Perceptions of Transportation Mobility Among Afghan Refugee Women

Already home to an established Afghan American community, the Washington D.C. metropolitan region has seen a further increase in the number of Afghan refugees since the Fall of Kabul in 2021. This study explores the perceptions of mobility among Afghan refugee women as they resettle in their new communities. Through semi-structured interviews and a cognitive mapping exercise with nine women, this study reveals that barriers to daily mobility stem from lacking literacy and English language proficiency and from not possessing a driver's license—leading to restrictions in their desired mobility. The following themes surfaced through thematic analysis: reliance on social networks, a desire for third places and sense of independence and freedom. This study hopes to shed light on the lived experiences of Afghan women, an underrepresented population in mobility studies. The findings from this preliminary study also seek to inform cities with larger refugee populations to consider refugees in planning and design decisions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Urban and Regional Planning

Department dc:contributor.department

Urban Affairs and Planning

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Malik, Zuhra Hafsa

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Misra, Shalini
• Buehler, Ralph

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Powell, Katrina M.

• Afghan refugees
• cognitive mapping
• gender
• mobility
• refugees

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:40316

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/119385