Governing Networks, Forced Migration and Precarious Housing in the City

The “local turn” of migration policies has been more pronounced since the “refugee crisis” of 2015. Its accompanying camps, emergency shelters, and buildings occupation have put cities under the microscope, underlying the multiple interactions between homelessness and forced migration, including precarious housing and hidden forms of homelessness. Several types of networks are engaged in tackling homelessness and precarious amongst migrant populations. While social, family or ethnic networks might alleviate the risks for more visible forms of homelessness, network members often lack resources to deal with housing and living costs in general (Hermans et al., 2020). In some cases, in particular unaccompanied minors, little or no support network is available, and many depend on the advocacy of neighbours’ collectives close to encampments (Coutant, 2018). Finally, cities themselves are engaged in local, national and transnational city networks aiming at sharing practices, leveraging resources and strategizing advocacy (Spencer, 2022). This project aims to look at exploring the construction and mobilization of these networks as well as analyze their impacts.

Faculty Supervisor:

Aude-Claire Fourot

Student:

Partner:

Université Jean Monnet Saint-Étienne

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Public Service, Policy, and Governance; Information and Communications Technology

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program: