Migration and Urbanization in Western Europe Since 1950

Abstract

This paper focuses on population redistribution in the 14 major countries of Western Europe. 2 steps in analyzing the data used here are 1) concentrate attention on the migration component in population change and 2) operationalize the notions of spatial concentration and deconcentration. The main features of Western Europes urbanization and counterurbanization since 1950 are 1) urbanization was the dominant redistribution trend in the 1950s in all countries; 2) the relationship between net migration and settlement size began to break down in the 1960s; 3) by the 1970s most of the countries were recording a counterurbanization relationship between net migration and settlement size; and 4) counterurbanization became less dominant in the early 1980s. The author reviews explanations of the transitions from urbanization to counterurbanization then suggests a set of ideas that links the population redistribution processes to the major economic and social changes that were transforming the countries of Europe over the post-war period. The links are 1) population distribution and redistribution at an inter-labor market area level are largely determined by the geography of production changes over time 2) in 1950 the dominant geography of production could be characterized as regional sectoral specialization 3) most Western European countries experienced a long period of economic growth after 1950 lasting into the early-mid 1970s 4) a spatially dispersed pattern of branch plant and back office developments occurred during the 1960s and early 1970s and 5) these changes helped to bring about a new spatial division of labor. In the 1980s and broader regional patterns of growth and decline seem to be reemerging. In the 1970s and 1980s employment growth and net migration gain have occurred in a number of prestige environments.

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