The counterurbanisation cascade in England and Wales since 1991: the evidence of a new migration dataset

A new migration dataset that continuously monitors people moving house between local government areas of England and Wales is used to update a test of the “counterurbanisation cascade” model that was originally developed and carried out using data from the 1991 Census. Following a review of the relevant international literature including a summary of the original test, the paper describes the Patient Register (PR) migration dataset. The test is undertaken in two parts; firstly, checking for a negative association between net migration rate and metropolitan/urban status and, secondly, examining whether all the migration flows between the 13 status types involve shifts in population down the settlement hierarchy. Both are largely confirmed, but there are a number of exceptions, the significance of which is discussed in the final section.