SIXTH INTERNATIONAL METROPOLIS CONFERENCE 

Workshop title: Reception Centres for Refugees and their Impact on the Local Environment

Chair: Koen De Mesmaeker 

In the last years the number of asylum seekers/refugees has increased enormously. In Western Europe, for example, the number of asylum applicants grew from c.a. 170,000 in 1985 to more than 690,000 in 1992. In Northern America this number grew from 28,000 in 1985 to 173,000 in 1995. This growth has caused significant problems to the various countries, sometimes not prepared to face such an influx or simply too orientated towards a restriction of their migration policies due to periods of economic recessions. But, because of international obligations, these countries can not refuse the entry of asylum seekers; therefore while they try and close the doors to traditional migrants, the number of more or less genuine asylum seekers increases more and more. One of the main problems governments have to face when dealing with asylum seekers/refugees is the problem of reception facilities: sometimes the number of existent reception facilities is not sufficient if compared to the number of asylum seekers/refugees or sometimes reception centres are opened in some regions of the country (often in the poorest, more densely populated areas), causing a hostile reaction among the population and the local authorities who do not know what to expect and fear crime and devaluation of their properties.

The aims of this workshop are:

i)                    bringing together different actors involved in the reception of asylum seekers/refugees in order to evaluate the impact of those centres on the local community and to exchange information on obstacles/problems and ideas on possible actions to manage such a situation;

ii)                   investigating how those asylum seekers/refugees integrate in the local community.