Individualising urbanisation stage. Analysing migration sequences and socio-demographic influences (INDUST)

Project content

When people move between urban and rural areas, this often happens at certain stages of their lives – and sometimes more than once in the course of their lives. The INDUST project aims to identify typical characteristics of migration patterns within the Austrian urban-rural system using individual-level microdata from Statistics Austria to investigate the extent to urban-rural movement has changed over time and across generations. The aim of the project is to break down urbanisation processes at the individual level. A longitudinal approach is being pursued, comparing individual life courses over time to shed light on the complex interplay between individual housing decisions, contextual factors of the life course and the (socio-spatial) macro level. INDUST not only identifies the diversity of internal migration patterns, but also explains how these contribute to urbanisation trends (as well as counter-trends). In addition, related life events such as education, employment or family dynamics, as well as economic and ecological spatial trends and their influence on migration patterns in different age groups, are examined.

The project is guided by three research questions:

•  What are typical internal migration patterns along the urban-rural spectrum for different age groups, and how have they changed over the last 20 years? 
• To what extent do migration patterns correspond to processes in other socio-demographic areas of life (family dynamics, education, labour force participation)?
• How are migration patterns influenced by spatial and socio-economic macro factors?

Methodology

The data is provided by the Austrian Micro Data Centre of Statistics Austria and analysed using longitudinal techniques, including sequence analysis. This method is used to describe, visualise and typify the temporal progression of longitudinal data in order to identify similarities and differences between sequences and the temporal progression of processes. A sequence is a succession of categorical states that can describe different statuses, conditions or locations and thus different trajectories. Multichannel sequence analyses are also used, as are regression models to identify social and spatial influencing factors. The study of temporal-sequential phenomena is of central interest for understanding socio-spatial processes such as migration or urbanisation.

 

Projectlead: Elisabeth Gruber (Universität Innsbruck), Alois Humer (Institut für Stadt- und Regionalforschung der ÖAW/ TU Wien)

Project Team: Fabian Windhager (Institut für Stadt- und Regionalforschung der ÖAW)

Funded by: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW), Data:Research:Austria

Project duration: 01.07.2025 - 30.6.2027