Arrival neighbourhoods in Flanders. A study on localized resources for the arrival and transition process of migrants

This PhD project focuses on the question how the Flemish spatial structure can be made more resourceful for international migration flows. It is hypothesized that the logic of socio-spatial differentiation and specialization in cities, as first described by urban sociologists of the Chicago School (but wrongly attributed to ecological forces), can provide cities with resourcefulness in the face of migration. More specifically, this research project focuses on the operation of urban transition zones as areas specialized in the arrival and transition of newcomers, and mobilizes a Polanyian framework to analyse the localized resources that are nurtured in these areas and potentially contribute to the integration of migrants in society. Through interviews with local key figures and newcomers, ethnic entrepreneurs, experts and policy makers it is analyzed how and to what extent main gateway cities (case Antwerp-North), but also small-scale cities (case Aalst) and suburban municipalities (case Liedekerke) specialize in the reception of newcomers and how robust or fragile this specialization is for interventions of political and economic actors from outside the city (or neighbourhood).