Young Refugees’ Integration Trajectories—The Critical Role of Local Resources in Germany

Abstract

Though it is a global phenomenon, migration results in a variety of local outcomes. Depending on migrants’ specific arrival contexts, countries of origin and migration motives, they are channelled into different categories. As a result, they encounter unequal access to different domains at the local level. This paper analyses how young migrants in vulnerable conditions are able to access and use local or localised resources and to what extend these resources enable them to overcome structural barriers over time. Our analysis builds on empirical findings from a case study in Dortmund, Germany, conducted through the EU-funded MIMY project. Drawing on narrative interviews with young refugees (aged 18–29), it highlights three specific cases where temporal and spatial factors shape individual integration pathways. The narratives highlight the barriers encountered by young refugees, most of which are related to migrant policy categories implemented at national or supra-national levels. In the arrival context, the young migrants are able—to varying degrees—to mobilise localised resources helping them overcome (at least partially) such mainly structural barriers. Focusing on the emergence and evolution of local integration landscapes thus reveals the importance of time and the difference time makes in terms of the availability of resources and legal frameworks.

The Lives of Third-Country National Migrant Youth in Europe: Between Perceived Vulnerabilities and Available Resources

“…However, such an approach is declinated differently in the various contributions from a linguistic and, in some cases, theoretical point of view. For example, some authors have chosen to retain the word "integration" while highlighting the problematic history of the term, and have sought to explore it in processual, multilevel, and multidirectional ways (Aydar and Plöger 2023;Arendas et al 2023;Cimpoeru et al 2023;Zanfrini and Giuliani 2023). Other authors, in an effort to distance themselves (more or less explicitly) from the language of policies and politics, have opted to adopt the less politically and semiotically heavy analogy of "building a life" (Gilodi et al 2023;Lind et al 2023) or "making projects for the future" (Crapolicchio et al 2023), pointing to the process in young adulthood of finding one's place in the world.…”

“…For example, considering the "traditional" dimensions related to integration processes (employment, housing, education, and healthcare), the articles in this Special Issue document an array of critical issues faced by young migrants in their countries of arrival. Reaching educational goals, accessing (certain sectors of) the labour market, and finding suitable and long-term housing solutions are some of the main structural challenges that migrant youth can encounter during the integration process (Arendas et al 2023;Aydar and Plöger 2023;Cimpoeru et al 2023;Gilodi et al 2023;Lind et al 2023;Zanfrini and Giuliani 2023).…”

“…The young migrants' voices that are collected in this Special Issue shed light on how structural constraints have affected their integration experiences, since their arrival in their country of residence, or since an even earlier point. In particular, legal barriers, and their capacity to arbitrarily shape the experiences of migrants across different aspects of life, are broadly documented in the contributions to this SI (Arendas et al 2023;Aydar and Plöger 2023;Cimpoeru et al 2023;Crapolicchio et al 2023;Gilodi et al 2023;Lind et al 2023). Insecure legal statuses, temporary residence permits, the bureaucratic complexity of legal procedures, and difficulties in communicating with local authorities are crucial aspects that shape young people's lives, as they limit opportunities across different life domains, as well as access to resources (e.g., welfare provisions).…”

Refugee and Migrant Integration in Urban Spatial Structures and City Development: Case Study of Busan, South Korea

“…Much of the literature criticizes the concept of migrant integration because of its problematic interpretation involving multiple factors and dimensions and lack of an acceptable definition [13][14][15][16]. In addition, migration-related policies and responsibilities have been restricted to national and international levels [17], despite cities being the primary hosting places for migrant populations [18].…”

“…The formal informality of Dharavi has influenced the urban pattern, development strategies, and socio-economic structure of Mumbai for decades [29][30][31][32]. Research on humanitarian contexts shows that refugee settlements are also leading to new urban patterns as the boundaries between camps and cities are blurred and overlapped with the emergence of informal settlements [33] or the "in-between spaces" [16,[34][35][36][37]. Camps in Lebanon are no longer bounded and controlled spatial settlements but represent a permanent temporality within the urban fabric of cities [36].…”