IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/urbpla/v5y2020i3p127-137.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Frustrating Beginnings: How Social Ties Compensate Housing Integration Barriers for Afghan Refugees in Vienna

Author

Listed:
  • Josef Kohlbacher

    (Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria)

Abstract

In this article, we present findings from a recent (2017–2018) qualitative survey on the integration of Afghan refugees in Vienna. Vienna is by far the largest city in Austria with a diversified labour and housing market and a multi-faceted (migrant) economy. It doubtlessly is the most attractive ‘arrival city’ in Austria. Moreover, Vienna has received the bulk of refugees during the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ of 2015–2016 and before. The analysis will focus on Ager and Strang’s (2008) argument, which characterizes housing as a core domain in integration. Housing constitutes a potential means of supporting integration into domains other than the labour market. In the process of housing integration, researchers (Aigner, 2018; Borevi & Bengtsson, 2015) have emphasized the relevance of refugees’ social ties with family and co-ethnic groups, whereas the importance of inter-ethnic networking with members of the receiving society remains insufficiently explored. The majority of the 65 interviewees had emphasized the importance of refugees’ social ties for their efforts towards structural integration. This analysis therefore aims at describing Afghans’ challenging access paths into the local housing market, and the outstanding compensatory relevance of social ties in this process. Thus, we can identify special constraints (e.g., ‘Afghanophobia,’ exploitative conditions) and coping strategies of this under-researched ‘newcomer’ group of refugees in Austria.

Suggested Citation

  • Josef Kohlbacher, 2020. "Frustrating Beginnings: How Social Ties Compensate Housing Integration Barriers for Afghan Refugees in Vienna," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 127-137.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:urbpla:v5:y:2020:i:3:p:127-137
    DOI: 10.17645/up.v5i3.2872
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/2872
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/up.v5i3.2872?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexander M. Danzer & Hulya Ulku, 2011. "Integration, Social Networks and Economic Success of Immigrants: A Case Study of the Turkish Community in Berlin," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(3), pages 342-365, August.
    2. Oecd, 2019. "Regional Integration in Border Cities," West African Papers 20, OECD Publishing.
    3. Noël Malod-Dognin & Julia Petschnigg & Sam F. L. Windels & Janez Povh & Harry Hemingway & Robin Ketteler & Nataša Pržulj, 2019. "Towards a data-integrated cell," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Josef Kohlbacher, 2020. "Frustrating Beginnings: How Social Ties Compensate Housing Integration Barriers for Afghan Refugees in Vienna," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 127-137.
    2. María José Viana Cleves & Gerardo Barbosa Castillo & Andrés Rolando Ciro Gómez & Édgar Solano González, 2022. "Líneas estructurales para la Fuerza Pública: medioambiente e inteligencia militar," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 1330.
    3. Fred de Jong & Paul Brouwer & Thomas Lans, 2023. "Visie op integraal advies door een financieel professional aan het mkb," Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie Articles, Maandblad Voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie, vol. 97(11-12), pages 365-372, December.
    4. Gil Epstein & Odelia Heizler, 2014. "Ethnosizing Immigrants: A Theoretical Framework," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1441, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    5. Alexander M. Danzer & Firat Yaman, 2013. "Do Ethnic Enclaves Impede Immigrants' Integration? Evidence from a Quasi-experimental Social-interaction Approach," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 311-325, May.
    6. Fabio Sabatini & Francesco Sarracino, 2017. "Online Networks and Subjective Well-Being," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 456-480, August.
    7. Alexander M. Danzer, 2012. "Economic Benefits of Facilitating the Integration of Immigrants," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 9(04), pages 14-19, February.
    8. Cyrine Hannafi & Mohamed Ali Marouani, 2023. "Social integration of Syrian refugees and their intention to stay in Germany," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(2), pages 581-607, April.
    9. Alexander M. Danzer, 2012. "Economic Benefits of Facilitating the Integration of Immigrants," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 9(4), pages 14-19, 02.
    10. Gil Epstein & Odelia Heizler (Cohen), 2015. "Ethnic identity: a theoretical framework," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. Ziyan Pan & Yali Li & Ziyu Jia & Zhengxu Zhou, 2024. "Community support as a driver for social integration in ex-situ poverty alleviation relocation communities: a case study in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    12. Firanchuk, Alexander (Фиранчук, Александр), 2018. "The Russian Food Embargo, its Impact on Food Imports, and the Role of Third Countries in Violating the Embargo (Re-Export) [Российское Продуктовое Эмбарго, Его Влияние На Импорт Продовольственных Т," Working Papers 041802, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    13. Peter Grajzl & Jonathan Eastwood & Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl, 2017. "Should Immigrants Culturally Assimilate or Preserve Their Own Culture? Individual Beliefs and the Longevity of National Identity," CESifo Working Paper Series 6470, CESifo.
    14. Yaron Zelekha, 2013. "The Effect of Immigration on Entrepreneurship," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(3), pages 438-465, August.
    15. Heather Dickey & Stephen Drinkwater & Sergei Shubin, 2018. "Labour market and social integration of Eastern European migrants in Scotland and Portugal," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(6), pages 1250-1268, September.
    16. repec:ces:ifodic:v:9:y:2012:i:4:p:17567569 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Maruszewski Wojciech & Kaczmarczyk Paweł, 2020. "Economic Integration and Migrant Networks: The Case of Ukrainian Migrants in the Warsaw Agglomeration," Central European Economic Journal, Sciendo, vol. 7(54), pages 258-278, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:urbpla:v5:y:2020:i:3:p:127-137. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.