Labs / History
Push and Pull
Every dot is a few thousand people deciding where to live. Push factors like famine, low pay, and war drive people out of the countryside; pull factors like city jobs and higher wages draw them in. Nudge the sliders and watch the migration streams answer.
Year 0Net → city +0k/yrUrban 22%City jobless 0%Farm jobless 0%
What to try
- Raise the city wage sharply. How fast does the countryside empty, and why does the flow eventually slow down on its own?
- Trigger a great famine with high city wages held low. Are people pushed out even when nowhere pulls them?
- Push city jobs down while the city is crowded. What happens to urban joblessness, and does that reverse the migration?
- Set war high but keep farm wages good. Which matters more for whether people flee — opportunity or safety?
- Can you find a setting where net migration sits near zero — an equilibrium where city and countryside feel equally worth living in?