Chapter 1 Introduction
22 1.3
RESEARCH GAPS ON NEW URBAN DESTINATIONS
Overall patterns in migration and urbanization can be observed. There is, however, a lack of empirical data and the absence of systematically collected data of a comparative quality and content, especially in low income countries. This lack of data inhibits a deep understanding of migrants in urban environments. Cities, with their high concentration of migrants, often from different places of origin, offer a unique spatial domain for researching and understanding the dynamics of migration, urbanization and the intersection of national and local governance and policy.
Frameworks for studying migration As migration destinations change and diversify with people moving to different areas, especially to low- and middle-income countries, binary models which define migration as global South–North or developing–developed country movements do not aid the understanding of the heterogeneous nature of movements towards these new destinations. Currently there is no theoretical framework to help understand the complexities created by such rapidly shifting patterns of migration. A shift to cities as a unit of analysis may help reveal a more nuanced picture instead of using the “nation” as a marker given the significant differences that can exist between regions even within a country. Due to the lack of jurisdiction on immigration, cities can offer a natural spatial field for studying the dynamics and outcomes of migration on the ground. The new immigrant destinations, both in low- and high-income countries, present opportunities to re-examine key aspects of the migration process and outcomes in contexts which offer different reception conditions and local and institutional capacities. This shift will help shed light on migration as an actual social process – how migrants arrive, how they search for work and how they are accommodated – rather than aggregate demographic phenomena resulting from national policies. Importantly, research on migration at subnational level can highlight the critical role of local, regional and national governance, both of migrant selection and urban planning, in influencing migration outcomes. Human mobility transfers human capital. It also transfers knowledge and material capital. The changes in the nature of mobility have implications for uneven development among cities. Urban governance impinges on and mediates the key relationships between mobility and uneven regional development.
Data sources, limitations and good practices Despite the fact that migration to cities is rapidly increasing, with more than half the world’s population now residing in them and migrants playing a crucial role in the city-making and globalization processes, there is little data on these trends especially on foreign-born urban populations in the most low-income countries. The reasons for this are as follows: • Lack of census data. The best data on migration in general, and on migration to cities in particular, often comes from censuses, but as many low-income countries do not have the resources to conduct censuses on a regular basis, information on migration is often out-of-date. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, only 12 countries have conducted a census during the last ten years;2 2
See http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/jan/31/data-developmentreliable-figures-numbers