Intervening Opportunities

Definition

Intervening opportunities refer to the potential alternatives that arise during the migration process, which can influence a person's decision to settle in a location other than their intended destination. These opportunities often present themselves unexpectedly and can include job offers, family connections, or favorable living conditions that may make a different location more attractive than the original target. Essentially, they serve as alternative pull factors that can redirect migration flows and shape settlement patterns.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Intervening opportunities can significantly alter the original migration route by presenting better options along the way.
2. These opportunities often arise unexpectedly during travel and can include factors like job offers or housing availability.
3. The concept highlights that migration is not always a linear process; it can be dynamic and influenced by changing circumstances.
4. Intervening opportunities emphasize the importance of social networks in shaping migration decisions and destinations.
5. Understanding intervening opportunities helps explain why many migrants end up in locations different from their original plans.

Review Questions

• How do intervening opportunities impact the decision-making process for migrants?
  • Intervening opportunities play a crucial role in shaping a migrant's decision-making process by presenting unexpected alternatives during their journey. For instance, if a migrant encounters a better job offer or finds favorable living conditions in a city they didn't initially consider, this could lead them to settle there instead of continuing to their original destination. As such, these opportunities can significantly alter migration patterns and outcomes.
• Compare the concepts of push factors and intervening opportunities in the context of migration. How do they interact?
  • Push factors and intervening opportunities both influence migration but in different ways. Push factors create a need to leave one's current location due to negative conditions, while intervening opportunities provide alternative options that can change where a migrant ultimately settles. The interaction between the two is significant; as migrants seek to escape push factors, they may encounter intervening opportunities that redirect their journey and alter their intended destination.
• Evaluate the significance of social networks in relation to intervening opportunities and how they affect migration flows.
  • Social networks play an essential role in relation to intervening opportunities by providing information and support that can lead to unexpected alternatives during migration. These networks can connect individuals to job openings or housing options in various locations, making them more likely to settle somewhere other than their original destination. By facilitating access to these opportunities, social networks not only influence individual migration decisions but also shape broader migration flows and patterns within communities.

Related terms

Push Factors:

Push factors are negative conditions or circumstances in a person's current location that drive them to leave, such as unemployment, conflict, or lack of resources.

Pull Factors:

Pull factors are positive attributes of a destination that attract migrants, such as better job prospects, improved living conditions, or familial ties.

Chain Migration:

Chain migration is a process where migrants from a specific area follow others from their community to a new destination, often motivated by family connections or established networks.