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Welcoming Cities, Arrival Infrastructure: Introductory panel
This event is online only (Zoom)
What does it mean for a place to be welcoming? Cities in particular, as sites of migration and arrival, are often a focal point for integration, and in some cases are seen as places where national-level hostility to migration might be replaced by a welcoming approach, with some cities adopting proactive policies of sanctuary or welcome. If migration governance is understood predominantly as a national government competence, then welcoming is predominantly oriented at the local level. How do these levels of government interact, and how can we know this multi-level governance of migration and welcoming?
More broadly, how does this work function in practice? Should it be best considered through an integration lens, focusing on access to the labour market, education, and social networks, or through a more spatial approach, focusing on the role of arrival infrastructure in supporting newcomer communities through social infrastructure and the built environment (Wessendorf, 2024). Is the role of the state (at the national or local level) central, or should we instead focus on grassroots urban solidarity movements that have inspired new practices in urban citizenship (Humphris, 2025).
Cities are not homogeneous spaces and are not uniformly proactive in this space, facing different challenges and levels of demographic change. How do cities understand their role in welcoming, and how do Mayors and other actors define their leadership and convening roles?
This introductory panel aims to tackle these questions of welcoming, arrival, integration and inclusion in cities – from both a municipal and civic perspective, looking from the perspective of both the UK and Germany.
Date:
30 October 2025, 15:45
Venue:
Online only
Speakers:
Gökçe Yurdakul (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin),
Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford),
Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin),
Julie Kashirahamwe (Liverpool City Council),
Linda Hyökki (European Coalition of Cities Against Racism)
Organising department:
Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS)
Organisers:
Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin),
Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
info@compas.ox.ac.uk
Part of:
Welcoming Cities: Arrival Infrastructure
Booking required?:
Required
Booking url:
https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/event/welcoming-cities-arrival-infrastructure
Cost:
Free
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Nathan Grassi
