The End of History. The National Interest. http://www.wesjones.com/eoh.htm
