Living on the threshold: the missing debate on peri-urban asylum reception centres in norway, 2015-16

Abstract

In 2016, almost 40 per cent of Norwegian asylum reception centres (ARCs) were located in so-called peri-urban landscapes across the country. In media coverage and central planning documents, however, geographical location seems rarely to be considered as potentially crucial to the well-being of asylum seekers or their integration. While peri-urban locations do not necessarily mean poor living standards, the location certainly influences practical opportunities to participate in the host community. The key objective of this interdisciplinary study is to investigate location as a parameter for how asylum seekers engage in their temporary neighbourhoods/communities and as an essential factor in preventing hostile othering processes. By highlighting aspects of peri-urban conditions, such as temporality, sense of place, and community, this study identifies vital dilemmas and challenges connected to the intertwining of public and political discourse with the physical realities of regional and urban space.