Young refugees feel more at home in cities when they can be young

Ilse van Liempt - Young people with a refugee background who settle in a city benefit from a diverse urban culture. They tend to feel at home in their new city more quickly when they meet other young people at festivals, community centres or on the street - people whose interests in music, art or sports they share. Important aspects in such contacts are their origin and their personal refugee history. Principally, though, encounters of this kind are about sharing experiences. In addition, the newcomers enrich urban culture by introducing new types of music and subcultures. These are findings from Everyday experiences of young refugees and asylum seekers in public spaces, a European research project in which urban geographer Ilse van Liempt has been involved over the past three years via Utrecht University. Cities offer space for encounters.