Welcoming Cities: Arrival Infrastructure

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 seminar series aims to tackle these questions of welcoming, arrival, integration and inclusion in cities – from both a municipal and civic perspective. The series is co-convened by the University of Oxford in the UK and Humboldt University in Germany, allowing for a comparative lens between two countries with contrasting approaches to integration and welcoming, as well as allowing for broader global perspectives.

Attendance is free, and all are welcome.
Type: Seminar Series
Series organisers: Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford), Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Timing: Thursdays, 3:45 - 5 pm
Web Address: https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/event/welcoming-cities-arrival-infrastructure
Organising department: Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS)

Talks:

Thursday 30 October 2025

Welcoming Cities, Arrival Infrastructure: Introductory panel
Date: 30 October 2025, 15:45 - 17:00
Speaker s: 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)
Venue Details: Online only
Organisers: Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 6 November 2025

The ‘Stable Neighbourhood’ Planning Paradigm in Times of Migration and Diversity
Date: 6 November 2025, 15:45 - 17:00
Speaker : Heike Hanhörster (Technische Universität Berlin)
Venue Details: Online
Organisers: Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 13 November 2025

The Production of (knowledge on) Urban Spaces of Asylum and Differential Arrival
Date: 13 November 2025, 15:45 - 17:00
Speaker s: Sophie Hinger (Universität Osnabrück), Francina Guggenberger (Universität Osnabrück)
Venue Details: Online
Organisers: Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 20 November 2025

Infrastructures of Kindness in the Context of Migrant Arrival
Date: 20 November 2025, 15:45 - 17:00
Speaker : Susanne Wessendorf (Coventry University)
Venue: Kellogg College, 62 Banbury Road OX2 6PN
Venue Details: The Hub
Organisers: Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 27 November 2025

The Politicisation of Local Integration Policy-Making in Western European Small and Medium-sized Towns and Rural Areas
Date: 27 November 2025, 15:45 - 17:00
Speaker s: Tiziana Caponio (Università di Torino / Collegio Carlo Alberto), Andrea Pettrachin (Università di Padova)
Venue: Kellogg College, 62 Banbury Road OX2 6PN
Venue Details: The Hub
Organisers: Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Thursday 4 December 2025

Welcoming Cities: How newcomers shape urban policy making (book launch)
Date: 4 December 2025, 15:45 - 17:00
Speaker s: Sunder Katwala (Director, British Future), Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford), Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Fuad Mohammed (Ashley Community Housing)
Venue: Kellogg College, 62 Banbury Road OX2 6PN
Venue Details: The Hub
Organisers: Nihad El-Kayed (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Jacqui Broadhead (COMPAS, University of Oxford)
Hosts: TBA

Editor: Nathan Grassi