Social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception: the Utrecht Refugee Launchpad
Abstract The Utrecht Refugee Launchpad was an experiment at city-level to create a more inclusive form of asylum seeker reception. The initiative used co-housing, bringing together young, local tenants with asylum seekers to improve social integration and local relations. This article examines the n...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2020-08-01
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Series: | Comparative Migration Studies |
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Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40878-020-00187-0 |
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author | Caroline Oliver Karin Geuijen Rianne Dekker |
author_facet | Caroline Oliver Karin Geuijen Rianne Dekker |
author_sort | Caroline Oliver |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Abstract The Utrecht Refugee Launchpad was an experiment at city-level to create a more inclusive form of asylum seeker reception. The initiative used co-housing, bringing together young, local tenants with asylum seekers to improve social integration and local relations. This article examines the nature of social contact, and considers the value of relationships developed between asylum seekers and tenants, using qualitative data from interviews and participant observation. Our findings demonstrate the importance of context, as we show that the remote logics of the national asylum system imposed spatial and temporal limitations on the co-housing model to generate ‘adjacent’ and transient living. However, at times –through both accident and design– contact was developed with more ease: when there was an equal ratio, similarities between populations, low numbers (of around 80 people in total), access to shared space, and high commitment to the project’s ‘disposition to friendliness’. While we conclude that relationships proved ephemeral rather than sustained, the initiative nevertheless held promise by enabling asylum seekers brief escapes from landscapes of indifference encountered during reception. Recognising how wider institutional contexts impact on the development of contact however helps innovations like these to achieve a greater potential for transforming relationships and values in urban space. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-20T13:02:26Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-461e3db5f911412f88fd10793945ce05 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2214-594X |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-20T13:02:26Z |
publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
publisher | SpringerOpen |
record_format | Article |
series | Comparative Migration Studies |
spelling | doaj.art-461e3db5f911412f88fd10793945ce052022-12-21T19:39:52ZengSpringerOpenComparative Migration Studies2214-594X2020-08-018111910.1186/s40878-020-00187-0Social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception: the Utrecht Refugee LaunchpadCaroline Oliver0Karin Geuijen1Rianne Dekker2Institute of Education, University College LondonSchool of Governance, University of UtrechtSchool of Governance, University of UtrechtAbstract The Utrecht Refugee Launchpad was an experiment at city-level to create a more inclusive form of asylum seeker reception. The initiative used co-housing, bringing together young, local tenants with asylum seekers to improve social integration and local relations. This article examines the nature of social contact, and considers the value of relationships developed between asylum seekers and tenants, using qualitative data from interviews and participant observation. Our findings demonstrate the importance of context, as we show that the remote logics of the national asylum system imposed spatial and temporal limitations on the co-housing model to generate ‘adjacent’ and transient living. However, at times –through both accident and design– contact was developed with more ease: when there was an equal ratio, similarities between populations, low numbers (of around 80 people in total), access to shared space, and high commitment to the project’s ‘disposition to friendliness’. While we conclude that relationships proved ephemeral rather than sustained, the initiative nevertheless held promise by enabling asylum seekers brief escapes from landscapes of indifference encountered during reception. Recognising how wider institutional contexts impact on the development of contact however helps innovations like these to achieve a greater potential for transforming relationships and values in urban space.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40878-020-00187-0Asylum seeker receptionEncounterCo-housingLocal turnRefugeesSocial contact |
spellingShingle | Caroline Oliver Karin Geuijen Rianne Dekker Social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception: the Utrecht Refugee Launchpad Comparative Migration Studies Asylum seeker reception Encounter Co-housing Local turn Refugees Social contact |
title | Social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception: the Utrecht Refugee Launchpad |
title_full | Social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception: the Utrecht Refugee Launchpad |
title_fullStr | Social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception: the Utrecht Refugee Launchpad |
title_full_unstemmed | Social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception: the Utrecht Refugee Launchpad |
title_short | Social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception: the Utrecht Refugee Launchpad |
title_sort | social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception the utrecht refugee launchpad |
topic | Asylum seeker reception Encounter Co-housing Local turn Refugees Social contact |
url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40878-020-00187-0 |
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