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CHAPTER 71 Latin America and the Caribbean ( Urban Geography I Migration in Brazil by Studio Noun In Latin America , migration has been a major demographic motor over the last few decades . This geographic movement of people caused considerable urban change . The or , in general terms , the shantytown , is a consequence of that migratory surge to cities . In 1950 , Latin America population wasjust 25 urban . By 2015 , the region was 75 urban . Consider the push factors ( forces that caused people to leave rural areas ) and pull factors ( forces that cause people to move to cities ) behind this dramatic reshuffling of Latin America population . Migration in Brazil , as with human migration anywhere on the planet , is prompted by push and by pull factors . Push factors compel people to leave ( pushed away ) where they are living , for that location has become hazardous due to a natural disaster ( hurricane ) or a societal constraint ( political oppression ) In Latin America the major push factor was unemployment . In the century , the region experienced the Green Revolution the introduction of modern farming technologies like advanced machinery , hybrid crops , and chemical pesticides and fertilizers . This was beneficial , because many Latin American countries dramatically increased their agricultural output . The downside , though , was a dramatic reduction in the need for farm labor . Sharecroppers and plantation workers lost their livelihoods , and headed to cities to look for work . Even those Latin 343
344 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL American farmers who owned their own land suffered . The Green Revolution increased agricultural yields , but it also increased the cost of farming . Thousands of farmers could no longer compete with larger corporate farms , and many of them were forced to sell their land and move to the city . At the same time , new technologies were introduced in mining and logging that eliminated a lot ofthe remaining in the region . Created by Gan Lay from Noun In contrast , pull factors bring people toward ( pull to ) a new destination , for that location offers or seems to offer a better living situation . Most , but not all , ofthe pull factors were economic in nature . People moved to cities in hopes of higher wages and more employment opportunities . Cities offered greater chances for upward social mobility in rural areas , people who are born poor tend to remain poor . In urban areas , there was a chance to climb the socioeconomic ladder . Cities also tend to feature education , health care , and other public services . Finally , many migrated to cities because of the perceived superiority of urban lifestyles . This is known as the city lights phenomenon . As wonderful as rural areas can be , they generally do offer the same kind of excitement as a place like Mexico City or Rio . These push and pull factors are not unique to Latin America . They are part of the demographic transition that all countries eventually experience . The same push and pull factors were present a century or two ago in North America and Europe . Luckily for people in those regions , there were millions of awaiting them when they arrived in the cities . Latin America has not been so fortunate . As people began crowding into Latin American cities in the , they overwhelmed the urban infrastructure . The cities simply could not provide adequate housing , utilities , schools , transportation , and employment for this crush of migrants . That forced many of these new urban dwellers into squatter settlements illegal , informal slums where people squatted on land they did not own , and constructed homes out of salvaged materials . A final distinct characteristic of migration in Latin America has been the tendency to target primate cities . A qualitative definition of a primate city is a large city dominates the rest of the country demographically , culturally , politically , and economically . Recall that in Chapter 54 , we considered primate cities in Europe . Since Brazil does not meet all the criteria for developing a primate city , we do not find all the urban migrants in a single metropolitan area there .
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ( URBAN GEOGRAPHY I 345 Created by Felipe from Noun migration in Brazil occurs due to these push and pull factors . Certainly , sometimes there are both positive and negative elements of rural life . Those who are large landowners in rural Brazil typically do quite well economically . However , landless peasants and anyone doing wage labor in rural Brazil may live in relatively poverty . Drought or other weather factors may contribute to economic difficulties . When these rural conditions are severe , this may force migration , thus placing these human flows in the push category . Frequently though , the pull of the city is the major portion of motivation for the countryside dweller to move to the city . Principally the city offers job opportunities that if secured would multiply a migrant earnings substantially . Again the bright lights of multiple attractions and features in cities like Rio may uproot rural residents and draw them to urban life . often are interested in studying migration patterns . Pull migration reveals a fascinating comparison of different geographic locations , where the preferred or better location secures the resident . Naturally then , have studied the patterns of migration in Brazil . As in much of Latin America , these migration flows in Brazil have transformed the country from a rural society to an urban land . In comparison to the migration experiences of North American and European countries , this transformation has been distinctly more rapid . In 1940 , Brazil held only about 30 of its citizens in urban areas . Less than eight decades later , in 2018 Brazil was . In contrast , the USA had 30 urban levels in 1885 , but was at in 2018 . American urbanization proceeded at a slower pace than in Brazil , whereas Brazil actually is more urban than the United States is now . In addition , have been interested in the logic and motivations of potential migrants in Brazil . One interesting approach in these queries is the mathematical logic of expected return .
346 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL Created by from Noun A simple way of examining the concept of expected return is the Powerball lottery . The odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are in , but for simplicity , let call that one in three hundred million . A Powerball ticket costs . Should you buy a Powerball ticket ?
That depends on the size of to be won . Let say that is 150 million . Jackpot Odds Expected Return 150 million ( million ) In that case , your expected return is fifty cents , but you paid for the ticket . Bad strategy , paying for less than you mathematically expect to win . What if is 750 million ?
Use the same formula . 750 million ( million ) In this scenario , your expected return is , but you paid only for the ticket . Mathematically , this is a good strategy for your expected return is more than your cost . We can consider migration in Brazil in the same fashion . What would be paid or given up if trading rural life for urban life ?
Many things , but we are talking about income to begin . So , the migrant is giving up known patterns of rural income . What is to be gained ?
Urban income . How much urban income ?
That is unknown , but estimated . The potential migrant typically does not have a job lined up in the big city , but would be practicing speculative moving to the city in the hopes of getting a job . What are the chances of getting employment in the urban area ?
That too is unsure , but estimated . So what is our formula ?
Estimated urban income the estimated odds of that happening the expected return . Compare that estimated expected return with the known rural income . If the estimated expected return exceeds by more than a little the known rural income , then the rural dweller should move to the city . If not , then stay in the countryside . For instance , if the average monthly urban in Minas state of Brazil is 2138 ( where the Brazilian currency , should the rural worker move to the city ?
What is the rural income ?
What are the estimated odds of getting the urban income ?
Let say that the odds are or one out of two chances . say that rural worker is making the minimum wage there at 876 monthly . Do the math . Estimated urban income the estimated odds of that happening the expected return .
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ( URBAN GEOGRAPHY I 347 2138 Since is more than the known income of 876 , the migration to the city should happen . It is mathematically logical . Throughout Latin America , millions of people have undertaken this migration . Generally , studies have shown that this migration is mathematically logical . In a sense this is good news . like it when people behave in geographically rational ways . However , there are complications . When purchasing a Powerball ticket , it may be mathematically logical if is sizeable enough . However , there is no guarantee of winning ! In fact , the overwhelming odds are that any given ticket purchaser will win . For the casual purchaser of a lottery ticket or two , this is not a big deal , but can be spent to create a little bit of fun anticipation . When choosing to migrate to a city in Brazil , the person leaving the countryside is not guaranteed a job , for that is the nature of speculative migration . In fact , often the migrant fails to secure a , by on irregular , informal income . The move to the city and the challenge of trying to secure unpromised income may be mathematically sound , but is not casual orjust a little bit of fun . The cities of Brazil , in particular the giants of Sao Paulo and Rio , faced a number of problems due to the flood of migrants from the countryside over the past few decades . The singular urban problem is the favela or shantytown . The consequence of thousands , even millions , of rural folk arriving in cities , but having very little money and no proof of in Rio , Brazil . Photo by on guaranteed Wage income necessarily generate a Vast host of that are jammed next to each other or even in stacks upon each other . The Brazilian favela features primitive to simple housing , little or no municipal services like water , paths more than streets , and high rates of crime . Because unclaimed land or at least places of unclear ownership usually are on the edges or of the urban areas , favelas rapidly grow in size and number in those outer sectors of the urban land . Unused hillsides become for the vertical favelas , popping upward in stacked varieties along the hills slopes . The Latin America city has been modeled by Ernest Griffin and Larry Ford , originally in 1980 and modified as these cities evolved over time . An interactive diagram of this model can be seen here . In a sense like the purchaser of a Powerball ticket , seeking a gigantic jackpot , the migrant in Brazil apparently reacts mathematically to perceived opportunities in the metropolitan realm . However , just as the Powerball ticket is guaranteed winnings , the migrant is assured of a good job , but often lives an economically precarious life , frequently by lodging in Rio . Photo by on . in the Oh the edges of the City .
348 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL Did You Know ?
Let acknowledge that the scenarios presented above are intentionally simplified . The expected return of winning the lottery are complicated by a number of issues . Does the winner accept an annuity over thirty years or take a lesser lump sum payment now ?
How much ofthe winnings will be handed over through federal and state taxes ?
Including these factors will create a more complicated equation than that noted above . Similarly , the choice of moving or not moving to the Brazilian city is not only predicated on average income . What are tax differences ?
How do cost of living levels vary between rural and urban settings ?
Indeed , there are other factors that likewise create a more complicated formula than that noted above . However , the fundamental notion of economic comparison is the basis for logically determining whether or not to purchase a Powerball ticket and often for deciding whether or not to move to the city . CITED AND ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY De , Marina Silva , Paulo , and . 2016 . Series , Report Living Wage Report Rural Brazil Minas Region Coffee Growing . Brazil Ongoing Domestic Migration 2019 . In Encyclopaedia . 2014 . Favela Rio de Panorama Brazil . Creative Commons Alike International . Jones , Chris . 2014 . Favela . Generic ( Nick . 2016 . Fascinating Math Behind Why You Wo Win . Wired . January 12 ,