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The processes of European Union (EU) integration and enlargement have produced a new regional socioeconomic map in Europe. Border regions, in particular, have been put in a state of flux. The re-allocation of activities, opportunities and threats is changing their socioeconomic role and significance. Thus, border regions have become an issue of great importance during the last fifteen years in both the areas of scientific research and policy making. The overall picture of the actual dynamics occurring at the border regions, however, when economic barriers have been abolished, remains rather unclear. The absence of an appropriate methodological framework for the study of the impact of EU integration and enlargement dynamics on border regions is evident. The paper proposes a typology for the EU NUTS III border regions, interpreting the socioeconomic dynamics occurring within the enlarged EU space. Primary and secondary data, incorporating quantitative and qualitative determinants for border regions, were elaborated with integrated factor and fuzzy clustering analysis techniques. The proposed border regions typology provides a framework to assess the relative position of each EU border region in the EU space.

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Many studies have explored the dynamics of immigrant and refugee settlement at the local level, highlighting that it is actually a two-way process: On the one hand, the local socio-political context specifies the conditions for refugee inclusion, and on the other, migrant mobility leads to the transformation of localities in various ways. In Greek cities, the social practices of local actors have played an important role in the implementation of the immigration policy, where refugees were perceived as a threat to personal and community security. Yet, new forms of social mobilisation and solidarity by individual citizens and community initiatives<em> </em>have worked to alter these attitudes, mitigating tensions and obstacles in refugee acceptance. The article draws on the Greek experience to explore the role and importance of the local socio-political texture in refugee inclusion, shedding light on how it gave rise to various local initiatives that inform refugee allocation as well as urban transformation and institutional change. In methodological terms, the article considers three neighbouring Greek cities as case studies to identify the different institutional and policy responses to refugee accommodation, giving rise to different paths and forms of social inclusion. The study reveals<strong><em> </em></strong>the complexity and context of the social-spatial diversity that refugees face but also the transformation dynamics of local states and civil society.The paper draws on the Greek experience to explore the role and importance of social infrastructure in refugee integration, shedding light on how these qualities, materialized in local initiatives for refugee integration to influence urban transformation and institutional change. In methodological terms, the paper employs three small and medium-size Greek cities as case studies to identify the different institutional and policy responses to refugee accommodation followed, giving rise to different paths and forms of social inclusion and urban transformation. The study reveals<strong><em> </em></strong>the complexity and the contextuality of the social spatial diversity that refugees face but also the transformation of local states and civil society.