Settlement, housing and integration of refugees in the UK and Germany: experiences beyond the metropolis

This research will explore the housing experiences of
refugees and asylum seekers in two European countries by
examining housing policies and settlement patterns. The so-called
refugee 'crisis' and the integration of these individuals across
Europe has caused many different challenges for European society,
some of those challenges that are not fully known, and others are
only just emerging in this superdiverse era. Previous research
shows how their integration into the host society can be impeded
by social structures. Scales of governance can seriously hamper the
individual autonomy of refugees and asylum seekers such as laws
that fix them to a particular place (Weidinger, in press). This
research will consider the role of housing policies and settlement
patterns on migrant integration. Using case studies of rural,
regional and urban settings, it will scrutinize housing, settlement
and integration processes.
A qualitative approach (semi-structured interviews,
observation, document analysis) will provide a range of
perspectives and lenses to scrutinise migrant integration. Data
analysis will draw primarily on Goffman and Delanty to unravel the
importance of micro-level interactions vis-à-vis wider social
structures.
The research will contribute to a growing scholarship on
new immigration destinations, that is areas with limited experience
of immigration. One of the ongoing challenges of migration
research is that of methodological nationalism (Wimmer and Glick
Schiller 2002). In proposing pan-European analysis this research will
help to move beyond piecemeal localized migration studies,
extending theoretical debates and providing essential knowledge to
NGOs and policymakers.