9 Global mobility
Before you start
Main focus
People have the freedom to choose where and how to live in a highly mobile world.
Why it’s relevant us
Mobility influences people’s identity, attachment to place and perceptions of other places, and transforms the world.
Inquiry questions
- Why do people move?
- What attracts people to places?
- How does the mobility of people impact on places?
- In what ways does mobility influence the character of a place?
Key terms
- Diaspora
- Expatriate
- Immigrant
- Landscape aesthetic
- Migration
- Personal mobility
- Sea changer
Let’s begin
Our daily survival depends on food gathering or finding some other means of acquiring food and shelter. For most Australian citizens, basic everyday needs are achieved by working in order to earn a wage or salary with which to purchase goods. Finding employment is a major motivating factor in where people choose to live.
Australia’s history of settlement reflects a process of migration, starting with Indigenous people thousands of years ago, and followed by waves of arrivals from near and distant places after the first European settlers landed in 1788. This has changed the landscape of the continent irrevocably, adding towns and cities, farms and mines, factories and shops, and roads, railways and airports. The flow of people from other places continues, with arrivals from all parts of the world; also, Australian citizens leave the country, sometimes permanently. Generally, people on the move are seeking better lives. A multitude of reasons help explain these movements.