Vol. 34, No. 1, Spring/Summer 1997- "Population Geography"
PENNSYLVANIA MIGRATION 1985-1995: RESPONSES TO THE STATE'S CHANGING SPACE-ECONOMY
(pp. 5 - 22)
James P. Lewandowski and Mark E. Reisinger
Department of Geography and Planning
West Chester University
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Abstract
Two-thirds of Pennsylvania's 67 counties experienced net domestic outmigration between 1970 and 1985. Only 14 counties did so by the middle 1990's. Explanations of Pennsylvania's outmigration trends have focused upon economic issues associated with restructuring in the state's economy. Such explanations imply that the current turnaround is related to shifts in counties' economic circumstances. This paper first estimates the responsiveness of Pennsylvania's domestic migration movements, 1985-1990, to changes in the economic performance of the state's counties during that time. Results indicate a high degree of responsiveness. A second analysis tests the ability to predict counties' current net migration patterns on the basis of the net migration values calculated from the response equation. Results indicate moderate forecasting ability.
(pp. 23 - 37)
George A. Schnell
Department of Geography
State University of New York at New Paltz
New Paltz, New York
Abstract
This study examines Pike County's location--specifically concerning its proximity to vast metropolitan populations in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania--and its available and inexpensive land where opportunities for recreation abound. Add a large cadre of second-home owners and continued growth is practically assured over the near term and probably well into the future. According to a survey conducted for this paper in 1995, well over half the aged retirees who migrated to Pike County were second-home owners. Thus, it is convenient to use the over-64 cohort to describe and analyze the impact of location and second-home ownership on growth. Data on retired migrants to Pike County were collected on residential, biological, and social-economic characteristics at the time of retirement by the above-mentioned survey. The focus, however, was to determine why these retirees migrated to Pike County. Although responses to that question varied, Pike's rural character and proximity to a large urban-suburban population, prior knowledge of the county often through second home ownership, and the "push" provided by the retirees' desire to get away from urban crime and congestion were well represented in the mix of responses.
18th AND 19th CENTURY WELSH MIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES
(pp. 38 - 54)
Brooks C. Pearson
Indiana University
Indiana, Pennsylvania
Abstract
The Welsh are frequently ignored in studies of the settlement geography of the United States because of their relatively small numbers and because their descendants have tended to classify themselves as "American" or "British." This paper explores 18th and 19th century Welsh immigration both as part of the greater Celtic migrations of the period and as a distinct social phenomenon. Based on evidence from the locations of Welsh-language churches and from county place names, it is suggested that the spatial distribution of Welsh immigrants and their descendants on the expanding frontiers of the young United States indicates that the group's impact on the landscape may have been greater than its numbers would otherwise suggest.
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION AND THE POOR IN YORK, PENNSYLVANIA 1970-1990
(pp. 55 - 65)
Bethany K. Lee
York College
York, Pennsylvania
Abstract
An examination of U.S. Census data for York and York County, Pennsylvania shows that from 1970 to 1990 the concentration of low-income residents within the city limits (York) increased significantly. Meanwhile, low income residents as a percentage of total residents fell in the surrounding county (York County). While trends such as this have been documented for larger cities, this study shows that smaller cities such as York (approximate population 42,000) can experience the same changes.