SSIIM - Urban Policies And Practices - Unesco Chair

In today Neoliberal world we are confronted with an ethic paradox: freedom of movement of goods, firms and money has been continuously promoted and enhanced while free circulation of human beings has been more and more restricted. Yet, due to the declining costs of transportation and the perspective of better living conditions upon moving to a different country, international migration is growing worldwide, including among developing countries (South to South migrations).

In contrast with the common belief that international migrant flows have almost exclusively a South-North direction, any not superficial analysis of available statistics could easily reveal that a large proportion of international migrants moves from one developing country to another and among their urban areas in particular. Indeed, several studies show that most transborder movements are intra-regional, facilitated by geographic, cultural and linguistic proximity which represent important pulling factors often overcoming the mere economic ones.

The great majority of international migrants head towards cities, especially the globalized metropolises. In fact, even in the poorest countries, cities - and large cities in particular - encompass nearly all existing societal functions and thus are generally perceived by would-be migrants as the places that may offer the best life opportunities.  It is becoming evident that nowadays international migration is overwhelmingly an urban phenomenon affecting essentially all dimensions of urban policymaking, from local economic development, particularly the informal sector, to education, health, housing and urban safety.

Since international migration is mainly an urban phenomenon it would be logical for local governments, both in developed and developing countries, to include it in their agenda of priorities. However, migration is usually considered as a national security issue, and the bulk of migration policies is set at a central level, mainly directed at curbing (rather than managing) migratory inflows through restrictive admission regulations and enhanced border controls. Far less attention is devoted to migrant policies, i.e. all those measures that should be envisaged and implemented at the city level to guarantee international migrants’ urban inclusion, to foster social cohesion and to promote the right to the city for all. This is particularly true in cities of developing countries, where international migration takes place in the total absence of explicit inclusive policies.

Despite the growing numbers of international migrants living in these cities, local governments are yet to devise any specific action to cope with the issue, a shortcoming which in turn contributes to the already large number of marginalized urban residents. Lack of information and low awareness about the potential benefits and consequences of international migration, along with limited resources and capabilities, lead local authorities to maintain a passive position regarding the further challenges this phenomenon poses to urban governance. Yet these migrants do exist, and raise new demand for ad hoc policies and programs addressing their particular needs.

The ineffectiveness of closed doors policies - whose main effect is usually the uncontrolled growth of undocumented immigration and the escalation of criminal organizations involved in migrant smuggling - combined with an inadequate response at the urban level, makes migrant communities extremely vulnerable to discrimination when trying to access basic urban services, and exposes them to a high risk of being deprived of any citizenship rights. For their part, local authorities are weak actors in national policy making on immigration and security while, on the other hand, their responsibility for the management of increasingly diverse urban societies is growing. They normally can rely upon scarce information about migrants’ stocks and flows, and even less about the working and living conditions of foreign people already settled in their cities. In fact official surveys, censuses and registration instruments largely underestimate the dimension of international urban migration, and local governments are seldom prepared to cope with the ad hoc policies needed to integrate people with different cultural, social and religious traditions into urban society. Yet the failure to integrate migrants and minorities can further exacerbate the existing fragmentation of urban societies, as well as generate new tensions along ethnic, racial and religious. Implementation of effective urban policies is thus becoming urgent, due to its potential to reduce these problems and to contribute in building up cosmopolitan cities where smooth cohabitation, cultural exchange, social cohesion between local and foreign communities are facilitated and promoted as essential milestones for sustainable development.

Through the network of the partner universities, research centres and other relevant actors, the UNESCO Chair “Social and spatial inclusion of international migrants: urban policies and practices” (SSIIM) will contribute to:

• identify policies and practices that promote the urban inclusion of international migrants
• support local governments in shaping adequate actions to foster effective urban governance and the social/spatial integration of international migrants
• disseminate the experiences that can provide ground for effective policy exchange (good practices)
• raise the awareness of policy-makers and the civil society at large, on the importance of international migrants’ urban social and spatial inclusion