Arrival Infrastructures: Segregation of Displaced Migrants and Processes of Urban Change in Athens

Abstract

Recent treatment of accommodation and arrival infrastructures for asylum seekers and refugees has fuelled international research on refugee reception policies in urban environments and on the consequences of related initiatives of the European Union and international organizations such as the UNHCR. Using Athens as a case study, this article provides empirical evidence to revive the theoretical treatment of the importance of arrival and accommodation infrastructures in urban areas in transition. We collected and compiled data from four sources: the 2011 population census, the 2018 ESTIA accommodation program and the UNHCR Site Management Support (SMS) Reports of Temporary Accommodation Sites and Reception and Identification Centres (RICs), and a primary survey of services for asylum seekers and refugees. After the geocoding of data, we calculate indices for key dimensions of the segregation of accommodated asylum seekers and foreign nationals. We discuss the findings, seeking to highlight how the location and the composition of accommodation infrastructures has been influenced by a wider process of urban change and adaptations to global forces, leading not only to the transformation of inner-city zones but also suburban and peri-urban areas.