ABSTRACT
At first glance, writing an introductory text on migration seems to be a relatively straightforward task. Migration is a simple concept. People move between places and we are interested, as geographers, in describing and understanding these patterns. However, when you think about and study the topic in detail, it becomes clear that migration is, in reality, extremely complex and multi-faceted. This explains why there is such a large literature on migration in geography and other disciplines, and perhaps the hardest task is to order systematically such a diverse set of material in a logical and coherent manner. Migration includes international flows of large numbers of refugees stimulated by wars, famine or political unrest; young adults moving between regions in search of employment; middle-aged professionals moving back to the land in their search for a rural retreat; families moving down the road to satisfy changing housing requirements; and gypsies and other nomadic peoples for whom mobility is a way of life. Consequently, it is difficult to identify an optimum structure for a text such as this. Do we distinguish between different types of migration based on the distance moved? Do we stress the differences between broad regions or groups of countries, such as between the developed and developing world? Or do we identify the migration themes that underlie the different migration processes?
