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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Main Authors: Caroline Oliver, Karin Geuijen, Rianne Dekker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2020-08-01
Series:Comparative Migration Studies
Subjects:
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.
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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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