Between residential vulnerabilities and local hospitality: Experiences and trajectories of exiles in small and medium-sized towns

Abstract

Since 2015, small and medium-sized towns have become places where asylum seekers and refugees settle as a consequence of a national policy of dispersion which aims to prevent their concentration in metropolises. This paper investigates the effects of this forced displacement on the residential vulnerabilities of exiles. It sheds some light on this issue by analyzing residential experiences and trajectories of twenty-nine exiles interviewed in three small and medium-sized French towns. It shows how national dispersion policies, while displacing those migrants in imposed cities where they do not have social networks, have more negative impacts on their experiences than the arrival places themselves. These policies tend to strengthen the isolation and anxiety of people who are already weakened by their migration and the uncertainty of the administrative procedures. The paper also highlights mitigate effects of small and medium-sized cities as arrival places, some positive impact due to residential opportunities provided by less tensed housing markets contrasted with more negative one due to the lack of services and transportation. The investment of local residents -who alleviate some of the difficulties by taking care of the most vulnerable-makes these social spaces more hospitable even if racialization processes can make them less hospitable. Characterized by loose forms of interaction, these cities become more familiar over time, particularly for families socialized to these types of spaces during their residential trajectories.