Making Immigrant integration work : a case study of refugee resettlement in Philadelphia, PA

This research seeks to understand what are the conditions under which refugees integrate successfully in urban areas. This question is of particular importance to urban areas despite the fact that refugees account for only 10 percent of total US immigration. Refugee resettlement disproportionately impacts a city's urban fabric and foreign-born profile through the establishment of immigrant enclaves and subsequent chain migration. Moreover, a refugee community's initial resettlement period has long-term effects for integration outcomes. This research examines the institutional development of the refugee resettlement process in the city of Philadelphia, PA and draws on a case study of Liberian refugee resettlement where the presence of an existing community and English language ability did not facilitate integration as would be expected. This research investigates how stakeholders can make integration work for refugee immigrants.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Brandt, Karin Leah

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Alice Amsden.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59716

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/59716