10.3.1 Push and pull factors People live in different places for many reasons. Pull factors attract people, while push factors drive them away. Everyone has different views. Reasons for living in a place can change over time. Four factors inþuence the liveability of places or why people decide to live there: • available ýnancial resources (money) • employment • relationships with other people (e.g. wanting to be near family or moving for a partner’s job) • lifestyle. People’s living choices change as they grow up. For example, a young adult may want city life, while a parent may prefer a quiet suburb. Some towns in Australia, like Kanowna, 22 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie, grew quickly after gold was found in 1893. They built hospitals, schools and other infrastructure to support a town of 12 000. As gold ran out, people left Kanowna, and it was mostly empty by the 1950s. The discovery of new gold deposits in the 1970s led to the Kanowna Belle Gold Mine opening in 1993. Most workers live in Kalgoorlie, except þy in, þy out (FIFO) employees. Only ten people lived in Kanowna by 2016. Similarly, Cossack, near Port Hedland, was established in the late 1860s as a pearling base. Development of the pastoral industry in the Pilbara region and gold discoveries attracted more people to the port town. As the pearling industry continued to grow, the size of transport ships grew bigger and the harbour couldn’t keep up. However, by the 1950s, Cossack had fallen into urban decay and was eventually abandoned due to the relocation of the pearling industry in Broome. Today, Visitors can explore historic buildings on the 5-km Heritage Trail.
FIGURE2 The restored courthouse is one of the attractions on the Cossack Heritage Trail.
FIGURE3 The Customs House and Store is another attraction on the Cossack Heritage Trail.
10.3.2 Economic, cultural, aesthetic and spiritual factors Push and pull factors help explain why people choose where to live. They might move for work but stay for other reasons. These reasons are broken into economic, cultural, aesthetic and spiritual factors. A brief outline of each of these factors is provided in FIGURE1 at the start of this lesson. One example of these different liveability factors is illustrated in FIGURE4 . People are attracted to many places and stay for different reasons.
TOPIC10 Place and liveability 349
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