E-Module Chapter 4: Migrants and Precarious Housing

In this chapter, we focus on precarious housing as experienced by migrants, who are among the social groups most severely affected by precariousness, particularly (but not only) in terms of accessing adequate housing. As part of this e-module, we invite you to engage further with the aspects introduced in the textbook

Consolidating Knowledge

  • Key concepts: We introduced you to some different categories of migrants and the different political, economic, and social aspects that contribute to their housing precariousness. Have a look at this exercise to review some of the main points.
  • Reflection Task. A Decent New Home: To get some further  insights  on the situation of refugees who arrive in the EU without housing, read a journalistic account of refugee camps built at the  outermost borders of the EU. Then, reflect on the use of phrases such as ‘decent  housing’, ‘decent living conditions and ‘overcrowdedness’.
  • Reflection Task. Migrants and Precarious Housing in the Local Context:  In chapter 4 we discussed the complex relation between (forced) migration and housing. Now, let us take a  detailed look at the region or city you live in.

Listening In

  • PusH Podcast - Episode 6. Dispossession and Immigrants' Struggle for Housing in Madrid: In this episode of the PusH Podcast, we interview Dr. Sophie Gonick, Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. We discuss the issue of dispossession and immigrants’ struggle for housing in Madrid where she completed her research for Ph.D. We explore topics like homeownership, discrimination, and the importance of housing in defining the migrant experience.
  • PusH Podcast - Episode 10. The Danish 'Ghetto' Policy: In this  episode of the PusH Podcast, we interview Dr. Rikke Skovgaard Nielsen, senior researcher at the Department of the Build Environment at the Aalborg University in Denmark. We discuss the origins and effects of the Danish 'Ghetto' Policy.
  • External Podcast in German. Die Unterbringung Geflüchteter (Refugee Housing)This episode of the FAU Human Rights Podcast concerns refugee housing in Germany, focusing on the situation in Bavaria. Prof. Petra Bendel discusses the situation in shared accomodations and „AnkER-Zentren“ with Dr. Stephan Dünnwald, Lea Gelardi (M.A.) and Dr. Olaf Kleist.
  • External Podcast. Forced to Flee: This episode of the Forced to Flee podcast was produced by the UN Refugee Agency and UNHCR. In this final episode for the series, long-term options for refugees, asylum-seekers, and the internally displaced are discussed. We meet refugees who have overcome obstacles in their host countries and how some host countries are making it harder to find refuge.

Getting Active

Digging Deeper


Last modified: Tuesday, 18 October 2022, 1:54 PM