Based on a recent exchange convened within the framework of the JPI-funded research project HOUSE-IN(shaping exchange and innovation for migrants’ access to housing and social inclusion), where it focuses in the project’s case studies (Riga, Vienna, Leipzig) and Warsaw.
By Giovanna Astolfo, Harriet Allsopp, Maciej Duszczyk, Yvonne Franz, Annegret Haase, Karlis Laksevics, Bahanur Nasya, Ieva Raubisko, Ursula Reeger, Anika Schmidt (2022): blogs.ucl.ac.uk, University College London Blog, 20th June 2022.
The blog presents an initial reflection on emerging challenges that the influx of refugees from Ukraine – about 7 million people since 24 February 2022 – poses to cities and their housing infrastructures. Based on a recent exchange convened within the framework of the JPI-funded research project HOUSE-IN, it focuses on the project’s case studies (Riga, Vienna, Leipzig) and Warsaw. Cognizant of evident differences in refugee numbers and responses across the four countries, the blog discusses the role of humanitarian and state actors and that of grassroots and migrant-to-migrant solidarity, crucial in navigating a volatile and unplannable situation for the urban context. It raises questions around so-called compassion fatigue and its different facets, amongst trauma and loss; issues of temporality vis a vis austerity urbanism, inequality and precariousness; and around double standards and the enduring issue of racism at the core of housing and welcoming culture in Europe.
You can also find the article on: https://cooperativecity.org/2022/07/12/precariousness-double-standards-and-racism-in-housing-refugees/
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