Migration Infrastructures: How Do People Migrate?

Abstract

Migration research primarily studies who migrates and the processes after their arrival. Less attention is paid to the processes between departure and arrival and the infrastructures used during migratory journeys (see Crawley et al., 2018). This is further reinforced by the fact that most migration is wanted and regular, and that there is little social and political interest in the actual physical dimension of regular migration processes. Comparatively few studies are seeking to answer the question of how people migrate. The main exception is the research of unwanted and irregular migration with a focus on migrants and refugees traveling by boat and those actors facilitating unlawful practices, denoted as human smugglers or traffickers. In short, migration infrastructure is probably the least well defined, researched and published theme, whilst it is also heavily biased.