Urban Inclusion Dynamics: Migrant Organizations and Welcome Groups in Belgian Cities

Since the analyses of the Chicago School of Sociology, the arrival of newcomers in cities remains a central topic in the field of urban and migration studies. Still, public policies encounter tensions when addressing newcomers’ inclusion. Building upon these challenges, we investigate how civil society practices in favour of inclusion complement public policies and contribute to strengthening urban citizenship. Indeed, citizenship is rooted in urban contexts and represents an essential component of the inclusion concept.
Expanding on this argument, our panel seeks to examine the role of initiatives led by migrant and welcome groups that operate outside of formal inclusion policies. Our interest lies in initiatives aiming at welcoming and including newcomers while facilitating their access to (urban) citizenship. Such practices include activities ranging from individualized support to collective events, passing through online support interactions on social media platforms. Notably, we focus on initiatives of established migrants towards newcomers, whether within structured organizations or informal online groups.
Engaging with different perspectives, both conceptual and empirical, we aim to explore the extent to which these initiatives foster newcomers’ urban inclusion. As a contribution to the literature on urban citizenship nurtured by and for migrants, we aim to engage in a conversation with other scholars who are studying the inclusion of newcomers in cities, with a specific emphasis on the welcoming associative and collective dynamics involving migrants.
The panel is related to the Lead Agency project (SNF, FNRS) Unexpected Inclusions: Migration, Mobility and the Open City (UNIC project).