Refugees in Towns

Aarhus is Denmark’s second largest city with a population of 336,411. The Refugees in Towns Aarhus case report looks at the integration experience of refugees within a Nordic welfare state....

This report explores lived reintegration experiences of Malawian returnees from Johannesburg, living in Mzuzu, Malawi. In this study, Mwaona Nyirongo explores the challenges and opportunities that the returnees face reintegrating...

Amidst rhetorical headlines about refugees and borders in the United States, this report takes a step back to take the long view of how immigrants in a suburb of Chicago...

This case report focuses on Amman, Jordan, which has for years been at the center of prolonged refugee experiences.

In this case report, Victoria Ríos Infante and Cordelia Rizzo, who grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, explore how their neighborhoods have been transformed as a home to migrants from across Central America.

Amidst an economic crisis, Greece’s cities found themselves host to thousands of refugees stuck in transit along the Balkans Route on their way to Northern Europe. This case study attempts...

The Augusta report explores primarily Middle Eastern refugees who arrived as "secondary" migrants to a small town in Maine.

The Austin case report looks at Syrian refugees living in the deep American southwest, and how their wellbeing impacts their experiences with integration.

This case report explores the ways members of the LGBTQI+ Syrian refugee community survive in Beirut, Lebanon amidst extreme prejudice from much of the Lebanese population, the Lebanese government, and other Syrians.

The Belgrade case report explores the relationship between the European migrant crisis and political movements in Serbia.

The Bloemfontein case report explores the way migrants from across Africa have succeeded and struggled with integration to a major urban center in South Africa.

The Cairo report shares the experiences of Egypt's largely overlooked Sudanese, Ethiopian, Eritrean, South Sudanese, and Somali refugees, as well as their impact on the several neighborhoods in the city.

The Cape Town report focuses on the educational integration of 15-20-year-old first-generation immigrant pupils in four different schools of Cape Town, and their difficulties with permits, language and cultural barriers, and views of prejudice toward them.

The Concord report looks from the eyes of a lifelong resident on a city that has worked to make itself a local bastion of inclusiveness against anti-immigrant rhetoric at the national level.

Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti discusses the microaggressions that foreign restaurant servers face in their workplaces in South Africa and how they learn to cope with them. Most African migrants living in...

This report examines the vulnerabilities of urban refugees, and the difficulties they encounter in accessing basic services in Dar Es Salaam.

The Delhi case report considers food as an element of social and economic integration.

When the American auto industry took a downturn in the 1990s and 2000s, it left numerous neighborhoods in and around Detroit impoverished and neglected. This case report looks at the...

The East Boston report explores a rapidly changing neighborhood that is being transformed both by immigration (largely from Hispanic populations), and by gentrification including the skyrocketing cost of rent, particularly along certain streets.

In this case report, Abdullah Alsmaeel writes about the difficulties refugee parents face in being involved in their children’s education, from interacting with teachers to openly hostile Danish policies towards...

The Hamburg case report focuses on the domain of housing in integration.

This case report explores the voluntary return to Zimbabwe, the impact the returnees' have on the city of Harare, and their experiences of reintegration.

In this case report, Zahed Mukayed, a Syrian refugee living in Istanbul, and Ezgi Irgil, a Turkish PhD student living in Sweden, discuss their research with Syrian refugees in Ezgi’s...

Irbid, Jordan is now inhabited by more Syrian refugees than Jordanian hosts. Yet the most profound changes in the city—affecting and being affected by refugees’ integration—are megatrends affecting cities the world over

Pakistan has experienced several waves of refugees due to recurring conflict in neighboring Afghanistan, as well as repeated internal displacement caused by complex emergencies within the country. This case report...

This case report explores what happened to a coastal Mediterranean city in Turkey that was transformed from a smuggling transit hub to Greece and the EU into a home for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees after the closing the Balkans Route in 2015.

This case report explores the challenges faced by Afghan refugees who had been living in Pakistan and returned to Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It explores the returnees’ experience of reintegration...

The Johannesburg case report looks at Malawian migrants in one of South Africa’s largest cities. It explores the ways value transfer and financial obligations back home both obstruct integration into new neighborhoods and maintain integration with old villages.

This case report reviews the ways internally displaced persons (IDPs) from eastern Ukraine both struggle with integration to the capital, but also become agents of change to transfer the culture and economy of the city.

The Makhanda case report compares the experiences of migrants integrating to a small African town named Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) to the experiences of those living in South Africa’s major urban centers like Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.

This report examines experiences of somalis in Mombasa, Kenya. The case study also examines how Somali-Kenyans navigate their identities and access opportunities.

New Britain, Connecticut has a long history of immigration. This report focuses on the experiences of newly arrived Arabic-speaking immigrants and refugees from Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, and Morocco. The...

This case report examines the impact of internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the social life and culture of an eastern Ukrainian town: Pokrovsk. It explores the impact on this town...

In this case report, Ankara resident Allan Cooper Dell explores the neighborhoods of Turkey’s capital city being transformed by Syrian refugees. He notes “It seems that the lives of the...

The Sultanbeyli, Istanbul case report focuses on social capital as a resource for integration of Syrian refugees.

This case report looks at migration to Costa Rica and explores the main opportunities for and obstacles to integration in terms of migratory status, access to public health, jobs, education, and recreation.

Fleeing persecution, discrimination, and lack of economic opportunities, thousands of Eritrean, Sudanese, and other sub-Saharan African asylum seekers arrived in Israel’s cities after making a dangerous crossing through Egypt’s Sinai...

This case study explores how the Syrian influx has affected Tripoli, including how relationships between Lebanese and Syrians have deteriorated as competition over jobs intensifies, security concerns increase, and decrepit public infrastructure has been further strained.

This report attempts to shed light on the integration process for the most recent wave of refugees in Thessaloniki.

This policy note focuses on urban forced displacement from the perspective of receiving towns and cities.

This report analyzes gang violence affecting African refugee communities in Cairo, Egypt to promote understanding of why violence occurs and local grassroots efforts to prevent violence. It makes recommendations for how humanitarian organizations can support community efforts.