The youth stage is characterised by a high degree of mobility.
Some of this movement takes place within urban or rural
areas, as young people move out of family homes. But
migration from rural to urban areas is high, too: Young people leave
rural areas in search of better employment or income-generating
opportunities, better education, and access to health care, housing
and welfare services. Mobility is not only about individual choice; it
is related to broader livelihood strategies of households and family
networks.
Yet, it is not always associated with improved life chances or
improved youth well-being. Migrant youth from rural areas have
a lower chance than urban-born youth of finding employment in
urban areas,1
and “endemic unemployment is likely to enhance
feelings of social disillusionment, frustration and boredom”,2
possibly leading to an increase in risk behaviour or return migration
to places with little opportunity for young people. Large numbers of
young people live in the informal settlements on the peripheries of
the cities and face high levels of food insecurity.3
Many will remain
in this “informal state” with dire consequences for their well-being
and that of their children. What starts as a livelihood strategy may
increase vulnerability.
Migration and mobility are under-researched issues in South
Africa, and very little is known about youth mobility in particular. In
the absence of a strong body of empirical work, this essay provides
some preliminary analysis and considers the following questions:
• Why should we be interested in youth mobility?
• What do we know about patterns of youth mobility?
• What are the main drivers of migration among young people?
• What does mobility mean for the lives and life chances of young
people?
• How might youth mobility affect the lives of children and
extended families?
• What are the recommendations?
This set of questions also serves as a list of issues that need further
investigation. A more solid evidence base would be useful for
planning services and interventions for young people on the move,
and for those who are prevented from moving by poverty and other
structural constraints.